Te Mata Estate's John Buck

Chairman of Te Mata Estate Winery, John Buck, OBE was honoured as the latest inductee to the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame at a glittering black tie dinner celebrating the 2012 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards in Auckland last week.  About time too.  Where New Zealand wine would (or wouldn’t) be without the tireless pursuit of excellence demonstrated by Buck and his team at Te Mata doesn’t bear thinking about.  From developing what is now Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers and initiating the Hawke’s Bay Charity Wine Auction (which has raised over $2 million for Cranford Hospice), to Chairing the New Zealand Wine Institute through the exciting, turbulent early to mid 1990’s, Buck has always been a million miles an hour.  He regularly criss-crosses the globe spreading the word about New Zealand wine while any notions of him slowing down these days are quickly dispelled by anyone witnessing him charging up and down the sidelines of the Havelock North Rugby Club on chilly Saturday mornings cheering his grandchildren on.

Though still just a puppy compared to the centuries-old brands it competes with internationally; with each passing year since John’s first vintage back in 1982, Te Mata Estate cements itself further into the foundations of what constitutes a great winery of the world.  I’ve lost count of how often I’ve heard its flagship wine, Coleraine being referred to as New Zealand’s greatest red wine, and in all honesty if I hadn’t been introduced to that wine one fateful evening back in 1993, I wouldn’t be in this job today.  I’d probably have ended up as a computer painter or a professional fitted-sheet folder or something.

Over the years Te Mata wines have been reviewed by the world’s most influential wine critics, yet there’s one endorsement he’s particularly proud of.   At a tasting held in Christchurch recently, Buck revealed he was basking in the glory of having received “the single greatest review we’ve ever had” he chuckled.  It turns out Te Mata is now the star of a new Mills and Boon bodice-ripper titled ‘Taken By the Pirate Tycoon’ by prolific kiwi romance writer Daphne Clair. According to Buck, during a steamy seduction scene featuring her heroine, comes the sentence “Te Mata Elston Chardonnay” she noted “Not a cheap wine”. Powerful stuff indeed.  You know you’ve made it when you’re mentioned in Mills and Boon.

Lindauer deserves our Love…

Lindauer Brut NV

I can’t believe I spent so many years knocking Lindauer.  For most of my 20’s when I was desperately trying to look flash in front of my friends, labels were everything.  Expensive meant quality and as far as sparkling wine was concerned unless it was over $30 a bottle and/or French then it wouldn’t cut the custard.  What an idiot I was. All those years spent cringing at the thought of bringing something more budget to the BYO meant I missed out on celebrating what sensational value for money New Zealand’s favourite fizz delivered.  It was never a quality issue because I’d always enjoyed the taste, it was just some silly idea I had that because it was cheap and had swirly letters on the label that it wasn’t cool enough.

Yet each year Lindauer continues to leap ahead in the quality stakes across all tiers and styles, gathering coveted four and five star ratings in the glossy magazines and filling the trophy cabinet with all manner of medals.  Earlier this month good old Lindauer Brut NV (rrp $12.99) took home the Champion Sparkling Wine Trophy at the 59^th Royal Easter Show Awards.  During the actual judging which took place in February, the Lindauer Brut NV* and the Lindauer Special Reserve Blanc de Blancs NV (rrp $19.99) were both awarded gold medals in the same category, cementing their place as excellent examples of their type.

In recent years I’ve become a huge fan of the Lindauer range, and I’m particularly partial to the Rosé and the Cuvee Riché.  All the wines have delicious citrusy, nutty notes, delicate minerality and satisfying, mouthfilling texture – and I have absolutely no problem serving any of them at even the swankiest of soirees because the overall quality at every price level is just so good.

In fact the whole level of quality in New Zealand sparkling wine has lifted this year according to Deputy Chair of Judges, Mike DeGaris, and for the first time in the Royal Easter Show’s history six gold medals were awarded to Methode Traditionnelle wines.

“The secret to Lindauer’s success is in the wine making” says Jane De Witt, Lindauer’s North Island Operations winemaker. “Our wines are made from traditional champagne grape varieties that are grown in the cool maritime Hawkes Bay and Gisborne climates, and we use an authentic method of bottling wine for its second fermentation. We’re very proud to make amazing wine that everyone can enjoy at any time,” she says.  I’ll drink to that…

*NV is short for ‘Non-Vintage’ which means the wine has been created from selected portions of base wines which were made in different years and kept in the cellar for the purpose of being included in sparkling wine blends.

