This is the first of a 2-part exploration of the wonderful wines of New Zealand. Click here for the second part – Fine Wines of New Zealand at Roberson

It wasn’t quite the first vintage of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc in 1985 that leapfrogged NZ into the top tier of wine producing countries, but by 1986 a legend was born. This is the emblem wine of NZ and there are plenty of fans of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in the UK and the world over. Its pungent aromas of gooseberries, elderflower, tropical fruit and searing acidity are almost instantly recognisable but NZ has so much more to offer the wine loving world. In 1960 there were less than 1,000 acres of vines in NZ, fast forward to 2006 and that figure was in excess of 54,000. Given the amount of NZ wine on the market these days its remarkable that only 0.3% of the World’s wine output.

For the record, Cloudy Bay Vineyards was bought by luxury giants Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy in 2003 and many believe it has lacked character since then. Also champion winemaker Kevin Judd left in 2009 to start Greywacke; that’s where I would choose to spend my money!
I started writing this post as I was looking forward to a tasting of some quality NZ wines at Roberson so it was done for my own education as much as yours! Here’s a quick tour of New Zealand’s wine regions.

Going from top to bottom; on the North Island we have the regions of Northland, Auckland (look out for wines from the Kumeu River sub-region), Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Gisborne (the most eastern wine region in the world!). These are the warmest of NZ’s vine growing areas producing mainly red wines made with Bordeaux varieties but also some lovely zesty and balanced Chardonnay.
Next comes Hawke’s Bay. Hawke’s Bay is NZ’s oldest wine producing area and second only to Marlborough in terms of wine production. Much of the wine produced is Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc but recently it has acquired a reputation for producing quality Rhone varieties, Syrah and Viognier. A number of internationally renowned wineries including Te Mata Estate, Craggy Range and Kim Crawford are based in the region.

The Wellington/Wairarapa wine-growing region is one of New Zealand’s smallest, with several sub-regions, which include Gladstone, Martinborough, Masterton and Opaki. Martinborough is the most recognisable name in the region, which is a small wine village located at the foot of New Zealand’s North Island, and is fast becoming my favourite region for Pinot Noir.

Now its time to move across to the South Island, where the names and regions are perhaps more famous and recognised across the wine world. We start off in the North-East in the small region of Nelson, where the focus is on aromatic white wines such as Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and of course Sauvignon Blanc. Possibly the most recognisable name in the region is Neudorf, who produce wines using all of the stated white varieties as well as one fine Pinot Noir.

Then we reach the NZ heartbeat of Marlborough, with almost half of the country’s vinous output coming from the region. The star attraction in Marlborough is without doubt Sauvignon Blanc, however don’t forget to give the Pinot Noir a go too. Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 50% of the region’s plantings, which suit the warm days and cold nights, which lead to those tropical and herbaceous flavours and aromas.

Further south we reach the Canterbury region – large in size but small in wine production. One of my very favourite producers, Pegasus Bay, is based here and I dare you not to fall head over heels in love with their Riesling! Finally we reach the south eastern tip of the South Island and home to some of the best Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy, Otago. Some people (photographers especially) also believe Otago to be the most beautiful wine area in the world. Almost two thirds of planting at given over to Pinot Noir, the remainder split evenly between Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. A couple of names to look out for here are Mount Difficulty and Felton Road, as well as my favourite Surveyor Thomson.

So there’s a quick fly through of the wine regions on NZ and here are a few of my favourite wines:

Saint Clair Omaka Reserve Chardonnay 2011, Marlborough, NZ (Wine & the Vine £16.35)
Peach, apple and honey aromas with a lovely toastiness. Good body and weight with yeasty, bready and honey notes and peachy later on. It tastes like a spicy, oven-baked peach, covered in luscious double cream, topped with nuts! Very much in the Fuisse mould of a big mouth-filling and delicious Chardonnay. 93 points

Pegasus Bay Riesling 2009, Waipara, NZ (Roberson £17.95)
Ok so this isn’t cheap but its bloody brilliant! I first came across this wine at The Providores restaurant in Marylebone and now I can buy it at Roberson, just around the corner from work! Intense lime and pineapple freshness – like crushed pineapple chunks. Lovely off-dry finish and very, very long. One if my very favourites. 93 points

Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, NZ (The Wine Society £12.50)
This is so subtle compared to so many other NZ Sauv Blancs. Lots of green pepper, balanced with grapefruit, lime and black currant. There is real tension here – thus a really electrifying wine with masses of acid but the balance is simply superb. Couple with that a length of flavour I have never before witnessed in Sauvignon; I really love it. And at £12.50 I think I’ll have a case please! 92 points

Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Marlborough, NZ (The Wine Society £16.00)
From Kevin Judd, king of NZ Sauvignon Blanc – this has everything you all love about NZ Sauvignon but with real grace and restraint. Green pepper, elderflower and passion fruit, but just so subtle and gentle. A real touch of class and elegance. Lovely. 93 points

Surveyor Thomson Pinot Noir 2009, Central Otago (Swig £23.75)
Beautiful fresh red currant aromas supported with spicy, thyme and herbal notes. Very fresh and beautifully elegant red currants, cherries and raspberries and a beautiful, long and savoury finish. 93 points

Escarpment The Edge Pinot Noir 2012, Martinborough (Waitrose £13.99)
Very delicate and pretty nose of sweet, ripe cherries, violets and just a hint of black spice. Very fresh with lovely acidity. The first taste is violets and spice and a cooling freshness, the there’s some red fruit and a pleasant, lingering finish. Kind of backwards but very tasty. Nice smooth tannins give nice structure too. 90 points

I’ve spent a fair amount of time over the past couple of months reading various opinions on the latest Bordeaux vintage, receiving emails about the quality and release prices of said wines, and generally thinking so what? I’m not into investment wine; I buy wine to drink and enjoy now. I have a few prized bottles that I picked up in The Rhone and Burgundy last year that require a few years and I’m prepared to wait for them, but that’s as far as my long term plans stretch. However when I saw a competition on Jancis Robinson’s website to win tickets for the forthcoming Bibendum tasting I though why not give it a go… And a couple of weeks later I was delighted to receive a congratulatory email to say I’d won a pair!

This was the 8th Bibendum Bordeaux tasting and took place in the wonderful surroundings of Lord’s cricket ground – I was at the test match at Lord’s a few weeks ago and didn’t expect to be back quite so soon! This is the biggest Bordeaux tasting event in the UK and is open to us mere consumers as well as those in the trade. What I particularly like about the event is a) the opportunity to meet some of the winemakers and b) each Chateau is asked to bring a second vintage if their choice to taste alongside the latest release.

With over 70 Chateaux present this was certainly the place to explore the 2012 vintage. The nursery pavilion at Lord’s is a wonderful space and the room is laid out in a series of long tables, with each of the appellations grouped together. Its a great way of establishing the winners of the vintage. Overall I found that the 2012s showed lots of fruit – plenty of blackcurrant and cassis, but perhaps lacking concentration and maybe a tad green, particularly on the Left Bank. The Right Bank appellations of Pomerol and St Emilion certainly shone but I was also impressed with Margaux and the ever consistent St Julien. But the real winner for me were the whites of Pessac – I’m new to white Bordeaux but I’m looking forward to giving these wines a fair amount of attention when I visit the region in July.

My picks of 2012 – in the order tasted (Prices are in bond per case of 12)

Chateau Calon Segur, St Estephe (£250)
Delicious mix of black fruit, violets and minerality. Very fresh with lively acidity. The second wine Calon showed was 2007 which I didn’t enjoy and was nowhere near the quality I tasted at a recent vertical tasting.

Chateau Batailley, Pauillac (£245)
Lots if fruit and freshness with good concentration. Also really enjoyed the 2007 on show. Good value for sure.

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pauillac (£700)
Very elegant by Pauillac standards, reminiscent of summer pudding. Definitely a better wine than Comtese de Lalande in 2012.

Chateau Leoville Barton, St Julien (£490)
Super concentrated, polished, with delightful minerality and spicy back notes. I think this will be a cracker in 10 years time. Langoa Barton was another good wine with bags of fruit front and centre.

Chateau Cantenac Brown, Margaux (£285)
I wrote down “best so far” after tasting this – delightfully elegant, yet muscular and beautifully structured. Lots of cassis but just a hint of red fruit too.

