I’ve now tasted a little over 200 different samples of Sauvignon Blanc from the 2009 vintage. It’s fair to say the vintage has been kind – I’d give it a score of eight points out of a possible ten, that’s a jump on the 2008 vintage which scored four points but not as high as 2007 which earned nine points.

Here’s my list (prices in NZ$):

1. Astrolabe 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $19.95
2. Vavasour 2009 Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc,, Marlborough $21
3. Blind River 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $25
4. Palliser 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Martinborough $19.95
5. Mud House 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $20.90
6. Saint Clair 2009 Pioneer Block 2 Swamp Block Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $24.95
7. Babich 2009 Individual Vineyards Cowslip Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $25
8. Villa Maria 2009 Wairau Valley Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $25.99
9. Greywacke 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $26
10. Saint Clair 2009 Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $32.95

Stonyridge produced the first vintage of Larose in 1985 (from memory). The current vintage retails for $220 from the vineyard according to the collector who generously opened ten vintages for a group of 21 people recently. Prices vary considerably thanks to a tiered scheme that allows loyal customers to buy at prices well below retail. It may in fact be better to buy Larose at auction. It’s my guess that the high value, longevity and scarcity of Larose encourages buyers to salt their precious bottles away rather than drink them, resulting in a buyer’s market for old vintages. The Australian wine auction Langton’s lists the following prices for the last sale of Larose (in NZ$): 2004 $118, 2003 $72, 2002 170, 2001 $103, 2000 $94, 1999 $104, 1998 $99.

I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the wines which appeared to have been stored well. Even more surprising was the absense of poor wines. Not even the occasionally stellar bottle could make up for the poor wines which were sometimes evident in the previous decade. My opinion before the tasting was that Larose had an inflated reputation. Now I’m not so sure.

Here are brief tasting notes with scores that should not be related to my normal scoring system (they are not recorded in my tasting note database) but serve only as a ranking mechanism for the ten vintages.

2007 94 points. Lovely dense and fiercely astringent wine with dark fruits and exctic spice flavours. Although the tannins were undoubtedly firm they are also fine and ripe. Richly textured with plenty of oak evident although it is adequately balanced by fruit intensity. Elegant, powerful red – packed with the energy of a coiled spring.

2006 84 points. Much softer and accessible. Obviously more evolved. Still with moderately firm tannins and flavours suggesting chocolate, green and black olive, green capsicum and red berry/raspberry. Interesting wine but a little too green for my taste (it was more popular by far than the 2006 vintage – I was the only dissenting voter).

2005 95 points. My favourite wine on the night possibly because it was remarkably Bordeaux-like – and a classy Bordeaux at that. Coffee, berry, floral and cedarwood flavours. Not a blockbuster but supremely elegant wine with a lovely chewy texture and lengthy, drying finish.

2004 85 points. Mellow, developing wine with forest floor characters on top of cedar, berry and spice plus some green notes. Fine, assertive tannins needed to be enveloped by more fruit to adequately smother them.

2003 93 points. A departure in style from the later vintages with smooth, rich and mellow flavours – almost a ”fruit bomb”. Lots of primary fruit flavours including dark and red berries, plum, floral and licorice. Very New World in style – almost luscious.

2002 90 points. Dense wine with plum/prune, blackcurrant and beef tea flavours. Similar to 2003 in style but lacking the latter wine’s length of flavour and power. Lovely silken mouth feel.

2001 82 points. Soft, light and leafy red that I found a bit too simple. Pretty good red but well below the average Larose standard.

2000 94 points. Lovely wine with a mellow texture showing the benefit of a ripe vintage and the moderating effect of bottle age. Cedary, blackcurrant flavours with aromatic floral notes. Elegance on a grand scale. Has flesh, weight and complexity.

1999 94 points. Richly textured wine with dense sweet fruit and integrated flavours. Quite complex red in perfect drinking form now – it’s hard to see how it could improve.

1998 90 points. I’ve improved my rating compared to the score recorded when I tasted this wine quite a number of years ago. Supple red in a cedary Bordeaux-like style. Finely structured but not greatly complex. A lovely drink now although it lacks the X-factor of superior vintages.