 SIP OF THE WEEK

Gladstone Vineyard Viognier 2011 $27 (5 stars)

A stunning wee wine with lovely apricot, jasmine, peach and mandarin peel aromas followed by a deliciously clean, crisp and juicy explosion of stonefruit and spice flavours.  A super tasty example from the Wairarapa all nicely knitted together by enduring, textural length of flavour.  Sensational stuff!  www.gladstonevineyard.co.nz

Gladstone Vineyard Viognier

Te Mata Awatea 2010 $33 (4.5stars)

A must-have for anyone even remotely interested in possessing incredibly good red wine.  Just released, this vintage is a blend of 42% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 12% cabernet franc with a 6% splash of petit verdot to lift the aromas of dark fruit, lavender and leather.  In the mouth it is juicy, fleshy and warming with delicious dried herb, cocoa and raspberry notes on the finish.  Although designed for the cellar, it’s drinking nicely now. www.temata.co.nz

Te Mata Awatea 2010

Saint Clair Marlborough Gruner Veltliner 2011 $21.50 (5 stars)

Saint Clair have really set the standard here with a wine that is seriously exciting.  Perfumed with punchy white peach, wild flowers and flinty minerals, it has crunchy citrus and juicy, succulent stonefruit flavours in every sip.  I love it – and its absolutely awesome with pan-seared groper on citrus mash smothered in buttery beure blanc sauce; more please!  www.saintclair.co.nz

Saint Clair Gruner Veltliner 2011

Villa del Vento Reggiano Lambrusco Rosso Secco $11 (3.5 stars)

Forget those memories of the  sweet, sickly red Lambrusco’s of the past and embrace this crisp, tangy, deliciously dry example.  Made from Salomino grapes, this is traditional Lambrusco that the Italians drink.  It has a fabulously fruity, spicy, spritzy mouthfeel and lovely length of flavour plus at only 11% alc, it’s light enough for lunchtime.  Available from www.mediterraneanfood.co.nz

Villa del Vento Reggiano Lambrusco

Andrew, Max and Dave from Auburn Wines

I love the first line on the Auburn Wines website “We grow Riesling. We craft Riesling. We love Riesling. A lot.” A. Because it intrinsically explains why they chose to become New Zealand’s only riesling-exclusive winery, and B. They used the words “A lot” instead of the words “Bigtime”, “Totally” or “Fully” which they easily could have because with their wraparound shades, beanies and cargo pants, the Auburn crew (girls excepted) all look like be-whiskered Gen-Y snowboarders. Part of the recent Summer of Riesling celebrations involved spending a good few hours tasting my way through sixty seven of the nation’s finest examples region by region from driest to sweetest.  Normally at events like this wine writers methodically swirl, sniff, sip, spit, then scribble down a few notes before moving on within a minute or two to the next wine, however by the time I got to the Central Otago table there was a crowd of writers local and international who’d stalled at one wine – the Auburn Bendigo Riesling 2011.  I’d never tasted an Auburn wine before and it was, in a word, sublime. “I think, in a previous life, I may have been a Riesling grape” says 29 year old vigneron Max Marriot who joined forces with overseas-based kiwi riesling fanatics Dave Paterson and Andrew Burge to create Auburn back in 2008.  How they make the risky, one-variety model work is that they only produce small volumes off unique sites from sub-regions such as Bannockburn, Alexandra, Lowburn and the aforementioned Bendigo. “Riesling has the uncanny ability to coax individuality and expression from its chosen site, whether it’s heavier clay soils, wind-blown loess or weathered schist gravels” adds Max whose passion for riesling “tumbled over me like a recurring wave” as his winemaking career developed.   According to Max the more he tasted, the further enamoured he became with the versatility, balance, longevity, purity and loyalty to its origins of riesling. “No other grape expresses the shoes it wears like Riesling. And with its vastly contrasting landscape, higher altitude and southern latitude, Central Otago was a natural fit”.

Central Otago is also seriously dry, notching up the lowest rainfall figures in the country and the 2012 summer here, unlike the rest of New Zealand was one of the driest on record.  “Ideal conditions for grapes really” says Max. “The bunches (this year) are a little larger than average and I worry that perhaps after the dry summer, we might see more autumn rain, but we only have a month to hold out before we begin harvesting. I think the grapes tell us more about the season as they’re fermenting, rather than what we see from the weather”.

