The vast majority of wine is consumed within a few days of purchase and I must say this tends to be encouraged by many winemakers who tell us to enjoy the young, fresh and vibrant flavours of some wine varieties, sauvignon blanc for example.
Unlike 30 years ago when many wines were imported and because the better wines being sold needed to be cellared for a few years people who were even slightly interested in wine needed to have a cellar to age wines before they could enjoy a reasonable drink.
Today however wine styles have changed significantly, the New Zealand industry has grown beyond all recognition and the quality of readily available, easy to understand, affordable wines has increased exponentially.
All of this means we are now impulse consumers of wine; we buy what we want when we want to consume it. While this is fantastic in many ways we tend to miss out on some of the intriguing magic to be found in aged wines so I always take the opportunity to try older wines when I am offered the chance.
Last weekend I visited Kaimira Estate who are celebrating their tenth anniversary of producing wine. They decided to deal with a small problem they had at the same time. Having the last five or ten cases of a wine floating around a winery causes a few management hassles, the volume left is not really a commercial quantity and it is a nuisance keeping track of them in the store room. So Kaimira decided to sell their ‘bin ends’ at knockdown prices, some for as little as $8 a bottle.
For me however the real treat was that some of these wines were four or five years old and I had the chance to taste them alongside current releases, providing the perfect opportunity to get an insight into how wines made from grapes grown on the same vineyards would change over time.
I have been a fan of Kaimira’s Brightwater Vineyard Riesling from the first time I tasted it, I love the dry minerality with luscious citrus characters but most of all I love the fact it is a dry style wine that allows the aging characters to show in the flavours. They tend to develop a nice oily texture and waxy kerosene characters that can be quite intriguing.
Tasting their 2004 pinot noir was also an eye-opener for me. 2004 was a very wet vintage in the Nelson region and we have not seen many very good wines from it and we certainly have not seen many that stand the test of time, so the fantastic complexity showing in this wine was a real surprise. It is light in colour but has a lush palate weight, is packed with flavour and is perfect drinking right now. Buying it for about $10 a bottle was an opportunity I was not going to miss.
I have been drinking
Kaimira Estate Brightwater Vineyards 2009 Gewurztraminer (about $20 from the winery)
Another great comparison was the 2007 ($18) vs 2009 Kaimira Brightwater vineyards Gewurztraminer. The 2007 was made in a dry (or low residual sugar) style while the 2009 was produced retaining about 30gms/ltr of sugar. Even though it is technically a much sweeter wine juicy acidity provides exceptional balance. This is also a great example of a technically sweet wine that doesn’t taste sweet and is great with food. Try it with blue cheese or Thai food.
In the wine world we live in these days there is a continual stream of new wines being released by producers all year round, some are sent to market while they are young and fresh while winemakers retain some for release later in the year when the wines have spent a little time resting in bottles.
Red wines in particular are generally released a year or more after being bottled and many winemakers like to make us wait until the flavour and structure components are a little more in sync with each other before we get our hands on varieties like chardonnay and riesling. When they are initially bottled some components dominate others and letting the wine age a little before release gives the wine a chance to show what it is really made of.
Each year there is a race to see who can get the first sauvignon blanc onto the shelves, a practice I am not particularly fond of because I don’t think the wine is being released when it is ready. Some of these wines are ok but they will never be great. Last year we saw a few sauvignon blancs made from grapes harvested in late March and early April hitting the shelves in June, in my opinion way too soon. August, September and October saw a slew of 2009 wines leaving wineries and heading for the shelves and about the same time we started seeing a number of 2008 red wines being offered for sale.
However Neudorf Vineyards always release the sauvignon blanc they make in one year at the beginning of March the following year, just before they start harvesting the next vintage. Why? The complex, weighty style of sauvignon blanc they make takes a little time to reach its peak drinking potential and the Finns want you to enjoy their wines at their best.
Just over 10% of the Neudorf Vineyards 2009 sauvignon blanc ($22) was fermented on old oak barrels to add some texture complexity and the result is a sauvignon with a luscious viscosity to the texture as well as bright fresh tropical fruit flavours.
