Casa del Vino

I don’t know about you but I am fed up with wet weekends. Working inside all week I really look forward to getting outside at the weekend, whether it is the Saturday market, lunch at a café or stopping in at one of my favourite stores Casa del Vino. Fortunately it doesn’t have to be fine to visit this little treasure of a wine shop on Hardy St. and Saturdays are the perfect day because every week Ann has some bottles open for free in-store tasting. Some of these tasting give you the chance to talk to the owner or winemaker while other weeks the focus is on either a grape variety or maybe a different country.
When I stopped in last Saturday there were two South American reds open and both were varieties we don’t grow much of in New Zealand, Santa Ana Eco Malbec 2010 from Argentina ($22.50) and  Chateau Los Boldos Carmenere 2008 from Chile ($24.95).
Malbec is Argentina's flagship variety and Santa Ana Winery is a quality producer based in the Maipu area of Mendoza (the main wine region in Argentina located in the foothills of the Andes). Santa Ana Eco is made from 100% organically grown, hand harvested Malbec. It is lush and ripe, packed with soft sweet blackberry and plum flavours. Very soft tannins mean this is great drinking right now.
Carmenere is Chile's signature grape - the red variety that disappeared from Bordeaux vineyards in the mid-19th century and reappeared among Chile's Merlot vines a hundred years later. Chateau Los Boldos is located in the Cachapoal Valley, in the Rapel region south of Santiago. The Momentos was made from 100% Carmenere, hand-harvested and aged 6 months in French (50%) and American (50%) oak barrels.
The Carmenere is a different beast to the silky malbec. Big, rich and supple this has classic flavours of blackberries and chocolate with plenty blackcurrant freshness to add some excitement. The tannins are a little more drying but pair it with a nice steak and an open fire and you have the perfect wet Saturday night in.
As well as these Saturday tastings (where the wines being tasted are always on special for the day) Ann also has monthly tutored tastings. These can cover anything from exciting new producers to the classic wines of Bordeaux and Champagne. To find out about these check out their website and register to get the weekly emails. www.casadelvino.co.nz

I have been drinking

Clearview Estate 2009 Enigma - $49.99 RRP
From a great Hawke’s Bay vintage this blended red is an absolute classic. Made from Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon the flavours are bursting with ripe, luscious fruit characters. The more you taste the more the wine offers as it opens up in the glass, from dark plum to sweet blackcurrent and savoury mushroom characters. While it is good drinking right now put a few bottles in your cellar for five years and you will have a great wine.

Seifried Estate 2011 Gewurztraminer - $25 RRP
My first taste of a 2011 vintage was anything but a disappointment. Made in a medium floral style rather than the deep and rich style we normally associate with Seifrieds lets the purity of fruit flavour shine. Fruit harvested in pristine condition means there isn’t a hint of honey, rather softly spiced sweet honeysuckle, powdery Turkish delight and supple lychee sweetness with a hint of cinnamon in the finish make it a wine to enjoy with flavoursome Asian foods or may as an aperitif with pate and cheese. Me, I prefer to just drink it on its own so I can savour the subtle complexities it delivers. 

Melbourne & Mornington

Our interest was tweaked a few weeks ago by an ad we saw in the newspaper for the King Tutankhamun exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. A quick phone call to travel agent Tim and before we knew it we were on a plane to the land of Oz for a long weekend. And the fact there are a couple of fantastic wine regions within an hour or so of Melbourne had absolutely nothing to do with deciding to go! We stayed in the centre of the city so we would be close to many of those delightful restaurants we hear so much about and of course they also have shops there that needed visiting.
We only had a few days so we dedicated one day to wine, we rented a car for the day and headed to the Mornington Peninsula where there are about 200 wineries and 50 cellar door outlets you can visit. Because we had a day that meant we also had a problem – so many wines to taste and so little time! The delightful people at the Mornington township I-Site visitor centre helped us plan a day that took in some great wines and ensured we were well fed.
By the time we travelled from Melbourne (about 75 minutes) we had time for lunch and to visit three or four wineries. We decided to have lunch at Port Phillip Estate where they not only have a fantastic restaurant but some excellent wines too.
With a climate not dissimilar to Nelson the wines produced in the region include chardonnay, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, arneis and pinot noir so it was an interesting exercise to compare their wines with ours.
At Port Phillip Estate we really enjoyed their Chardonnays, in particular the Kooyong Estate 2008 (A$38) and the single vineyard 2008 Faultline Chardonnay (A$60). From the selection of pinot noirs available my favourite and the most expensive (of course) at A$65 was their Single Vineyard Haven 2008 Pinot Noir. While this is still a young wine it is packed with rich, meaty, savoury berry fruit flavours with a hit of liquorice in the finish. The restaurant at Port Phillip Estate is a fine dining experience with food that would not be out of place in a top restaurant in any city and service that was faultless.