Chateau Gazin, Pomerol (£440)
Lovely mixture of red and black fruit, soft almost buttery texture with lashings of acid.

Chateau la Conseillante, Pomerol (£650)
Powerful and concentrated, fantastic texture and very pure fruit – delightful (the 2010 was spectacular but so is the price at £1,600 per case in bond)

Chateau Rouget, Pomerol (£265)
A fine and delicate wine, simple but delightful. The 2004 was also delicious and just about ready to drink now.

Chateau Le Prieure, St Emilion (£225)
Fruity, fragrant, concentration and very charming.

Chateau Figeac, St Emilion (£525)
Took me a while to get my head around this one as it was almost backward. Not a lot on the initial attack but a wonderful elegant finish. Lots going for it and I’m looking forward to my visit in the summer.

Chateau Troplong Mondot, St Emilion (£595)
Pure Ribena and cassis – possibly the most fruit forward of all the reds I tasted – I was amazed there is only 8% of Cabernet in the blend (90% Merlot)

Chateau de Fieuzal Blanc, Pessac-Leognan
Plenty of cuts, even tropical fruit with deliciously integrated oak. Delightfully refreshing after all those reds! 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Pessac-Leognan
Pure class with lots of fruit combines with a spicy and exotic finish.

I will happily pay for a ticket to next year’s event!

German Rieslings are notoriously difficult to decipher. The classification is based on the amount of sugar in the grapes – the higher up you go, the more potential alcohol and the more sugar, or sweetness is left in the wine, which is referred to as residual sugar:

Kabinett – light in body with high acidity and a touch of sweetness
Spatlese – means late harvest, often fuller in body and medium sweet
Auslese – more body and more tropical flavours.
Beerenauslese – individually selected, over-ripe grapes
Trockenbeerenauslese – even more concentrated, more sweet, and more expensive!

The word Trocken on a German wine label means dry – these are becoming more popular these days as wines from the German regions are becoming popular again.

I’ve rambled on a fair amount about the joys of Riesling over past few months. I’ve written about Riesling from the Old World and the New World, but its mainly been about young wines with lots of bright fruity freshness and razor sharp acidity. I’ve never written about aged Riesling. In truth I haven’t had much experience of aged Riesling…

… Until I attended a tasting of wines from legendary German estate JJ Prüm at West London Wine School earlier this week. The Prüm family have had a presence in The Mosel region for over 400 years. The estate was founded in 1911 by Johann Josef Prüm and has 33.5 acres of vineyards planted only with only Riesling. The wines are characterised by their purity of fruit as well as by their distinctive mineral character, and have a reputation for ageing superbly.

(photo courtesy of Jimmy Smith, West London Wine School)

The Fish is also a big fan of Rieslings and she joined me at the tasting, which was arranged as a series of flights. I’ve written recently about how I like to taste wines in pairs so this was right up my street. And the wines? Just wow. Read on for a full rundown of the 9 wines we tried and look at the prices; for fine wines they are remarkably good value, especially if your benchmark is Bordeaux or Burgundy.

The first two wines were Kabinetts from the Wehlener (the town) Sonnenuhr (the “sundial” vineyard). Kabinetts are generally thought as having a lifespan of about 5 years from the harvest, but the 1996 showed that even at this level, JJ Prüm wines are made to last.

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling 2011 (The Wine Society £18.00)
Delightful nose of sweet red apples with hints of citrus and tropical fruits. What hits you straightaway when you taste is the mouthwatering acidity and the flavour of apple skin, white peach and a dash of sweet pineapple. The palate is clean and fresh with a lovely off-dry finish. Delightful balance. 91 points

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Riesling 1996 (KL Wines £24.95)
Wow. The nose has intense concentrated aromas of apricot, mandarin and that wonderful whiff of petrol you get from aged Riesling. On the palate the wine is still so fresh; its so clean, almost glacial in texture, with flavours of lime and green apple, maybe a hint of pastry, tarte-tatin perhaps? The balance of off-dry sweetness and precise acid is utterly stunning. Best value wine of the night by a long stretch. 94 points

