Vintage 2004 Pinot Noir Event (NZ)

[Maximus]

The Fine Wine Delivery Company from Auckland came down to Christchurch and held their annual pinot noir extravaganza. There were 95 pinots on tasting, all from the 2004 vintage.

The Â’04 vintage for the majority of the country started fantastically, with a warm Dec/Jan yielding heavy crops of fruit and vignerons were looking forward to making up for the shortfall of the previous vintage. However, February brought with it half the annual rainfall and things did not go to plan. A lot of fruit was dropped and although March was okay weather wise and April was quite good, had it not been for those months 2004 would have looked very ugly. The impression I got from the winemakers who were there was that the vintage turned into a year with more varietal character in the wines due to the grapes perhaps not reaching the level of ripeness they had in the past. Yet, alcohol levels still seemed quite high, most in the 14%+ realm, with many divulging that they took advantage of not having to quote their true levels. I donÂ’t believe Central Otago had the February rains, but they were caught out with frosts in the cold December that they thought they were immune to. As a result, there are now wind machines everywhere down there. 2004 for Central will bear low quantities but the fruit quality should be first rate.

My impressions from the evening were that Central Otago didnÂ’t impress like they should have, the small contingent from Nelson performed very well, and Marlborough was hit and miss as per usual. The wines that I tried from Martinborough were consistent with the reputations of the labels.

I have been underwhelmed with the La Strada brand on the half a dozen occasions that IÂ’ve tried their wines over the last 18 months. Except for last night. The Fromm Vineyard Pinot was my wine of the tasting, it really stood out. The nose was exceptional, that raspberry coulis aroma with intense berries, game and complementary oak handling. It was magic. The wine had the polish youÂ’d associate with the Swiss winemaker Hatsch and great length. However, the other brothers also stepped up to the plate. Although not as exquisite for immediate drinking, the single vineyard Clayvin has magnificent potential with a nose that was surprisingly complex for its youth, and almost Martinborough like with that meaty character wafting in the background. The only disappointing, jarring jolt of reality with these wines are their prices. They exceed $60 retail. The wines also wonÂ’t be released until April (a blessing in disguise for my plastic fetish), but when it does appear on the shelves IÂ’ll no doubt pinch a few at the ever tasty staff price.

From Martinborough, the Craggy Range Te Muna Road was one of the most impressive, but still not a great Craggy Range, a reflection of the fruit this year. Still a joy to drink though. Their Strugglers Flat is also going great guns, easily worth the sub $20 youÂ’re forced to pay. I thought the Porters was rubbish (something my French friend enjoyed though, if that gives you any indication of what it was like), but the Ata Rangi was glorious and the Palliser Estate true to form. That was my first Ata Rangi and itÂ’s certainly a class wine, even in an apparently poor vintage like Â’04 was. The Vynfields was bloody interesting, had a peculiar nose which helped it to stand out amongst the field, almost a mouldy cheese and crackers, quite delicious to drink as well. One to keep an eye on.

From Central Otago the Peregrine shone, which was pleasing to see (a house favourite, and Greg Hayes is a champion), and the Mt Difficulty and Gibbston Valley were also good (although not great). I was disappointed with the Roaring Meg, which I liken to a feather in a wind storm, along with the Mount Edward and Pisa Range Estate which didnÂ’t quite meet expectations. The Olssens Jackson Barry was received better than expected, given I'd dismissed their '03 wines when tasting at cellar door earlier in the year. Unfortunately I didnÂ’t get around to tasting the Amisfield, Quartz Reef or Sleeping Dogs from this region.

