There are a few general comments on the wines following the notes.
Flight 1
Ata Rangi
2000
Mid red; slight fading and dustiness; nicely resolved nose with some alcoholic strength, complex red berries merging with secondary mushroom/truffle aromas; fresh acids on the entry and a tight-ish palate that finishes a bit short; tart cherry fruit is predominant; perhaps served a little cool. (After 30 minutes it had opened up quite a bit, with more lifted, smoky plum fruit pushing the acid further into the background; drinking very nicely).
2001
Similar but slightly deeper colour to the 2000, a bit more brilliance/clarity; very reserved nose hinting mainly at the savoury/secondary spectrum with some strawberry notes, but not a defined or pungent nose; begins with a tannic chewiness, showing quite a lot of acid, and those tannins build through the mid palate to quite a chewy, textural experience; again acids are showing through to the mid palate and finish, leaving the fruit a little much in the background. The drought conditions of 2001 may have left this wine a little hard.
2003
Dark garnet and brilliant; very appealing colour; pungent violet/daphne nose that leads into heady notes of ripe brie rind; the most expressive wine on the nose by a long shot; the brie character dominates after a while and may put some off; an appealing texture, the rather plentiful but fine tannins being matched in their intensity by powerful fruit and the acid playing along nicely in the background. A bit of a clean hole on the finish, although the experience of that fruit lasts in the mouth for some time. Very good and will appeal for some years, perhaps out to 2012/2013.
Felton Rd; Block 5
2001
Mid garnet; interesting, quite light nose with a pleasant mid-roast smoky coffee note; some plum skin showing too; after a minute there’s a hint of barnyard there too; comes together attractively on the nose and could be mistaken for the characters of ageing mid-weight Bordeaux, i.e. nothing particularly pinot-esque about it; very nice mouthfeel; excellent balance; the fruit is quite pure and fresh, as Felton Rd tends to be; far more in the simple plum zone than cherries or other berries. Attractive and well made, but not providing the intrigue of classic pinot noir.
2002
Similar colour to 2001, perhaps a shade deeper; smoky cherry fruit and nice florals; no doubt that this is pinot; some attractive supporting vanillin notes; huge delivery of ripe fruit with plum and cherry characters; superb length of fruit, lifting and lingering long after swallowing; back on the nose there’s a hint of attractive dark roast coffee too; palate balance is lovely, dominated by fruit but with plenty of structure for ageing; should be a lovely wine; best of the flight so far, albeit in that rather fresh new world style of Felton, which I’ve occasionally been disappointed with in terms of ageability, the wines sometimes becoming rather simple with age rather than more intriguing.
2003
Dark garnet; brilliant in the glass; dark haunting florals; quite pungent and smoky, very pleasant and enticing; fruit is fresh, sweet and has similar length to the 2002 but with the added bonus of going beyond it with some attractive savoury/fungal notes and some cigar box complexity, which I assume will grow in prominence and interest. Very smart wine; I think better than 2002.
Martinborough Vineyard
2000
Light mid red; nice to look at; smoky secondary notes dominate the nose with some subtle florals too; very good, ageing palate, sweetness nicely balanced with nutty ageing characters, very attractive just now; acids are fresh but palate appears to be at its zenith; a lovely savoury mid palate; a cracker over the next couple of years.
2001
Mid red, some fading, brilliant clarity; a whiff of alcohol on the nose with some attractive floral notes; much better balanced than many 2001s; will become similar in flavour in about two years to the 2000, but with the bonus of a bit more palate weight; some pooey flavours too, which adds to the joy. Drink through to 2011.
2003
Similar colour to 01; some lovely vanillan notes and dark fruit on the nose; a stately, reserved pungency; excellent balance; there’s heaps of fruit, which cascades across the palate; darker pure fruit characters now, which may pick up some of the meaty/savoury notes of the previous vintages, but still a pretty primary expression. An impressive wine that will drink well through 2013/14.
Neudorf; Home Vineyard
2000
Fading into brown; burnt coffee oak on the nose and some barnyardy background notes; no florals nor fruit on the nose; nice but simple savoury/sweet palate that is probably at its peak for attractiveness; I doubt there was ever much primary fruit character, perhaps some in the simple strawberry end of the spectrum. (Some subsequent discussion about oxidation; perhaps some bad bottles).
2002
Light-to-mid red, fresh; sweet vanillan oak dominates, with some nice florals present too; good balance and attractive sweet fruit, which becomes a little cloying in conjunction with the rather obvious sweet oak characters; a simple palate; drink now to end of 08. (20 minutes later the acid was showing more prominently, and tannins).
2003
Brilliant dark garnet; smoky, slightly sweaty, sweet oak again; good texture initially, quite taught and interesting on the palate with some dark fruit expression; then the tannins get quite grippy and begin to dominate the fruit; will this fall apart and become simple like its predecessors? I think perhaps.
Flight 2
Dry River
2001
Dark maroon; spicy, almost cakey nose; quite pungent, suggesting quite dense, sweet fruit; there is a hint of pinocity, which isn’t always present in Dry River pinot; lovely balance; great texture; very attractive fruit in the roasted plum end of the spectrum; slightly chewy finish; will be at its best in perhaps 09/10.
2003
Very dark, dense, hinting toward black in the centre; spicy vanillan oak and some alcohol on the nose; violet fruit in support; spicy, chewy entry with acid predominant and fruit rising to tarry notes; it’s quite tight and has a lot to give up before resolving into a really pleasant drink; underpinned by a really tannic grip on the finish; unclear what sort of flavour characters will develop with time; I’m not sure it will become very attractive; would love to see what’s become of it in about 2012/13.