With the cooler weather we have had this summer the 2010 harvest is running about two weeks late so this year most of the region’s winemakers will get to enjoy Easter working 24/7 in the vineyards and wineries while you and I get to enjoy the early autumn sun. Even though the season is running a little late with an overall slightly lower yield this year (not a bad thing with an oversupply of some varieties) all reports point to fantastic quality in the vineyards.
I have been drinking
Woven Stone Ohau 2009 Sauvignon Blanc – RRP $16-17
This is the first vintage of this wine made from grapes grown near the Ohau river on the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington. Green capsicum tones dominate the aromas and blend delightfully with green apples and passionfruit in the palate. Mouth-watering acidity and a flash of flinty minerality make it dangerously easy to drink.
Neudorf Vineyards 2008 Moutere Pinot Noir - $49 from the cellar door
This wine is made from a blend of fruit grown on Neudorf Vineyards home vineyard and from a small block of vines in Pomona Road and the result is a seductive delight with flavours and textures that flow through your palate. Upfront spiced cherry fruit flavours with a touch of charred oak give way to floral violet tones then the talcum fine tannins and a touch of juicy acidity take over. This wine is very young but has all the hallmarks of a quality pint noir.
In my last column I wrote about the recent symposium to explore aromatic wines that was hosted by Nelson winemakers. This was the second such symposium and this time the focus was on riesling and gewürztraminer.
One of the international guests at the symposium was Ernst Loosen who was born into a great tradition of German winemaking. In the 1980’s he made the move from archaeology to taking the reins of the 200 year old winemaking dynasty that is Weingut Dr Loosen.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Ernst for an hour or so and talk about his thoughts on New Zealand aromatic style wines. It is obvious that he has thrown himself at the challenge of learning about wine, not just 200 years of tradition at the family estate but also about winemaking around the world. He has taken many things he has seen and learned on his travels and incorporated them into Dr Loosen winemaking today, ensuring that not only is heritage preserved but that it continues to evolve.
This attitude to learning about wine is reflected in his thoughts on New Zealand wines. He is quite firm in his belief that New Zealand winemakers must continue to learn about their land and grape growing conditions so they can make the best possible wine from the best quality grapes their piece of paradise can produce.
This wine could be anything from sweet to dry and austere in style and he says there is no point in trying to make something you think the consumer wants if it is not good quality. The focus should always be on quality and then go out and find a market that wants the style of wine produced. He says, for example, there is no point in trying to sell fruity floral wines in Germany where their tastes are more accustomed to dry style wines.
As we talked about the quality of the wines he tasted in his time here he kept coming back to two wines in particular, Stonecroft Gewurztraminer and Vinoptima Gewurztraminer. To use his words “I was totally impressed by the gewürztraminers, that is the style of gewürztraminer I really like …The Stonecroft and the Vinoptima we had in the tasting, even if they are so different I totally understand the style and would say ‘where is the Munster cheese?, they are fantastic wines”
Ernst also told me he does not drink a lot of gewürztraminer but he was excited about not just the quality of the winemaking but the incredible flavours and structure balance. He says New Zealand winemakers are starting to understand the importance of place and this is reflected in Nick Nobilo from Vinoptima growing just a single variety of grape, gewürztraminer, and making the absolute best example of this variety he can. It shows in the finished product.
His final piece of advice for selling our wines overseas – “not only am I a winemaker I am the average consumer and to sell your wines you need to open them with as many people as possible so they can taste them, if they haven’t tasted them they may not buy them”.
I have been drinking
Olssens 2008 Riesling
From Central Otago this vibrant dry wine has lots of flavour (apple, citrus and subtle honey) with a streak of delightful steely minerality in the finish. This isn’t a shy style, you know you are drinking riesling and you know you are drinking quality.
Big Villa 2007 Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay
Big Villa is the house brand for Advintage Wines who have a reputation for delivering wines that are as they describe them and at great value. In typical chardonnay fashion this is packed with butterscotch and lightly toasted nut characters. Check them out at http://www.advintage.co.nz/ and join their mail list.