The Canterbury/Waipara region had less than ten representatives, with the two from Danny Schuster I’d tried a couple of months ago as barrel samples. That left half a dozen. With the Main Divide “Selection” (debut vintage) I was hoping for a lot, and whilst the nose was enticing enough the finish was too abrupt. The standard Main Divide is always the bargain representing great value. The Alan McCorkindale Waipara Valley was just okay, nothing to write home about, and the Waipara Hills was also similar. However, the one to write home about (as I am now doing) was the Kaituna Valley pinot, located in a neat little microclimate on the way out to Akaroa. I’d never heard of the wine, but found out that it’s produced from some of the oldest vines in Canterbury (pushing 30 years) and sits on clay soils with basaltic parent material, nestled in a valley with low rainfall and high sunshine hours, protected from the winds by dormant volcano hillside. Initially there was a strong Dettol or hospital smell, but it blew off with time, although never disappearing which I thought added to the wine, rather than detracting from it. It’s quite a beast of a Pinot, with even some Shiraz nuances of black pepper / spices and a hint of liquorice. A pinot with character, although perhaps not of the varietal kind. Still, it was evocative and given the ultimate test by following on from the Fromm Vineyard pinot, it did well. Beautifully made with similar polish and panache as the La Strada brethren, although not as tight. The most expensive wine of the region on show was the Muddy Water “Mojo”, which was in the process of bottling when I was up at cellar door a couple of months ago ($65). This wine certainly had mojo – too much I fear – with my initial impression that the oak use was too much after a whiff of toast. Others loved it, and although there was no char to the toast, with strawberry jam spread on top, it didn’t appeal to me. I must admit, this was had with the Ata Rangi in the other hand, so perhaps a tough comparison.

Pinot from Marlborough (Nelson was included in this category) easily had the power of majority, nearly comprising half of the wines. Apart from the La Strada gear, there wasn’t much here that tempted me to remove my trousers. For those that liked the oaky Mojo, they found friends in wines like the Waimea estate (which, incidentally, represents good value at $19) and the dirty whores like Wither Hills. The Triplebank did nothing for me, nor did the Te Whare Ra, Terravin, St Clair, Rimu Grove, Grove Mill, Framingham or the three labels from Villa Maria. The Shingle Peak, to me, is a stunning wine for the price ($15) and I echo this across their entire range. It used a barbed whip to beat the pants of many higher priced wines (although many will disagree). I was happy with the Nautilus Estate after the disappointing 2001 that I tried a while back, this had fruit to boot with that nice vanillin edge. The creamy mouthfeel exuded by this label in all their wines was present, and while no blockbuster it’s enjoyable for immediate drinking in the next 1-2 years. The Seresin Estate Leah had a similar nose to the Nautilus, perhaps with less oak and a bit more refined – less fat. Both of these wines come in at under $30 and if one thing has to be said for the region, it’s the pleasing fact that they haven’t all jumped on the Central Otago price hike bandwagon. The wines from Greenhough were all good, promising to blossom with further bottle age. The Neudorf wines (their standard and Moutere) were class, but I felt they were far from ready and like the Greenhough pinots, need time to evolve.

Well, that finishes the pinot extravaganza. All three hours were used to the maximum, with frequent chats amongst members of the posse that included myself, Dave from Uni, and William, Paddy and Andy of Liquor King fame. I had the chance to meet up with Geoffrey - a forum member on here - and it was great to have a chat and put a face to the name. We're looking to organise a taste off in December with the Foolish vs the Wise (ie. young vs old). Four teams of four in a blind tasting format, should be a hoot. Dave, William and I headed off to Ironside for a bit of Thai afterwards and shared a bottle of a Â’95 Nebbiolo from northern Italy (I forget the name) which went perfectly with the food. One could be forgiven for thinking it was an aged MerlotÂ…

Cheers,

[Raymond W]

Max,

Thanks for the update about the latest NZ Pinots. It takes just a tad longer for some of them to make their way to Japan.

BTW, I am thinking of getting a bottle of the Ata Rangi Pinot to see how it compares to some other Pinots that I have had. I can get both the 2002 and 2003 vintages here. Any comments or recommendations on which one I should try first?

I remember having the basic Palliser 2003(?) last year. It seemed to lack some intensity when compared to the Cloudy Bay 2002 Pinot.

Cheers,

Raymond

[Maximus]

Max,

Thanks for the update about the latest NZ Pinots. It takes just a tad longer for some of them to make their way to Japan.

BTW, I am thinking of getting a bottle of the Ata Rangi Pinot to see how it compares to some other Pinots that I have had. I can get both the 2002 and 2003 vintages here. Any comments or recommendations on which one I should try first?

I remember having the basic Palliser 2003(?) last year. It seemed to lack some intensity when compared to the Cloudy Bay 2002 Pinot.

