Emma and I were invited, along with several other wine writers, to Trinity Hill last Friday to taste barrel samples from the 2012 vintage and to have a look at the about-to-be-released 2010 Homage. I keep looking at my photos from that day because it is hard to believe they were taken only a couple of days ago. Whilst here in Auckland we still have to shake off the cloak of winter (central heating on yesterday), we enjoyed the most perfect Hawke’s Bay sunshine.
Standing on top of Roy’s Hill, looking at the surrounding vineyards, it was hard (even for a townie like me) not to be envious of those who work in such stunning surroundings.
There’ll be a full write up of the wines posted next week when we relaunch the Independent Wine Monthly website

Warren explaining the geography of the region and the influence of soils on wine styles

Emma with the Ngaruroro River in the background. (and a glimpse of the slightly less exciting rifle range)

When I wanted a big chardonnay to go with roast pork I remembered a sample box from Clearview Estate had arrived a few days previously. A chardonnay made in the true honker style was exactly what I fancied so texted home and asked Cee to unpack the box and put the bottle in the fridge.

When I opened the fridge door, the first thing I noticed was the flanged bottle, a la Dry River and the understated label front label declaring the wine to be 2011 Clearview Estate Vineyard Selection Chardonnay.  A new wine? The back label states that a limited number of vines were selected to make the wine and so only 1100 bottles were produced.

Once opened, there was no whoosh of oak on the nose, a defining feature of Clearview chardonnays of old, just some bran biscuit and oatmeal with a hint of red apple and peach.  And the palate? Taut and restrained with a clearly defined favour of lime, chalk and wet stones, lovely and silky yet with a definite line of acid running through. Biscuity, textural with amazing length. Could this be (gulp) an homage to Chablis.
But having promised to smack the next winemaker who releases a wine described as ‘Chablis-style’, it was a treat to see the understated back label .

I think this is an exciting evolution in NZ chardonnay. When I phoned Emma, she reminded me, rather smugly I thought, that Barry Riwai (who made the wine) had shown it to her a few weeks ago and that she had called to tell me how good it was. I was tempted to bop her on the snout instead . . .

A horridly turbulent flight to Queenstown and a stomach rolling journey over the Crown Range meant I arrived at Rippon Vineyards feeling a tad queasy. But after a cup of coffee and a historic date scone, I felt mega perky.  And the view from the tasting room made the journey worthwhile.

I had been invited to Central to attend the 25th Anniversary Celebrations and my first day was spent tasting through 75 Central Otago pinots, all blind, roughly split between the 2010 and 2011 vintages.
And though the 2010 may be regarded as the ‘better’ vintage, I found the 2011s to be perhaps more to my taste. Lighter coloured, with fruits in the red spectrum; raspberry, strawberry and cherry, refreshing acidity and silky, low impact tannins, most of the wines were pretty, floral and delicious.  Perhaps not for the long haul, but then how many people want to cellar wines these days?
Before I left Auckland I had a conversation with a pinot producer who thought Central Otago should have won more gold medals at the Spiegelau Wine Competition. I looked back at my judging notes I saw I had used words such as brutal, tough and charmless on several wines, not just from Central. Tannin is no bad thing in pinot but perhaps should play a supporting role in wines from younger vines yet too many times wines were over extracted, with heavy handed oak swamping the fruit and none of the charm for which pinot is famed.

My faith was restored by many of the 2011s. Of course there were a couple of slightly grisly wines, but that’s to be expected in any region.

In the evening we were hosted by Wooing Tree Winery who had flown Cuisine Magazine’s 2012 Chef of the Year Brenton Low in from Whangarei to prepare a delicious dinner. Aided by a couple of trainee chefs from the local Cromwell Polytechnic, the food was a great showcase for the local wines.  A perfect end to the first day.

Chef Brenton Low explaining how the blue cod was caught that morning

I’ve spent the last few days in Shanghai judging a brand new wine competition, Wine 100 and I’ll post my thoughts on the competition and the NZ wine masterclass I hosted tomorrow.  Having never been to Shanghai before I found it an exhilarating city that operates at a tremendous pace. The contrast between old and new is marked; elegant colonial buildings and modern skyscrapers, luxury imported cars and roads full of cyclists, and everything blanketed in a gentle haze of pollution.

View from my hotel room

The Waldorf Astoria

Now on my way home, I only wish I could have spent longer there.

The Bund by night

When Chris Scott, winemaker at the Church Road Winery, asked if anyone had heard of marzemino, I was tempted to reply that I thought one had just won Crufts.

But I decided not to be flippant. We had just been told that a ghostly figure sometimes appears in the barrel hall and although I don’t believe in the paranormal, I wasn’t taken any chances.

I was in Hawke’s Bay to taste the Church Road ‘Tom McDonald’ wines, a range that pays tribute to the man who started working at the winery as a young man and later went on to buy the property. Scott explained the new range replaces the Cuve series, that despite often containing some gems, suffered from an uninspriring name and label design.

The Tom McDonald series of eight wines is almost exclusively from the group of French varieties upon which this winery, and Hawkes Bay in general, have made their name. But I wonder what McDonald would have made of the marzemino, a grape variety native to northern Italy, that has produced an intensely coloured red with a sour cherry and cranberry character and retains an unmistakeable savoury Mediterranean edge. Perhaps he’d like the more traditional Merlot, an intense gutsy wine with plenty of charm.

Scott isn’t the only winemaker who has been busy launching a brand new wine this month.

Waipara’s Black Estate was established back in 1993 but since it was taken over by winemaker Nicholas Brown and his wife Penelope Naish in 2007, it has gone from strength to strength. I’ve been very impressed by all the releases to date but the brand new 2010 Omihi Pinot Noir is the best yet. This single vineyard pinot noir has oodles of a character I find in Waipara pinots but which I have up until now struggled to define. Tasting this wine I realised that it is redcurrant jelly (a personal favourite) with an intense red fruit note, never overripe, yet with a sweetness and plumpness too.

Although only small in terms of volume and with only 20-odd wineries, Waipara has more than its fair share of talented winemakers.  A quiet achiever and a region to watch.

Fast Fact :  The Church Road Winery houses a small wine museum, open to the public, with tours running twice a day. A fascinating collection of wine artifacts from both here and overseas.

2010 Black Estate Omihi Pinot Noir                    5 stars        $45.00
This intensely fragrant single vineyard pinot has a delightful redcurrant jelly and raspberry character. A savoury edge gives structure and balances the dense, fleshy fruit. Attractive now yet better in a couple of years.

2009 Church Road Tom McDonald Pinot Gris    5 stars        $32.99
Inspired by the late harvest wines of Alsace, Scott has crafted a medium dry pinot gris that is powerful yet pure. Amazing concentration and length, this would be perfect with roast pork belly, fresh chilli and ginger.