2004
Mid red, much lighter than its predecessors; a cloying, sweet, sweaty jujube nose with a little oak and quite attractive florals in support; medium weight; chewy entry and a grippy finish; fruit is raisined, with some simple plum skin characters and showing a bit thin just now; don’t know what will become of it; even less optimistic than I was of the 2003.
Fromm; La Strada Fromm Vineyard
1996
Still quite a dark mid-to-deep red; nail varnish and violets with floral hints; hugely tannic entry; stalk and pith crowds out some quite attractive plummy fruit; a minerally/metallic acidic finish which is not at all attractive, and the tannin in the cheeks just won’t quit; no surprises for why it’s controversial.
1997
A little lighter than 96, but very similar structure to look at; ripe plums, sweet oak and some sweet spice; attractive; again, great whacks of tannin, although this is marginally finer; oaky characters overlie the fruit; palate spectrum matches the nose; quite a simple wine; again the acidic finish but less marked than the previous wine; if it hasn’t begun to calm down and come into balance now, will it ever? I suspect not.
2001
Bright mid-to-dark red; clean, focused nose of dark flowers and an almost young-vines type sweetness; suggestions of alcohol; still tannic and chewy, but much less so than the two older wines; fruit is juicy and clean; the finish more graceful; a step up stylistically but to varying degrees all three wines lack pinot noir finesse or typicity.
Pegasus Bay; Prima Donna
2001
Quite dark red; wafts of attractive sweet secondary, mushroomy characters with some nice floral notes in the background; swirling delivers some attractive plum fruit; the fruit on entry is a little flat, but nice weight and the wine is quite well balanced; tannins are fine but perhaps a bit prominent, leading to some real chewiness in the cheeks; in terms of where the wine is at I suspect it’s somewhere in between a primary fruit meets earthy complexity phase – neither is winning just now, which leaves the palate a bit ho-hum.
2003
Quite bright mid red with purple hints; light vanillan characters with violet florals; quite a clean, linear nose; very attractive lifted plum fruit with hints of cherry and vanilla on entry; very clean; nice acids; tannins are ripe and in fair balance; attractive and graceful; there is less indication than one often gets with Pegasus Bay as to what sort of secondary characters will emerge; perhaps the cleanest, most new world style pinot of there’s I’ve tasted.
2004
Identical colour to 2003; very attractive, sweet, quite intense nose, showing some vanillan oak but lovely pinot florals; entry is quite chewy/acidic but there is very good fruit there, not yet fully resolved; not great length but this may improve too; this is a serious but graceful wine that I expect will look far more attractive by 2009 and a few years beyond.
Quartz Reef; Bendigo Estate Vineyard
2002
Dark garnet; brilliant; good pungent pinot typicity suggesting quite dark fruits and attractive lilac characters; very intense, sweet, slightly stewed entry with vanillan background; good texture and lovely sweet finish; quite graceful after that intense, but clean attack; a smart wine, very new world in the purity of its fruit – and this is at five years old. It’s holding very nicely, but I’m a little doubtful there will there be the bonus of attractive secondary/savoury notes with time.
2003
Mid red, a little faded looking; clean pinot florals again, similar to the 02 but slightly less broad and pungent; also a little hint of varnish; varnish is carried through further on palate; tannins a little more prominent, if a little finer; makes the wine feel a bit disjointed fruit and acid on entry – pause – then tannin arrives; quite a taught package still; perhaps better in two or three years.
2004
Mid red; boy oh boy, at least he’s consistent – very similar characters to the previous two, although perhaps suggesting the lightest structure of the three; more blue floral notes too; I think the best balance of the three; tannins a bit prominent but all three foundations line up at the front palate and unfurl themselves well across the palate.
Some random comments:
The Quartz Reef wines were certainly smart, but for my palate (and it’s probably an Otago thing more than a house thing) they’re almost too clean and clinical. That sometimes crystalline purity of fruit doesn’t seem to have within it the capacity to develop into really multidimensional pinot with age. I’d really love to be proved wrong.
Burghound’s Allan Meadows summed up my feelings on the tasting very nicely. To paraphrase him:
• There was a degree of similarity in the Martinborough Vineyard and Ata Rangi wines, “and that’s a good thing.â€Â
• The Martinborough wines showing more but well used wood whereas the wood on the Ata Rangi was virtually invisible.
• The Ata Rangi wines showed good detail, they were linear and delivered a sense of tension.
• The Martinborough Vineyard wines were slightly softer.
• You don’t get the same textural interest in the Otago wines as you get from the Martinborough wines.
• Neudorf: “the wood is too much.â€Â
American wine commentator Anthony Dias Blue’s paraphrased summation was:
• “Without doubt the two Martinborough wines showed best … the most serious, interesting and complex pinots on show … [they showed] “controlled ebullience; power and magnificent inner strength.â€Â
• The fact that Martinborough has been planted in pinot longer is showing through.
• Otago in more of a development phase just now … getting it together and understanding their terroir.
• “While Felton is blossoming and discovering their character; the Martinborough wines are already there.â€Â
Halliday:
• Good to see a house style developing in each winery.
• Nice control of alcohol in the wines.
An old school friend who works for Craggy Range in the UK said to me after the first flight that you could stack the Ata Rangi and Martinborough Vineyard wines up against Premier Cru Burgundy and they’d foot it just fine. Given that he’s a trained winemaker and is currently striving for his MW I thought it a pretty strong recommendation.
Cheers,
Nick