Cheers,

Raymond

Raymond,

With regard to the Ata Rangi and more broadly the two vintages you've specified, 2003 was extremely low yielding with exceptionally high quality fruit - even the mediocre wineries from the region punched out some good stuff that year. In contrast, I believe many have rated the 2002 as the worst Ata Rangi yet, indicating the dog of a vintage that 2002 was, with summer rains and a cool autumn. If they're priced comparatively, jump on some '03.

As for the Palliser and Cloudy Bay, check out my tasting notes here. It would seem that either both wines have developed for the best and worst respectively in the last 12 months, or you and I have wildly differing opinions on pinot! Given that the 2003 Palliser hasn't long been released in NZ (less than six months), perhaps the bottle you tried was yet to evolve and impress like the vintage year would indicate, or maybe you ended up with their second label pinot - the Pencarrow.

Cheers,

[Jordan]

Excellent post! Very informative about something i dont know much about.

[Mark S]

Apart from the La Strada gear, there wasnÂ’t much here that tempted me to remove my trousers.
That's a relief for all concerned

the dirty whores like Wither Hills.
What other wines did they like?


used a barbed whip to beat the pants of...
Yeeehaa!!

But fantastic notes that make me want to get lots more NZ peeno real soon! Thanks Max

[Lolly]

Ditto from me too, terrific write-up. Thanks.

[Raymond W]

Raymond,

With regard to the Ata Rangi and more broadly the two vintages you've specified, 2003 was extremely low yielding with exceptionally high quality fruit - even the mediocre wineries from the region punched out some good stuff that year. In contrast, I believe many have rated the 2002 as the worst Ata Rangi yet, indicating the dog of a vintage that 2002 was, with summer rains and a cool autumn. If they're priced comparatively, jump on some '03.

As for the Palliser and Cloudy Bay, check out my tasting notes here. It would seem that either both wines have developed for the best and worst respectively in the last 12 months, or you and I have wildly differing opinions on pinot! Given that the 2003 Palliser hasn't long been released in NZ (less than six months), perhaps the bottle you tried was yet to evolve and impress like the vintage year would indicate, or maybe you ended up with their second label pinot - the Pencarrow.

Cheers,

Max,

Thanks for the tip about the 2002 and 2003 vintages and the link to some earlier Pinot TNs. They are the same price here for both the Ata Rangi vintages. In some shops, the 2002 vintage is already sold out. I will get two bottles of the Ata Rangi 2003.

As for our respective Pinot palates, mine is still very immature, and I am still working on refining it, so I can truly appreciate a good Pinot. I am slowly working my way up the Pinot pecking order in terms of quality and cost, so I am still at the lower end of the Pinot spectrum. I haven't had any of the Ata Rangi or Felton Road Pinots yet, nor have I tasted more than several cheaper French 1er Cru Pinots. I think you should take my comments about Pinots with some salt or residual sugar. ':lol:'

Anyway, back to the Palliser and Cloudy Bay Pinots. My short TNs were on my work computer because I had taken that one to work when I changed jobs in April. The Palliser was not their second label, but the Martinborough 2002, and the Cloudy Bay was definitely 2002.

This is what I found at the time. Both wines were drunk in January this year, and not last year as I thought.

Cloudy Bay 2002

"This is a well balanced wine. After opening the bottle, it initially revealed a nose of dark cherries and forest floor. My friend thought it had some dry herbal character. After 30 minutes in the glass, the nose evolved into sweeter cherries with some vanilla essence. Tasted similar to the nose. A nice golden and silky finish. Soft tannins. Good with grilled salmon."

Palliser Martinborough 2002

"Initial nose of cherries which expanded to include sweet cherries, raspberries and a touch of oak. Reflected in the palate along with some vanilla oak. Supple tannins, but there were no dried herbs or forest floor aromas like the Cloudy Bay. Overall, it is a classy and elegant Pinot Noir, but on a personal basis, I like the Cloudy Bay better."

I am not sure about the "accuracy" of my wine evaluation abilities yet because I am still developing my wine palate and learning a lot from reading other posters' comments here. I suspect I might have a higher tolerance / liking for the forest floor / mild wild vegetation aromas, perhaps. However, I suspect this may slowly change as I taste more and more Pinots and other varietals.

Thanks for the advice about the Ata Rangi, and I look forward to reading more of your TNs on this forum.