Rather than naming the company after a location or geographic landmark, the company takes its name from the core colour of the landscape and also from the region’s gold rush history and the classic subregion and station names i.e. Lowburn, Northburn, Parkburn, Bannockburn etc… This “burn” suffix refers to a stream or creek in the Gaelic language. The Auburn lads decided to partner it with Au, the chemical symbol for gold, which incidentally is the colour of the medal they deserve for doing such great things with riesling.

IMPACT

Auburn Wines Bendigo Riesling 2011 $30  With intense minerality and gorgeous honeycomb and lemon aromas it smells so incredibly inviting, followed by a burst of deliciously toasty, nutty richness in the mouth that’s edged with clean, tangy lemon meringue notes.  This wine kept changing in the glass and had real personality and persistence on the finish.  It’s a sensational wine and one that will cellar nicely over the next 5-7 years I’m sure.  For more info on where and how to buy this wine visit www.auburnwines.com

Auburn Bendigo Riesling 2011

CLASSIC

Misha’s Vineyard Limelight Riesling 2010 $27  I love the absolute purity of this wine.  White gold in the glass, this sleek and snappy riesling has vibrant floral and citrus notes on the nose followed by vivacious lemon, lime, and honeysuckle flavours which bring your tastebuds to attention immediately.  Winemaker Olly Masters is an expert in creating ‘tension’ in his wines, and he’s absolutely nailed it here with pinprick acidity adding zest and texture to the luscious, lime-laden finish.  For how and where to buy visit www.mishasvineyard.com

Mishas Vineyard Limelight Riesling

VALUE

Eden Sparkling NV $14.99 or $22 for 2  Pretty, ballet-shoe pink in the glass and created from Moscato grown in Gisborne, this new sparkling has soft berry and citrus aromas, a refreshing, tangy citrus-like sweetness and a crunchy-fresh finish.  Fans of Asti-style wines will love it because far from being fizzy lolly-water, the Eden has real zing and I’d say it’s one of the best examples on the market today.  At a positively virginal 6.5%, you’ll be able to have two glasses at lunchtime and still drive your computer and best of all it boasts a re-sealable ‘zork’ which means the fizz will last for up to 10 days (if you’re disciplined enough that is…)  Available exclusively from Liquor King stores nationwide or online via www.lk.co.nz

Larry McKenna

One of my biggest fears when I first started judging at wine shows was that I’d have to sit next to a famous wine person and be expected to converse in a clever and intellectual manner.  So when Larry McKenna himself sidled up as I stood at the bain marie attempting to grab a greasy lamb shank for lunch, I clamped up completely.  You see there are people in the wine world who intimidate the hell out of me and it’s usually because of their incredible talent, depth and breadth of knowledge and all-round flashness.  They are people who I respect immensely and desperately want to impress, which is why opening my mouth can be somewhat risky.  Larry McKenna is one of those people.  Despite hailing from Adelaide, over the last thirty years McKenna has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand’s greatest winemakers, and it’s his international success with producing premium pinot noir that’s earned him the moniker “Larry McPinot” or “Mr Pinot Noir”.  Cutting his teeth on pinot back in 1986 as the winemaker for Martinborough Vineyards and catapulting the company to international stardom when their 1998 Martinborough Reserve Pinot Noir which he crafted won a place in the “World’s Top 20 Pinot Noir’s Competition held in the USA last year.

McKenna also established his own operation, Escarpment Vineyards in 1998 with three other directors on Martinborough’s rocky Te Muna river terraces. In Maori, Te Muna translates to “secret” or “special” place and with its sweeping kilometre-long escarpment and vertigo-inducingly steep 30m drop to the river it’s an incredible site.  Under McKenna’s eye for eking out excellence from the soil into the vine, the vines are planted incredibly close to one another (6700 vines/ha) and produce a miniscule 1 kilo of fruit per vine which if you do the maths is roughly one bottle per precious plant.  Despite firmly believing Martinborough to be the location of his pinot noir-vana, during the development of Escarpment, Larry spent time consulting to pinot noir producers around New Zealand and Australia just to keep his hand in the multi-regional mix.

Anyone in the wine business will tell you that good pinot noir is notoriously difficult to make.  Even if you have the best site in the world it’s a variety that despite being one of the sexiest, most beguiling wines you’ll ever come across, it can curl up into a moody, thin-lipped, weedy nightmare if you’re not careful which is why I’m in awe of what Larry manages to produce.  Not content with the stress of trying to create just one or two great pinots from his vines, McKenna makes five.  In only the exceptional years since 2006 “the pinnacle of our winegrowing achievements” gets bottled under his ‘Insight Series’ label.   Designed for time in the cellar, tiny quantities of these wines are created from each of his single vineyard sites, and help explain his passion for expressing the individual ‘terroirs’ of the Martinborough region.

Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir 2010

March 1^st saw the release of his famous five from the 2010 vintage which according to McKenna was an exceptional year in Martinborough.  The Escarpment ‘Kupe’ Pinot Noir 2010 ($85)  is deeply dark and inky with a core of vibrant rhubarb, clove, cherrywood smoke and wild strawberry characters. Fresh acidity adds a layer of lush, textural intensity to the finish.  It’s a sexy, succulent wine with a huge future ahead of it.  The Escarpment ‘Kiwa’ Pinot Noir 2010 ($65)  has baked strawberry, red currant and sweet oak aromas on the nose and boasts lovely mid-palate presence and a deliciously spicy, tea leaf note on the finish.  The Escarpment ‘Te Rehua’ Pinot Noir 2010 ($65)  boasts ripe, juicy japonica and cherry notes and I love the multi-dimensional, slippery, silky mouthfeel of this wine.  Hedgerow fruits, spices and a hint of cocoa make this a superb sip indeed.  If you want to be completely seduced by something then try the Escarpment ‘Pahi’ Pinot Noir 2010 ($65).

Escarpment Pahi Pinot Noir 2010

  A mouthful of this wine is like tasting a handful of ripe, black cherries freshly squashed between dust-covered fingers and smeared over something old and leathery (not Joan Rivers old-and-leathery – more like a seasoned, weathered satchel strapped to a cowboys saddle)  It’s a magical wine that offers plush, succulent fruit, spicy complexity and impressive persistence of flavour.  Finally the Escarpment Martinborough Pinot Noir 2010 ($49)  is a multi-site, district-blend which shows lovely soft plum, cherry and berry flavours sewn together with vibrant, tangy acidity to create juicy length and definite drinkability.

Larry’s wines are a reflection of his passion and pedigree, but his personality is anything but posh as I found out whilst standing at that smorgasbord all those years ago.  “Hey Yvonne” he whispered into my ear, “When you’re done with that shank bone would you mind chucking it on my plate?  I’m gonna wrap up as many as I can bludge in some tinfoil and take them home for my old dog”.  We’ve been firm friends ever since.

Wild River Waipara Pinot Noir 2011 $17 

As an introduction to pinot noir for under twenty dollars, this has to be the buy of the year.  It’s very young but it’s designed to drink early and it ticks all the boxes as far as vibrant, spicy red fruits and savoury, earthy undertones are concerned.  It has definite drinkability factor and offers vaavoom for value. Available exclusively from The Fine Wine Delivery Company www.finewinedelivery.co.nz

Grape Stomper Riesling 2009 $15 

Made from fruit sourced in North Canterbury this juicy little riesling has classic green apple snappiness, a splash of sweetness and tangy minerality to finish.  A refreshing, highly quaffable riesling that’d be superb with spicy, stir fried garlic pepper prawns or green curry chicken.  Buy from www.directwines.co.nz

Grape Stomper Canterbury Riesling 2009

Herald Cove Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008 $19 

An outstanding wine for the price!  With aromas of red cherries and sweet black tea it follows with intensity, spiciness and refreshing, fruity charm in the mouth.  The label is one of the ugliest I’ve seen in a long time, but please look past that because this pinot is a cracker.  Buy from www.directwines.co.nz

Herald Cove Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008

Fresh, clean, tangy and hop-driven aromas lead to a racy, malty mouthfeel and hints of bitterness on the finish.  It has interest, personality and length  – great stuff for these late summer afternoons.  www.renaissancebrewing.co.nz

A clean, delicate pilsner with soft, lifted, herbaceous aromatics and a smooth, refreshing finish.  I really like this beer because it’s brilliant with so many different food styles and it’s ultra-long on flavour.  Buy from www.greenmanbrewery.co.nz

Codici Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2009 DOC $17 

If you’re looking for a sharply-priced, crowd-pleasing red that ticks all the boxes then it’s right here.  Plum, chocolate, spice – it’s not a blockbuster but there’s plenty of flavour going on here.  Available from www.labarrique.co.nz

Bortolotti Prosecco $18 

This is a lean, bony, delicate Italian sparkling that you should dive into immediately.  It’s a hand made, extra dry example from the Valdobbiadene in the hills north of Treviso and it’s just gorgeous with any recipes involving salty bacon or ham.   I love it!  Buy from www.mediterraneanfoods.co.nz