The next set of wines were from the same Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, but this time at the Spatlese level – you’ll see from my notes that I preferred the Kabinetts… I can be a really cheap date sometimes!
JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling 2009 (The Wine Society £21.00)
Lots if chalky minerality on the nose here but I’m struggling to get a great deal of fruit, maybe some apple and apricot? What’s very different to the Kabinetts is the fuller body of the wine in the mouth and the fruit is mainly limes with a touch of peach and apricot. The texture is very nice with plenty of chalky stone, with a rich mouthfeel and medium sweetness level. Still very young for a Spatlese and very closed at the moment. 91+

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling 1999 (no UK stockist)
So what does 10 more years do? The first impression are the petrol aromas but quickly complimented with hints of tropical fruit and a touch of honey sweetness. The palate has lovely texture and body but there isn’t the acidity of the previous wines and the sugar feels unbalanced. There’s some nice mango and pineapple fruit but this wine certainly has a better texture than flavour. 90 points

The next pair contained my wine of the night. We moved up to Auslese level and compared two different vineyards from the highly rated 2005 vintage. The first again from Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the second from Graacher Himmelreich, translated as “the kingdom of Heaven”… And boy is it!

JJ Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Auslese Riesling 2005 (Fine & Rare £45.20)
Oh yes! Aromas of ripe mango and apricot and its oh so concentrated and intense – so aromatic but with a delightful slate minerality in the background. On the palate the acid is like a rapier cutting through the sweetness of mangoes, limes, peaches and apricots and the subtle slate underpinning it all. The wine just has the most sublime balance of sweetness and acidity. This is masterful and the best Riesling this wine fan has ever drunk. 95 points

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling 2005 (Fine & Rare £52.80)
This has so much mineral and petroleum on the nose that I’m slightly missing the fruit, which is hiding in the background – some citrus and a touch of the tropical. The amazing thing is how it all changes in the mouth where its all about the tropical fruit, very sweet with honey and marmalade and just a bit of supporting minerality. Just doesn’t have the balance of the Graacher with just a bit too much emphasis on the sweetness. 91 points

For the last set of 3 wines, we remained at Auslese level from Wehlener Sonnenuhr, tasting a further 3 vintages, which highlighted the consistently high quality of the winemaking at JJ Prüm.

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling 2003 (Fine & Rare £38.40)
Another delightful nose of mineral chalkiness but with plenty of peach, apricot and tropical fruit to the fore. There’s a chalky, almost tannic texture here which really is delicious and all of that fruit I could smell is there in abundance. This is the wine most suited to desserts yet and there was some lemon tart on the able that was a delightful match. Marvellous and magnificent value for this quality of wine. 93 points

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling 2001 (Lay & Wheeler £50.00)
The aromas are jumping out of my glass and its lots of developed tropical goodness, balanced by the chalky minerals I’m growing to love. This has enormous levels of acidity and a surprisingly light texture. Unfortunately for me there is just too much acid and not enough sweetness… But I’m being very picky as I’m loving the peach and apricot a lot. This got the most votes for wine of the night (if not mine!) 92 points

JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling 1988 (No UK stockist)
The first thing to mention about the ’88 is the deep golden colour, which is quite magnificent. The second is the unpleasant smell! It smells musky and mouldy and I was convinced it was cork taint. If you’re brave enough to keep your nose in there it is very nutty and you can get some peach and apricot fruit. But on the palate it is marvellous! Lots of pithy, zesty orange, marmalade perhaps and them some sweet nectarine. In the mouth its so pure and glacial in texture and still so fresh with that wonderful balance of medium sweetness and still bags of laser- guided acidity. Just get over the smell, you’ll be rewarded for your bravery! 93 points

Apologies for the long food intro… Just skip to the menu if you’re only here for the wine; I will get to the dark/blind tasting bit!

As is tradition on our trip to Devon, me and The Fish cook for the guests on one of the evenings. The guests consist of Den & Jan (the in-laws), and long term Devon devotees Richard & Sue; all of whom are fans of great food, and have enjoyed plenty of top nosh by the time our turn comes around.

The plan was to go down to the tiny fish counter on Beer beach and choose what looked good and go from there. In my mind I’d planned scallops as the focus of the starter and maybe brill or sea bass for main course (I’d even picked some wild garlic earlier in the week to finish off a beurre blanc). Unfortunately the weather was against us and many of the fishermen hadn’t been able to go out in the windy conditions. Plan B consisted of a trip to Sidmouth to see what was to offer there.