Cheers,

Raymond

[Craig(NZ)]

Thanks for the notes max. i thought of going but I had a work trip to the south island penciled in which never eventuated so I was a bit slow to put my name down. Also after seeing the list there werent too many i was dying to try that I hadnt already tried.

I seemed to have settled on the carrick pinot which I reckon is all class for modest outlay. I picked a few up for $30 a bottle which is certainly good pinot qpr. I cant see the increase in quality up to the likes of the martinborough or even really the ata rangi to justify the massive price jump

I agree with you the fromm wines are excellent and give plenty of stuffing without going jammy and offer fantastic depth and complexity. Marlboroughs best pinot label it must be.

Agree on neudorf, their pinots need time (as does their chardonnay and riesling)

[Chow Chow]

Thanks for thr report Max.
Fromm Clayvin & Kaituna Canterbury r 2 of my fav. P/N.
If u like these do try some Kawarau Reserve. Less expensive too.

[Maximus]

Anyway, back to the Palliser and Cloudy Bay Pinots. My short TNs were on my work computer because I had taken that one to work when I changed jobs in April. The Palliser was not their second label, but the Martinborough 2002, and the Cloudy Bay was definitely 2002.

This is what I found at the time. Both wines were drunk in January this year, and not last year as I thought.

Cloudy Bay 2002

"This is a well balanced wine. After opening the bottle, it initially revealed a nose of dark cherries and forest floor. My friend thought it had some dry herbal character. After 30 minutes in the glass, the nose evolved into sweeter cherries with some vanilla essence. Tasted similar to the nose. A nice golden and silky finish. Soft tannins. Good with grilled salmon."

Palliser Martinborough 2002

"Initial nose of cherries which expanded to include sweet cherries, raspberries and a touch of oak. Reflected in the palate along with some vanilla oak. Supple tannins, but there were no dried herbs or forest floor aromas like the Cloudy Bay. Overall, it is a classy and elegant Pinot Noir, but on a personal basis, I like the Cloudy Bay better."

Raymond,

I haven't tasted the '02 Palliser, but given the vintage you're probably spot on with your favouritism (even though I hate stereotyping vintages). From your notes it sounds like neither wine was poor, nor super impressive. Like you, I like the wild, fungal and game nose of pinots (although not exclusively) and there's no substitute for intense concentration of fruit and a velvet texture. I was told after relaying my thoughts on the '02 Cloudy Bay that it may not have been a representative bottle; it was certainly enjoyable to drink, but I struggled with the nose (which can make or break a wine under this super critical reviewer ).

I seemed to have settled on the carrick pinot which I reckon is all class for modest outlay. I picked a few up for $30 a bottle which is certainly good pinot qpr. I cant see the increase in quality up to the likes of the martinborough or even really the ata rangi to justify the massive price jump

Craig,

I wasn't impressed with the '02 Carrick, despite the gongs and rave reviews by many of the Australian wine etailers. However, the '03 was altogether different - very suave and sexy - as discovered at the blind tasting a few months back. Yet to try the 2004 (they weren't showing at the pinot event). Unfortunately for me, my introduction to Martinborough wines six months ago came in the form of the '03 Escarpment Kupe, followed by Craggy Range's Te Muna Rd, so I started with two of the very best from the region. On Marlborough, Herzog is certainly up there with Fromm.

Fromm Clayvin & Kaituna Canterbury r 2 of my fav. P/N.
If u like these do try some Kawarau Reserve. Less expensive too.

Chow chow, what can you tell me about the Kawarau Reserve? And how long have you been enjoying the hidden treasure that is Kaituna (and more importantly, how did you find out about it)?

Cheers,

[Craig(NZ)]

Max

Agree the 03 Carrick is the better wine, more sexy, elegant and focused. The 02 is ok after it has some air, the structure seems to lift through. I tend to think it will be a good wine in 3-4 years time.

One thing people just dont realise with NZ pinots, is so many of them benefit greatly from a stint in the cellar. In fact I think there is little more wine in NZ that benefits as much from a med term in the cellar than pinot.

So many of the weaknesses in NZ pinot (the over exhuberant fruit, the lack of focus, the hidden structure) seems to right itself after time in the cellar.

Here again is the issue. So much judgement of NZ pinots is based upon wine just released which I feel is a shame.