New look for Esk Valley

Villa Maria/Esk Valley/Vidal owner, Sir George, and Esk Valley winemaker, Gordon Russell, dropped around to show off the new Esk Valley label design and share some of the new release wines. The label is a great improvment on its rather old-fashioned replacement (Reserve label shown above – regular label is similar without the numbers and without the word “Winemakers” which replaces “Reserve”).

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was pleasingly intense although just a tad too sweaty to earn a top score from me. I particularly liked Esk Valley Verdelho ($22.99), a wine I’ve been fairly lukewarm about in the past. Quite complex, dry and with a pleasing mineral character. It was significantly better than a Spanish Verdelho opened alongside it (Valdeorras Godello 2008 Gaba do Xil – weighty but too phenolic and drying). A dry-ish Marlborough Riesling 2009 ($22.99) also impressed. Nice purity, great acidity (how do you descibe acidity that is the opposite of hard? Somehow “sweet” doesn’t quite work. The acid was quite strong but pure and taut – it made me shiver slightly and salivate gently – I liked it very much). A weighty and cleverly balanced Pinot Gris 2008 ($22.99) followed. A touch of barrel fermentation added extra interest to a rich, velvet-textured wine that Gordon describes as his best yet. I’ve always liked the Esk Chardonnay and the 2008 regular label ($22.99) didn’t disappoint although it was out-gunned by the deliciously complex Esk Valley Winemaker 2008 Chardonnay.

On to the red wines starting with a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec 2007 ($22.99) that punched well above its weight thanks to a cracker of a vintage. Very Bordeaux-like wine with dusty tannins and an attractive sappy complexity. Syrah 2007 ($22.99) was a wine that Gordon accurately describes as a “Shiraz for Pinot Noir drinkers” – a peppery, supple wine with silky tannins. There was certainly nothing Pinot Noir-like about Esk Valley Winemakers Syrah Gimblett Gravels 2007  which was as bold as its $60 price tag. This is a powerful red in a peppery Rhone-like style with masses of fruit supported by subtle, classy oak.

Esk Valley is in good shape under the enthusiastic stewardship of Gordon Russell.

Sir George (left) and Gordon Russell

Top-of-the line Pinot due for release in February 2010

Seresin winemaker, Clive Dougall, dropped by with an armful of soon-to-be-released Pinots that impressed. The fruit comes from three vineyards; Home (on a terrace below the winery), Tatou (5 Kms from the winery on stony plains) and the flagship hillside vineyard, Raupo, in the Omaka Valley on clay-rich soils.

We kicked off with a white wine, Chiaroscura 2007 $65. It’s an unusual blend of three varieties; Chardonnay 40%, Pinot Gris 40%, Riesling 15% and Pinot Meunier 5%. Clive explained that they hold the juice of the earlier varieties under refrigeration until all of the grapes have been picked then blend and co-ferment in barrel before the wine spends 17 months in oak on the yeast lees. It’s more about a rich mouth-filling texture than taste with attractive but rather muted fruit flavours that get a little mixed up with yeast aultolysis and subtle oak characters. An intriguing wine that clearly demands to be enjoyed with food. I liked it, awarding 93 points on the day although I’d like to taste it again blind. (Not officially reviewed because a winemaker was whispering sweet nothings in my ear). Only 30 cases made. Not made in 2008 “the fruit wasn’t good enough” but a similar blend was made this year without the Riesling.

Leah Pinot Noir 2007 $35     This is Seresin’s “commercial” Pinot Noir if you can call a biodynamically grown, hand-made red commercial. All Seresin’s Pinot’s are made using the same winemaking techniques with the vineyards making the difference. Elegant, spicy, supple wine with red cherry and wild herb flavours. Pretty good now but will probably shake off a little adolescent akwardness in another year or so.

Raupo Creek 2007 Pinot Noir $50    (400 cases mostly sold from cellar door). Fleshier, richer and riper than Leah with a much richer texture. This is a class act with fragrant cherry and floral aromas plus savoury, earthy nuacnces.

Home Vineyard 2007 Pinot Noir $50    (50 cases only) Smooth, silky wine with less herb character and generally riper flavours. Integrated, lengthy, fragrant and surprisingly accessible. I liked it very much.