The fishmongers in Sidmouth, behind the lifeboat station, were able to supply me with the scallops I was after but the rest of the fish was looking a bit tired and uninspiring. This meant a Plan C was needed! If any of you are fans of Rick Stein like me then you’ll remember the episode of Food Heroes where Matthew Fort’s brawn has gone mouldy and Rick ends up in a Sidmouth butcher to see how brawn is made… That’s where I ended up too. Devon produces some fantastic pork and I spotted the pork loin I wanted as soon as I entered the fabulous shop.

So the menu was ready:

Starter – scallops with black pudding, cockles and lemon dressing

Main – pork loin with roast potatoes, cabbage and apple & cider gravy

As I had planned to cook fish originally I already had a couple of fish-friendly whites to serve as a pair; a Picpoul de Pinet and an Albariño. The gang struggled with the minerality and light lack of fruit from the Picpoul without food but certainly enjoyed it far more with scallops. The Albariño was a winner with and without food with its thrilling fruit and seductive saltiness – outright winner of this pair (see the previous post for my new obsession with pairs of wines!)

Domaine la Grangette L’enfant Terrible Picpoul de Pinet 2010, Languedoc (Wine and the Vine £10.75)
The absolute essence of crushed up oyster shells – very mineral and just a hint of lemon and lime on the nose. It’s very steely but the fruit does show up at the end, especially with food. If you like Muscadet you’ll love this. 87 points

Sera da Estrela Albariño 2011, Galicia, Spain (Wine and the Vine £14.25)
There really is nothing to dislike about this wine. Lots of fruity intensity on the nose with apple, peach and even a touch of the tropics. All of the fruit is there in your mouth too and its quite full bodied too; a lovely texture. The fruit stays with you for quite one time and the saltiness of quality Albariño is there at the end. Lovely stuff for any occasion. 92 points

As I hadn’t planned to cook meat for the main course it meant going wine shopping! We came across and well stocked and very friendly wine shop on Sidmouth High Street, called, quite simply, “The Wine Shop”. I was hoping to find a Riesling from the old and new world but wasn’t that taken by the choice so I decided to go a bit left field. I also decided not to take my own advice (see Easter feasting) and went for two classics, two crowd pleasers… Chianti and Rioja.

Now, we’d been comparing pairs of wines all week and this was too good an opportunity to turn down. As well as seeing what everyone preferred I upped the ante and went for a blind challenge… Oh what fun they all thought! As I like to have a common theme to the pairs of wines, they were both from the 2006 vintage, and Reserva/Riserva, so each aged for around 3 years. I decanted the wines into jugs about 2 hours before dinner and asked each of the guests for their preferred wine if they had to choose. 3 went for Chianti (my choice) and 3 for Rioja. This is all going well!

We then got to the fun bit of identifying the wines. The discussion went on for a good 20 minutes before I asked everyone to make their guess, after tasting both wines. Again 3 were right and 3 off the mark. Amazingly it was the three men who got it right. But don’t worry, I’m not reading too much into that! Three of us chose our pre-taste favourite as our preferred choice of the 2 wines – one of them (no names!) chose the Chianti at the start and the end, but identified the wrong wine.

Anyway it was a fun way of drinking and discussing wine, and both bottles were very pleasant. I can’t wait until the next one!

Here’s what I thought of the wines:

Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva 2008, Tuscany (The Wine Shop £12.99)
Lots of bright red fruit on the nose with some enticing leathery and slightly earthy notes. On the palate the bright sour cherry and raspberry hits you right between the eyes and us backed to by those earthy, leathery notes. The wine has lovely well structured tannins which are soft enough but suggest you could leave for another couple of years. Would be even better with a pizza! 91 points

Ondarre Rioja Reserva 2006, Rioja (The Wine Shop £9.99)
I thought this was obviously the Rioja with the strawberry, vanilla and slightly oaky nose – very pleasant. In the glass it was very dark but the palate was very bright with the red fruit fruit bursting through with a hint if dried herbs and sweet spice. For the price it’s really very good but maybe just lacking a bit if finesse and length. 88 points

If there are a few of you together for dinner then give it a go – it certainly puts the wine at the centre of the evening and makes you realise how much you do or don’t know!