Stunning food in a stunning environment at Port Phillip Estate Restaurant

A grey winter's day at Port Phillip Estate

Stunning architectural design at Port Phillip Estate tasting room and restuarant

On a much smaller scale Main Ridge Estate was established in 1975 by Rosalie and Nat White and every drop of juice that finds its way into a bottle there comes from their own small vineyard. Producing predominantly chardonnay and pinot noir with some pinot meunier and merlot completing the range and a dedication to quality the wines are very good. When we were there the merlot had sold out and other wines were available in limited quantities (on bottle per person) such is the popularity of these wines. Top of my list was the 2009 Half Acre Pinot Noir (A$65), a wine packed with flavour concentration and character. This is boutique wine making of a very high standard.
A long weekend break in Melbourne can be quite cheap if you keep your eyes open for good deals on flights. We will be back and we will be spending more than a day in the Mornington Peninsula wine region next time.
Check out www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org

I have been drinking

Kina Beach 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (about $16)
With vibrant tropical fruit aromas and a smooth textured mouthfeel this is a luscious and spicy wine packed with passionfruit and stonefruit flavours and juicy fresh acidity in the finish this is almost too easy to drink.

Blackenbrook Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 ($39)
Another five star wine from a five star producer. This is still a very young wine with appealing concentrated spiced red/black cherry flavours, a touch of gaminess and silky tannins this is another beauty from the talented Daniel Schwarzenbach.

Recent Releases

When to release wines to the marketplace can be a vexed decision for winemakers but is primarily driven by two things – when is it ready and how much of the previous vintage do we have left? Some varieties need to be aged a little before you and I get to taste them, chardonnay and most red wines in particular. Many of these wines produced in 2010 are being released now while some premium wines from earlier vintages are just starting to hit the shelves.
At the other end of the scale the first wines from the 2011 vintage have been released. It is a few weeks since the last fruit was harvested and only around two months since vintage started. The most surprising thing for me is the first release I have heard about this year isn’t sauvignon blanc but gewurztraminer.
Seifried Estate had sold out of the previous vintage and the market wanted some so they have created an early release blend to satisfy market demand. The rest of the 2011 gewurztraminer won’t be blended and bottled for a few weeks yet and it will be a really interesting exercise to try both blends in a few months time to see how the bright, fresh floral and tempting Turkish delight characters have behaved.
Until I get my hands on a bottle of each of these blends I have had to satisfy my curiosity by tasting quite a few new releases from last year, and there have been plenty of them. Some of the highlights have been:

Blackenbrook Wines 2010 Pinot Gris (RRP$26)
This is a five star wine that dances on your tongue but packs a punch. Bright, fresh, pure flavours are bound up in a lush texture and touched with a dash of spice and fresh acidity in the finish. The elegance of this wine hides the 15% alcohol punch. This is one of the best pinot gris’ I have tried in a long time.

Blackenbrook Wines 2009 Nelson Reserve Chardonnay (RRP$32)
Twelve months gentle aging in 500ltr oak barrels (normal size is 225ltr) this wine has a opulent texture and oozes classic butter, toasted nut and tropical fruit characters. A few bottles of this will find their way into our cellar to age for another few years, if we can keep our hands off it!

Sacred Hill 2010 Wine Thief Chardonnay (RRP$29.99)
There is absolutely no doubt this is a serious chardonnay, big, rich and very drinkable if you love chardonnay. Dry in style this has been through a secondary malo fermentation adding a lush texture to the big and ripe peach flavours. A touch of marmalade juiciness balances the richness. A well balanced chardonnay from a very good vintage.

Neudorf Vineyards 2010 Maggies Block Pinot Gris ($24.90 at the cellar door)
As you would expect from one of New Zealand’s best wine producers this is another wine that is simply delightful. Purity of flavour and texture are hallmarks of all Neudorf wines and this is no exception. I like the fact this is off-dry in style without too much residual sugar. This lets the flavours shine rather than being dominated by sweetness. Softly spiced poached pear flavours hang from a full, rounded mouthfeel.

Rimu Grove 2010 Pinot Gris (RRP$29)
This is the wine that ensured the Rimu Grove name is near the top of quality producers in New Zealand. The stunningly good fruit that was harvested last year meant the winemaker could make the wine a little drier than the previous couple of years and still retain incredible flavour depth with an elegant structure. Simply bursting with lush fruit flavours and with a firm mineral backbone this is a cracker.