Tatou 2007 Pinot Noir $50     (50 cases) A big, chunky and grainy-textured wine with firm, ripe tannins. Classy red but not hugely Pinot Noir-like.

Rachel 2007 Pinot Noir $55     Made from grapes grown in the flagship vineyard – a blend of three hillside sections. Impressively sweet fruit, very concentrated, supple, and attractive. It has a Musigny-like texture which is high praise indeed. Worth the extra $5 in my view.

Sun & Moon 2007 Pinot Noir $120    (71 cases, to be released in February 2010). From grapes grown on the highest part of the hillside vineyard plus 20% of the Home vineyard. Great weight and concentration with more complexity than Rachel. Impressive length and layers of “peacock’s tail” flavours on the finish.

Clive left me a full glass of Sun & Moon with instructions to “taste it in a couple of hours”. Unfortunately Marion tipped the contents down the sink when she was cleaning up after us. Damn!!

Early development - a Waitaki vineyard in 2003

I wasn’t able to attend an extensive tasting of wines from the still new Waitaki region recently but the organisers kindly sent me a selection of the wines that featured at the tasting.

Waitaki is centred around the town of Kurow in North Otago just south of the Canterbury border. If you’re still not sure where that is it’s inland and up a bit from the coastal town of Oamaru.

The region has the feel of wine country. Unlike Central Otago it has a maritime influence although a range of hills separate it from the coast. Vineyards tend to be concentrated on the western side of the magnificent, braided Waitaki River on plains and slopes. Further to the west are the snow-capped peaks shown in the above photograph. The soils (again, unlike those of Central Otago) often have a limestone influence. They tend to be stoney and relatively free-draining.

After tasting the 14 bottles received and checking my earlier tasting notes on Waitaki wines I am becoming more enthusiastic about the region’s potential. It is a cool region that will probably struggle to achieve full physiological ripeness in every grape variety every vintage although warmer, sheltered sites might just achieve that.

The most exciting wine I’ve tasted to date (and sadly have no tasting record because it was tasted informally) was Forrest Estate 2006 (or was it 2007?) Chardonnay. This is an extraordinary wine with the purity, power and character of grand cru chablis from a good vintage. The 2008 vintage featured at the tasting but the bottle in my pack had been opened and was oxidised. I hope to taste a good sample soon.

Craggy Range 2006 Pinot Gris was another standout wine. It had intensity and, like the Chardonnay, impressvie purity. I tasted it on first release and haven’t had another chance to re-visit it as a microscopic amount was made. Craggy’s 2008 Pinot Gris is good, but not as good as the 2006.

I’m sure that Waitaki’s winemakers want Pinot Noir to be their signature wine but the best have fallen short of the standard set by Central Otago’s first division wineries. Waitaki tends to make fine-boned Pinot Noir with red fruit, floral and herb characters. It teeters on the border between being excessively vegetal and being an exquisite cool climate wine with nervy elegance.

The region’s Riesling is similarly “almost there” but needs fine-tuning to really convince me that it can challenge the country’s best.

Waitaki wines are at an exciting experimental stage. I’d like to see more winemakers move into the region and really start to exploit what appears to be pretty exciting potential.

The world's most popular Sauvignon Blanc in pill form

A few minutes ago I finished tasting 41 examples of Sauvignon Blanc from the 2009 vintage – an estimated 15% of all wines produced. 26 were tank samples. A few of those were cloudy although most had been blended and fined ready for bottling. 31 samples were from Marlborough with the rest from Nelson (4), Hawke’s Bay (2), Gisborne (1), Wairarapa (1), Martinborough (1) and Waipara (1).

I’m reluctant to post tasting notes of individual wines because they are work-in-progress. Most of the bottled samples are not ready for review with release dates months away in some cases.

However the tasting gives me a chance to assess the vintage, although that assessment may change once I’ve reviewed a wider range of more mature wines.

After an emarassingly large and extremely variable 2008 Marlborough vintage most growers and winemakers dropped crop in pursuit of quality rather than quantity. That was good news for the 2009 vintage and spelled a change in attitude which promises to boost the quality of future Marlborough vintages.

