New Zealand’s pinot noirs gaining a solid reputation
7 May 2010
By Bill Zacharkiw, Special to The Gazette May 7, 2010
I was sitting with Bill Spence at the gala dinner at the Vancouver Playhouse Wine Show a few weeks ago. Spence is considered by many as one of the forefathers of the New Zealand wine industry, having planted his vineyard, Matua, in 1974. He is gregarious, outspoken and has a wealth of knowledge. My kind of guy.
We were having a very animated discussion about wine in general, and as we were sneaking out of the gala to watch the end of a hockey game in the hotel bar, the topic switched to pinot noir. I mentioned that my favourite New Zealand pinots come from Central Otago. “You have to be crazy to plant there,” said Spence. “Way too marginal.”
I was invited to Vancouver by the New Zealand Wine Growers Association and take in a few seminars about New Zealand wines. And over the week I learned a lot. I tasted some remarkably good merlot and syrah from the region of Hawke’s Bay, as well as a number of more aromatic whites, including riesling and gewurztraminer. I drank a whole lot of sauvignon blanc, which should not be a surprise as it is the country’s most planted grape. And while I got a good sense of what the different regions have to offer, the grape that really seemed to best translate the subtle differences in climate and soil was pinot noir.
New Zealand is fast gaining a solid reputation for its pinot noir. Total plantings are up over 300 per cent since 2001 and export sales of New Zealand pinot noir have risen over 500 per cent over the same period. While it is still far behind sauvignon blanc, it is the country’s second-most planted varietal.
On the surface, New Zealand seems like the right fit for pinot noir. Its southerly latitude places it as one of the cooler growing countries in the world, which, in general, is the right climactic condition for growing this temperamental grape. Heat is the enemy of pinot noir as too much can cause it to ripen too fast, resulting in grapes that lack in both acidity and aromatic complexity.
But the difference between the great and the good when talking pinot noir is a fine line. I have tasted pinot noir the world over and despite having tasted some fine examples from every country, for me the reference is still Burgundy. It is there that the wines best show that precarious balance between acidity and tannin, fruit and earth flavours, delicacy and power. Great pinot is a high-wire act – it is all about balance, and even the slightest wobble to one side or the other can mean failure.
The reality is that to achieve this balance, the grapes must be grown in the most marginal of climates. I saw this firsthand in Australia. While the relatively cool Yarra Valley is known for its pinot noir, to my taste the real excitement was to be found much further south in Tasmania. When I was there, nearly every region had already picked their grapes. But in Tasmania, wine makers were crossing their fingers that their grapes, which were still on the vine, would ripen.
So like Burgundy, every vintage is a bit of a crap shoot, where wine makers have to anxiously see what Mother Nature deals them.
And this is what Spence was referring to when he said the Central Otago region was way too marginal. Located on the southern tip of the southern island, the climate can be extreme. Its climate and relatively high altitudes mean that the vineyards are threatened by spring and fall frosts. But at the same time, this geography allows for big swings in temperature between day and night, so the grapes ripen slower, maintain their acidity and show lots of complexity.
But that is my take and I am a Burgundy fanatic. I know a number of people who prefer a different style of pinot noir. And what I learned from my study of the different regions is that New Zealand offers a host of different styles which will satisfy palates of people that are looking for an easier-drinking fruitier style of wine.
In general, I found the acidities quite high, no matter where the grapes were grown. Not quite as high as most Burgundy, but more than the average pinot noir from California.
The difference between the regions lies in the aromatics and the style of fruit. And like most new world producers, they tended to be heavy handed with the oak, which I found a bit too much at times, especially when you consider that many of the vines are still relatively young.
Young vines tend to produce lots of fruit, but are often less complex. If I had a complaint, it was that a number of winemakers were trying to make “un grand vin,” when the grapes might have been better suited to making a lighter, less oak-laden wine. But again, this is a problem I see all over the New World.
But as these vines gain some age, the wines will get even better. That being said, there are already a number of outstanding pinot noirs being made in New Zealand. So while generalities are simply that, here is my take on the different regions that grow pinot noir in New Zealand: Malborough is best known for its sauvignon blanc but it is also the country’s biggest producer of pinot noir. These wines revel in the high end, with juicy red fruits and floral aromatics. It’s a style of wine where, if the wines were not given too much new oak, they seemed to work best. Light and fresh might be the best way to describe them. There are some exceptions, and a big slap on the back to Churton in particular, which has somehow managed to make a less aromatic and fruity wine. Burgundy lovers, pay attention to this wine.
Wairarapa, which includes the sub-region of Martinborough, is considered by many the top pinot noir growing area of New Zealand. Located on the southwestern tip of the northern island, the style is fuller than that of Central Otago. The emphasis is on the fruit as opposed to earthier elements, though in some of the higher-end wines I did find some mushroom and other savoury characteristics. One of my favourite wines of the week, from Paddy Borthwick, was made in this region.
Waipara, which is just south of Marlborough on the east coast of the southern island, produced the burliest wines I tasted. This is New Zealand’s Pommard, to use a Burgundy reference, with darker fruits and solid tannins.
Waitaki Valley is one of the newer regions on the southern island, sandwiched between Central Otago in the south and Waipara in the north. I only got to taste one wine from the region, Ostler Caroline’s 2006, but it was very good. Perhaps closer to the style of Otago, the wine had slight herbal notes to go along with the redder fruits.
Central Otago, on the southern tip of the south island, produces a style of pinot noir which satisfied my more Burgundy-oriented palate. Redder fruits, mostly cherries, good minerality and, at times, some herbal notes. I found them complex, though again, in tougher vintages some of the wines did seem a bit lean at times. But when they were on, like many of the 2006 wines that I tasted, they were absolutely fantastic.