Phil Gully tasting wine in Blackenbrook Vineyards winery

Rimu Grove

The 2011 wine vintage is one that winemakers and viticulturists will remember for a long time. Not only did rain make it a challenging end to harvest with some fruit left unpicked as the inclement weather had an impact but there were also some fantastic wines produced.In the words of the chairman of the Nelson WineGrowers Association, Mike Brown, “2011 is going to be a year to follow wineries not regions as quality is going to be highly dependent on vineyard management”.
And that is where small boutique producers have to deal with a double edged sword; they can manage their vineyards more intensely but they don’t always have the resource to harvest and process a lot of fruit very quickly.
Pat Stowe, the owner of Rimu Grove Wines, comes from a science background and this has made him a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to making wine. He isn’t happy to harvest fruit based just on what the testing equipments says, he also trusts his palate and instincts, only harvesting when the grapes have great flavour as well as being technically ripe.
As with other wineries this year’s harvest was early so he was able to bring in about 90% of his fruit in pristine condition, the rest stayed on the vines or was dropped on the grass – quality was not compromised for quantity.
One of the things I like about Pat is his outright enthusiasm for producing great wine. When we talked about the harvest his eyes lit up as he told me he had some of the best fruit ever for some varieties, particularly chardonnay and pinot gris. 2010 was the stunning year for pinot noir and while this season was not as good he rates it up there with the 2007 and 2008 vintages and I think they were pretty good.
Rimu Grove was one of the earliest in the region to plant pinot gris vines (1999) and that means these more established vines produce delightfully intense wine with great structure and, along with a superb sloping vineyard aspect and Pat’s passion, is one of the reasons Rimu Grove pinot gris has a bit of a cult following around New Zealand. The same applies to their chardonnay; even though this variety has been off the fashion list in recent years there is still a strong market for lovers of the variety and Rimu Grove’s delightfully well balanced version is as popular as ever.
I think you need to be just a little unbalanced to grow and produce pinot noir as she can be a very sulky child to deal with but when handled with patience and care she blossoms into something very special. Add a little gentle aging before release and his pinots turn into very classy little ladies that love being paired with fine food. While some may think Pat is a little obsessed with his pinot I think he has every reason to be. The hard work he puts into making this wine both in the vineyard and the winery is evident in the finished product.
Drop in to Rimu Grove’s new cellar door on Bronte Road after about 1pm in the winter and check out their current releases.

I have been drinking

Neudorf Vineyards 2010 Moutere Pinot Gris - RRP $29

In two words – multi-layered purity. With the aromas of delicate minerality and soft creamy pear tones that belie the intensity of the flavours this wine delivers more each time you taste it. The opulent silky texture has a powdery mineral backbone holding delightfully warm pip fruit and quince spice flavours together. A wonderfully long finish makes you just want more. Another five star wine from a classic producer.

Gisselbrecht Tradition 2008 Pinot Gris – $21.99
From Alsace this is a different beast compared to the Neudorf. Big punchy flavours packed with ripe pear and spiced honey characters make it perfect with spicy food. There is nothing pure or elegant about this but the age has added complexity and makes for great drinking.

Neudorf Vineyards 1992 Chardonnay

Wow! Have just opened a 1992 Neudorf Vineyards Moutere Chardonnay and can't believe how good it is.
We have a reasonable wine cellar and tuck the last few bottles of a case into a corner and forget about it for a few years. The purpose of this corner of the cellar is to see how wines change with age, to learn more about wine. We don't have great exectations from wines we try from this part of the cellar but are regularly surprised at how good some of them are. Ten year old sauvignon blancs may not be bright, vibrant and fresh but they can be really interesting and good to drink.
We have a number of vintages of Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay in the cellar and have never been disappointed (other than tough vintages that we didn't expect much from anyway) however this particular wine was a huge surprise.
When we first opened it the wine still had bright fresh acidity, big but rounded oak, cooked white peach and hazel nut flavours and mid gold in colour. As the wine opened up in the glass the flavours evolved through a citrus spectrum - mandrin with a touch of oak bitterness, crisp marmalade to juicy fresh lime characters and finally soft butter tones. All the while the texture on the palate was rich without being creamy and the acidity was juicy on the gums.
Tim Finn has a reputation as one of the finest winemkers in New Zealand and as one of the very best in the wolrd at producing fine chardonnay and this wine does nothing to tarnish that reputation. A wine that is simply stunning almost 20 years after it was made.
And we still have two more bottles!