What’s on in August curation
As some of you have noticed, I have spent few days in New Zealand. It was typically snowboard/ ski trip of two sommeliers. We did not visit single cellar door but instead drunk local beers.
When in New Zealand it’s hard not to mention Pinot Noir from Centra Otago. I thought I might showcase some of the best producers from the region.
New Zealand was a latecomer to winemaking in the Southern Hemisphere, with the first vines planted in 1819. Vineyards were established in Chile and Argentina around 100 years before the first European, Abel Tasman, even set eyes on New Zealand, in 1642.
New Zealand is a tiny drop in the world’s wine ocean. In 2020, there were 39,935 hectares planted, accounting for only 0.5% of the total vineyard area globally. This positions it at number 31 in the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) table of grape-growing countries, between the less-celebrated Ukraine and Mexico.
New Zealand has surprised the Pinot-loving world with its variety of regional expressions. The alluvial valleys of Marlborough produce fresh, fruity styles; Martinborough yields a rich, savory expression; hillside Waipara offers a meaty, brooding character; and Pinot Noir from the Central Otago is powerful yet vibrant. The quality is such that even a handful of Frenchmen have started to make Pinot Noir in New Zealand, most notably François Millet of Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, in a project with Prophet’s Rock.
Central Otago represents just 5% of the country’s vineyard area but accounts for more than one quarter of New Zealand’s Pinot Noir plantings. These wines made their first global splash with the 2002 vintage, which was showcased to wine critics in London. At that time, there were just 530 hectares planted, compared to 1,930 in 2020. It was a bold, blockbuster vintage with high levels of ripeness, plentiful fruit, and liberal use of new oak. Deeply coloured wines are naturally produced here due to the high diurnal temperature ranges and the high levels of UV light, which increase the thickness of grape skins.
Rippon Pinot Noir 2012 Rippon Pinot Noir 2017 Rippon Pinot Noir 2018
Fun fact- New Zealand is the global leader in bottling wines under screwcap, also referred to as Stelvin closure. While approximately 30% of wine globally is sealed under screwcap, that figure rises to more than 90% in New Zealand. In 2001, a group of New Zealand winegrowers, including MW Michael Brajkovich of Auckland’s renowned Kumeu River, spearheaded a movement encouraging all of the country’s wines to be bottled under screwcap.
