Central Otago Wines - anyone tried??

[mattECN]

I received a gift of the following, has anyone tried any of these wines? Any comments on cellaring potential?

2007 Chard Farm 'Finla Mor' Pinot Noir
2007 Olssens 'Jackson Barry' Pinot Noir
2007 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir
2007 Aurum Wines 'Mathilde Reserve' Pinot Noir
2009 Aurum Wines '18 Carat' Pinot Gris (Botrytis) - 170g/l residual sugar

Thanks,

matt

[TiggerK]

Nice gift.

First three are all good solid Central Otago Pinot. Chard Farm a bit lighter, drink now or over the next year . Olssens JB is great wine, give it a few more years ideally, but whenever is good. Wooing Tree was enjoyable but my tasting memory is a big vague on that one, I'd always leave a decent NZ Pinot for about 3-5 years after vintage date, give it some time to settle and hopefully get a bit more complexity.

Aurum are a respected winemaker, but haven't tried them myself.

Enjoy! I know I would.
Cheers
TiggerK

[Maximus]

Hey Matt,

Agree with TK's sentiments, though I'd be careful leaving too many Central Pinots for five years. They're a style suitable for early drinking and most are approachable in their youth; I've been lucky with the older Central Pinots I've kept, but have tasted others that have fallen over surprisingly soon.

The 2007 vintage was a cracker, so you've hit the money with your selection. Haven't tried the latest Aurum wines either, but I've been driving past them every week for the last year and will be popping down to see them on Monday - will let you know.

Cheers,

[rooman]

I visited Chard Farm back in August when I was over in Queenstown. The 2007 Chard Farm 'Finla Mor' Pinot Noir was my favourite pinot of the 3 on offer but I would leave it for another couple of years to let the tannins settle down just a little more. If you drink it now however it will still be most enjoyable.

[Wizz]

I'll vouch for Wooing Tree, I've quite liked all the pinots I've tasted from them from 05 to 07 (particularly the 07), and the Sandstorm Pinot is a beauty in the CO style too, albeit very expensive,

Andrew

[JDSJDS]

I thought the Wooing Tree 2007 was a great QPR pinot.

[via collins]

Another vote for the Chard Farm Finla Mor 2007. One of the real joys of last year's drinking for my money. Helps that it was introduced at a magnificent dinner in Wellington by a great friend. I stocked up at the airport on the way home. Those were the days, when Wellington had an excellent duty free buyer!

[mattECN]

thanks for your feedback on the above wines, I look forward getting into them!

On the same theme, I tried the following wines from Central Otago over weekend thus far:

2008 Avian Wines 'Night Owl' Pinot Noir. A fun wine, medium bodied at best, fragrent nose, nice fruits, finishing a touch short. Another year will see this improve.

2008 Peregrine 'Karearea' Pinot Gris. A heavy powerful style, viscous, touch of residual sugar, well suited to spicy asian food. I quite liked this wine, but more than 2 glasses in one sitting would be overpowering.

2007 Pergerine Pinot Noir. A step up on the Night Owl and more full bodied. Dark fruits, well integrated oak and a lovely finish to the wine. I have 2 more of these and will leave for 1-2 years. I really enjoyed this wine.

2007 Peregrine 'Karearea' Pinot Noir. Tight as a drum, not revealling a lot at this stage, was getting a bit hazy at this stage. I preferred the 2007 lesser label Pinot, but I am assured the Karearea will be a better wine after some time in the cellar.

[Wizz]

Matt, I'll chip in again on Peregrine. I liked their wines across the range, solid well made wines. The Karearea pinot gris was the only one i tried in Central that i thought was worth it. Both pinots were nice too, I almost bought some, but I had others ahead of it (Wooing Tree, Carrick, Felton Road)
cheers

Andrew

[Maximus]

Hi again Matt,

The Peregrine Karearea Pinot Gris is my style of Gris and rates up there as one of NZ's best IMO.

I got out to Aurum wines yesterday. Spent some time talking with Tony, who is the father of the winemakers Lucy and Brook. Lucy is French and grew up in Burgundy and both have worked vintages in Alsace too. I tried through their range of wines, starting with Riesling, Pinot Gris, Chard then '08 Aurum Pinot, '07 Aurum Mathilde Reserve and '07 Aurum Madeiline (sp?) finishing with the '09 sticky. Whites were all solid, Riesling a bit lacklustre and tart for mine. I wasn't a big fan of the '08 Aurum Pinot, but the other two were classy. Both premium priced wines (around NZ$45 and NZ$85 respectively), the latter a two barrel selection from older oak and I actually preferred the cheaper Mathilde (that you have); a nicer texture and more structure with the new oak component.

Interestingly, the '09 Aurum 18 Carat Pinot Gris was just a botrytis selection and not a late harvest. They harvested some Riesling late and apparently that's even sweeter, but there's bugger all available. Needless to say, the Bot Gris is a classy sticky with nice, youthful acid to keep everything buoyant on the palate.

Solid wines in general, and I think you have the two best of their current portfolio.

Cheers,

[SueNZ]

I'll put my vote behind Wooing Tree too. Tasted last week and three weeks before that and I like the way it has settled over the last year.

Echoing what was said above, 2007 was great in Central Otago and the 2008's beside them look a bit lighter and leaner. Then again - perhaps the 2008's are more 'Burgundian' in that respect. That was the opinion of an internet friend who tasted a range in Sweden last week when the NZ wine show was on.

As for Olssen's Jackson Barry - some of their other vintages have matured beautifully, and the 2007 will too.

I tasted a pretty nice Aurum 2007 last year, but don't recognise the name 'Mathilde', so possibly their standard wine. A big, big wine. Peregrine is like that too.

I haven't tasted the 2007's from Chard Farm, but a pretty reliable producer.

If you can find it, grab a bottle of Wild Earth Pinot Noir 2007 - one of my faves from the 2007 Central Otago vintage. Tasted it alongside Wooing Tree last week - both beautiful wines - still very purple - but Wild Earth just has something extra.

Cheers,
Sue

[rooman]

Hi again Matt,
The Peregrine Karearea Pinot Gris is my style of Gris and rates up there as one of NZ's best IMO.
Cheers,

During the Queenstown trip, I also got out to Peregrine and totally agree wtih Maximus re the Peregrine Pinot Gris and the Karearea in particular. They were definitely some of the best PGs I tried whilst in NZ. I was however less keen on their Pinot Noirs. I found them overly tannic and robust.

My favourite PN during the trip, other than the Felton Road, was Pisa Range. Sadly I can not recall the vintage but I am guessing it was 2007. It just had that little X factor that can make pinot so interesting. There is a very good wine tasting set up in Queenstown central that allow you to taste close to 50 odd top tier kiwi wines with a measure pour.

Mark