February was very wet but March had half the average rainfall and April was fairly dry. That’s good news for Marlborough Sauvignon which mostly gets picked in the first half of April although one viticulturist told me, “God smiled on the greedy this year. We did a severe shoot and bunch thinning to massively reduce crop and our grapes were at their most succeptible (for botrytis and other rots) when the March rain hit. We had an outbreak of bot. while other greedier growers emerged unscathed”.

There has been a fair amount of over-the-top praise for the vintage by winemakers who, it’s fair to say, have a lot at stake if the vintage is indifferent or bad.

I don’t believe that 2009 was a great Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc vintage. It does seem to be at least a good vintage and significantly better than the previous year but perhaps not as good as 2007. As I said before, that view might change in time.

Flavours are ripe without showing a lot of very ripe tropical fruit and passion fruit characters. Acidities are high but the wines show good purity and energy. Variation in quality was less than I expected although the handful of truly excellent wines in the tasting did stand out from the field. Their was a thankful absence of bad wines.

Two wine producers are worth a mention. Saint Clair seem to have achieved its usual high standard with its flagship wines while Pernod Ricard also deserves praise for lifting the quality level in its whole range, at least all of the wines featured in the tasting.

James Halliday, wine wizard of Oz, venturing an opinion

Just received an email from the “wine wizard of OZ” James Halliday. He was incontinent with joy at the success of Australia and New Zealand and the dismal performance of California in an international Chardonnay competition. James wrote: 

“I couldn’t resist sending you the outcome of an international chardonnay tasting held in conjunction with the Winewise annual Small Winemaker Competition.  It will probably come as no surprise to you to see that the Californian chardonnays performed as dismally as ever, and, at the other end of the scale, that Australia and New Zealand shared the first nine places (there were five Australian and five kiwi wines).  I didn’t know the Coldstream Hills was in the tasting, but was one of many who thought it was by far the best wine, with much conjecture as to what it might be.  Of course, the tasting was blind, and all the points collated before there was any discussion between the 20 judges.”

Here are the results, with average score and cost in Australian dollars (apologies for the wonky formatting):

                                                                                                                                  points

1.       2006 Coldstream Hills Reserve                                                                    18.7       $50

2.       2006 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard                                           18.3       $45 ($29 in NZ)

3.       2006 Voyager Estate Margaret River                                                           18           $37

4.       2006 Giaconda                                                                                              17.8        $105

5.       2006 Cloudy Bay                                                                                           17.7        $38

6.       2006 Kumeu River Coddington VY                                                                17.6        $50

7.       2006 Leeuwin Estate Art Series                                                                    17.4        $80

8.       2006 Ata Rangi Craighall                                                                              17.4        $60

9.       2006 Chablis Grenouilles (Louis Michel)                                                      17.4        $75

10.   2005 Bindi Quartz                                                                                          17           $75

11.   2006 Church Road Tom                                                                                  17           Not released

12.   2006 Meursault Perrières (Pierre Morey)                                                      16.9        $225

13.   2005 Corton Charlemagne (Marc Colin)                                                        16.9        $180

14.   2005 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles (Louis Jadot)                          16.7        $490

15.   2006 Peter Michael Winery “Ma Belle Fille” Sonoma County                       16.3        $140

16.   2006 Bâtard-Montrachet (Domaine Leflaive)                                                16.1        $520

17.   2005 Kenwood Family Vineyards Tor Sonoma County                                   16           $92

18.   2006 Kongsgaard Napa Valley                                                                       15.9        $180

19.   2005 Kistler Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley                                           15.8        $125

20.   2005 Mount Eden Estate                                                                                15.5        $100

Putting my feet up - for a couple of months!

Beware the deadly donkey

Falling slowly from the sky

You can choose the way you live my friend,

But not the way you die

Edward Monkton

A week ago I had a close brush with the deadly donkey. It was Saturday evening, Marion was cooking boeuf bourguignon, house guest Richard was reading a book and I was trying to decide what to drink while we watched the six o’clock news. There was just time to change the spa pool filter before we settled down for the evening. I strolled out onto the cold, rain-swept deck and slipped on a short piece of hose. My leg buckled under me.  I collapsed in agony.  Certain that I’d broken a femur I writhed on the slippery deck until Marion and Richard rushed to my aid.

