Sanjay, the Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay, from Nelson, is one of NZ’s best, I’m not sure how well known it is outside of NZ. They also do a good pinot noir of the same name.
Peter, good to see you posting again. Are you out again in December?
A lot of buzz around Greywacke, here’s a TN:
2012 Greywacke Pinot Noir- New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough (7/22/2014)
Colour deep red. Attractive perfumed nose with aromas of strawberries, red and black cherries, red currants, with a top note of dark florals (perhaps violets). Also some spices, musky and soil aromas, with a little toasty oak showing. Below medium weight on palate but quite a nice, relatively complex flavour profile, including strawberries, red cherries and mulberries. Taut and elegant with attractive tartness and some savouriness on the finish, reasonably detailed. Good volume and acidity. Well balanced, with subtle oak treatment and fine grained tannins. Reasonable length. Drink in 6-8 years. (Made by Kevin Judd, ex-winemaker at Cloudy Bay with Marlborough fruit). (91 pts.)
I’m coming to this thread late having spotted the name of a poster from the past. How are you Rauno?
I would rank Dry River as my number one. Admittedly the wines take more time to come around but isn’t that the beauty of Pinot noir? I also agree that Martinborough is the area producing the Pinots with most finesse long term. I love Schubert for the delicate, almost German style. Martinborough Vineyards is pretty consistent. However, I really like Pegasus Bay’s style and was impressed by others in Waipara. Mountford being one and the little known Waipara Springs another.
In Central Otago I can’t say I’m a fan of Felton Road. Always feel it is trying too hard to impress. Probably the nicest wine I had from there was Mount Edward but what happened to the Gibbston Valley winery? That was reliably good.
Not convinced about Marlborough or Nelson for Pinot noir.
Kusuda is a great winery but the Syrah is more amazing than the Pinot.
A friend brought me a bottle of Bell Hill and that was very impressive but I would love to try Pyramid Valley.
I think we’ve not heard enough about Schubert. Along with Ata Rangi, Escarpment and MV’s reserves I think they are on the top tier. I urge Kiwis in-country to check them out.
I would add Neudorf Moutere, Craggy and Greywacke very close behind.
Good to see you on the board Jon. I’m keeping well and trust you guys are too
We’re on the same page re Felton Road. I must get out and try some Schuberts. Gibbston still makes reliably good wine and I think they’re all biodynamic now.
We brought back more Felton Road than anything else on our last trip there in July of '09 so its been a little while. We still have a few bottles of Block 3 and 5 in the cellar. Our other favorite from the trip was Seresin. Old school winemaking really made the wines shine. I think the Leah was our favorite from them.
FYI Advintage have 2007 mountford estate pinot and Chardonnay for $20 at the moment as a mystery wine. Waiting on some sample bottle before committing to buying more as I’ve heard talk of oxidation.
You guys are killing me! Felton Road “trying too hard to impress”? Believe me, there are few wineries that are not trying to be impressive…
In its locale (and well beyond), Felton Road is highly respected for not only their winemaking, but also their grape growing - those in the know credit their fruit for the usually superior bottled products they put out.
Have to agree with most of the rest of what you say, though with a few exceptions. Dry River? Can be almost un-Pinotlike at times. Mt Edwards? Beautiful wines (disclaimer: they made a wine for me once). Gibbston? Have had some really good ones, but they may be hampered by a growing area that is not consistent as their wines vary from year to year.
Year in and year out, young or with age, the wines of Felton impress me.
(And, Rauno, you are an admitted white Burgundy and Bordeaux guy!) (If I remember correctly…)
Why don’t I really like Felton Rd? Not sure. I found their Block 5 just too intense in a herby way when I tasted it in NZ circa 2003-04. I tried their whole range a couple of years later at a tasting in the UK and thought that they felt a little unripe compared to other top producers. I know they have a lot of critical acclaim and their vineyard & winemaking team were involved in advising and setting up a lot of other boutique operations in Central Otago, but the wines never impressed me enough to want to put them in my cellar. I never bought a lot of Central Otago Pinots when I lived in NZ, always prefered Martinborough and Waipara’s more restrained, balanced style.
Another great NZ Pinot noir, perhaps not consistently great but sometimes stunning, is Danny Schuster’s.
Here’s a question. Is Felton Road as high up in people’s estimation among New Zealanders as it is among Brits and Americans?
Yes definitely. In the top NZ Pinot noirs for everyone I know and in local reviews. I’m attending a vertical of Felton Road next week and will post some notes. It should be very interesting.
I’ve said it a few times - FR has failed to impress me enough to be in the “top three” say. The wines are slick and taste great (if somewhat characterless) young, but I’ve had few that lived up to my cellaring expectations. I know I’m in the minority, which is handy when “Block” bottlings go for $150 north at auction
I also agree that DR is not PN-like (particularly lack of florals, delicacy) and is kind of in its own category. Including it in a discussion of “best NZ PN” simply highlights people’s palate preferences rather than shining light on PN.
Coming back to “consistently best” I struggle to see how any other winery beats out AR’s track record - basically no “bad” wine across vintages (back to the '95 say), ability to improve with age, and for me in most vintages (after 7+ years) in the top 5 or so wines. I can see people saying something similar about FR, but that would be different 7+ year-old bottles from the ones I’ve had. Of course, criteria will be different. Kusuda, Bell Hill et al may all be “better” down the road, and produce individually brilliant vintages, but they are not (yet) consistent.
PS @ Peter: Yes, white burg is #1, and my comment re bdx was more that the (small handful) top reds I’ve had (i.e. really really wow) have been old bdx rather than bgdy. Beyond that top handful, I find “2nd rung” bgdy better than “2nd rung” bdx (for my tastes, of course). I don’t think that makes me a bdx over burgundy guy
I agree with Thierry. Felton Road’s Block series are one of the few NZ pinot noirs on allocation and very sought after and typically very highly rated by NZ critics and consumers.
As Rauno points out, Felton Road is a newer venture than say Ata Rangi. Jon, I wouldn’t judge FR on their 2003/4 pinots. I think Blair would say, as a younger vineyard, that they have come a long way in the last 10 years!
I have bought Ata Rangi pinot noir every year for the last 20 and agree with Rauno that they have achieved great consistency. I did a 10 year vertical of AR a while ago (2001-2010) and it was fascinating, with the vintage variation, but the terroir showed through them all. A lighter year, the 2004, is still drinking well and the difficult 2005 is starting to come around … I would put them right up the top with Felton Road as my top two NZ producers.
Also, recent posts on this thread suggest I should revisit Schubert … it’s been a few years …
2005 Villa Maria Pinot Noir Taylors Pass- New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough (8/26/2014)
A well-regarded wine on release … Under screwcap. Marlborough fruit. A nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, red and black cherries, a little spice and some dark chocolate. Showing a little secondary development. On palate, silky succulent, juicy black berry fruit flavours. A Central Otago-type feel with good power and concentration. Some sappiness, savouriness and hints of mocha and dark chocolate. Still fairly primary flavours with no underbrush, tobacco or other secondary flavours. If I’m picky perhaps the wine is a bit one dimensional and lacking detail. Re-tasted two days later the bouquet had died down but the palate had not moved. The drinking window is difficult to predict - I’d drink in the next 5 years as the wine feels to be at a tipping point. (90 pts.)