I often think of peculiar things in times of great stress. It occurred to me that I hadn’t cursed when I hit the deck. Then I thought of gangster movies. If someone fires a shot and it narrowly misses its target the intended victim will often exclaim “shit”, or perhaps “shit, you nearly hit me”. If the bullet inflicts a minor wound the curse might be upgraded to “fuck!” or “fuck, I’m hit”. But if someone receives a fatal shot they never curse. Instead they utter a throaty “Aaaargh!” before dropping dead. Cussing is beginning to lose its impact. Even respectable TV presenters now utter the odd obscenity that might have once landed a man in jail. Perhaps they should consider a good old primeval “Aaaaargh” for more impact. It worked for me. I gave such a genuine, back-to-basics “Aaaarg!!” that help arrived in seconds. “Fuck” might have taken minutes while nobody seems to give a shit about “shit” anymore.

Neither leg seemed to work. If I moved a muscle I received the sort of spasm that makes childbirth look like a doddle. Eventually I was dragged inside and checked by a doctor as I downed a therapeutic glass of Moss Wood 2007 Cabernet Merlot. Spinal column intact, no broken bones apparent but there could be muscle and/or ligament damage. Four hours in the Accident and Emergency Department of our local hospital produced a similar diagnosis. I was given pain-killers and crutches despite my assurance that it was impossible for me to use crutches. They didn’t supply wheelchairs because patients nicked them.

I had a new class starting on a couple of days. Borrowed a wheelchair from a rest home and with the help of Marion; who set up, cleared up and chauffeured; it was a success.

Returning home at 9.30pm I called a friend and orthopaedic surgeon for his opinion. I explained how the accident happened to which he said, “I know what it is, I’ll be there in five minutes.” I’d apparently, and unusually, broken the quadriceps tendons in both thighs. I needed an operation or I’d never walk again. “Be at the hospital by 8am tomorrow morning”, I was told.

I quite enjoyed a spell in hospital. The food was crap but the portions were so small they tasted great. Didn’t feel much pain, slept a lot and read a bit. Marion arrived with a bottle of decent wine every evening but seldom had more than a sip – plastic tumblers kill good wine.

HIGH POINT:  While giving me a sponge bath at 3am the night nurse commented, “You’re in quite good shape for a man your age”.

LOW POINT:  Back home. Hadn’t had a shower for a week (but was enjoying the sponge baths). A ramp had been constructed to allow me access to my shower. I stripped butt-naked and taped a plastic rubbish bag to each leg to protect my leg braces. The wheelchair wouldn’t go up the ramp. Marion grabbed her camera but couldn’t focus due to tears in her eyes. I was in a dark mood for the rest of the evening.

I’ll be in leg braces for 6-8 weeks then in rehab. for a while to get my legs working. At least the deadly donkey didn’t make a direct hit.

I’m a keen but very amateur photographer who seldon takes anything other than wine-related subjects. I’m immensely impressed by the very professional work of Kevin Judd, wine photography specialist. When Kevin invited me to join him on a photoshoot during a recent trip to Marlborough I jumped at the chance. He’s already found the spot to photograph – a high point on Yealand Estate’s Awatere vineyard that looks east out toward the sea and the rising sun. We had to be there just before sunrise – around 6pm. Upon arrival we drove rapidly up and down the vineyard looking for the perfect spot to set up. Having found the spot and set up the gear it was just a matter of waiting. Of course it helps if you’ve got a high-end roll-film camera, a stout tripod and a four-wheel-drive with a ladder giving roof access. I on the other hand had my trusty Canon D20 SLR, a borrowed tripod and thin jersey which didn’t really keep out the cold. As the sun rose Kevin began to press the shutter, framing each shot with different shutter speeds to get the perfect shot. In around 30 minutes he filled three rolls of film – for one photograph!! I on the other hand took 150 very different shots – most of Kevin. To tell you the truth I didn’t want to compare my effort of the sunrise shot against Kevin’s. I might never have clicked a shutter again.

Yealands vineyard and coast

According to Kevin taking good photos is easy. All you need is good gear, you must know how to use it and you have to be prepared to get up before sunrise.