Tim and Judy Finn celebrating 30 years of winemaking

I cannot think of another New Zealand wine producer that has been making top wines across their entire range as consistently as Neudorf over three decades. Chardonnay is the star with Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc very close behind.

To celebrate this significant milestone Tim and Judy presented vertical tastings of selected wines over the last decade for their Moutere Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noir.

Here is a brief summary of my tasting notes:

Moutere Chardonnay (08, 04, 02 and 99)

Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay is in a class of its own. It’s could easily be (and has frequently been) mistaken for Puligny Montrachet, or at least very good white burgundy. My favourite was the 2002. Not as powerful as the 04 or 08 but pure burgundy from head to toe and exhibiting real power with great subtlety. A truly beautiful wine. The 99 (the only wine under cork) was the least impressive and probably approaching the end of its life although still giving great pleasure.

Moutere Pinot Gris (09, 04 and 01)

I love the purity of flavour and textural qualities in all the wines. All showed a little sweetness but it was beautifully managed by sugar-coated tannins to give a drying, though not tannic, finish. There are also hints of spice – perhaps star anise? The 04 was my marginally top wine closely followed by the 09 with the 01 only marginally behind. All are under screwcap.

Moutere Riesling (09, 05 and 02)

I recall staying with Tim and Judy a couple of years ago when Tim served the 05 Riesling with dinner. I was profoundly impressed with the wine. Tim shrugged his shoulders and said “the current vintage (07) will be exactly the same with a bit of bottle age”. I bought a case.

The 05 was my favourite. It balances sweetness against beautiful fruity acidity achieving an exquisite, mouth-watering tension. I love it. Both the 09 and 02 showed similar characteristics – the 02 was still remarkably youthful.

Moutere Pinot Noir (08, 05, 03 and 01)

If Chardonnay is Neudorf’s top wine which is second, Riesling or Pinot Noir? It’s a hard call but I pick Riesling by a narrow margin although their Pinot Noir is a world class wine. I like the edginess of the Pinot – its hints of floral and vibrant acidity. When I first tasted this flight the 05 was a clear winner but as the wines sat in the glass the 08 opened up magnificently. Potentially I think the 08 will be a better wine but right now I still put the 05 slightly ahead. The 01 and 03 were lighter/more elegant styles with 01 my preference.

Neudorf's Moutere vineyard

I’m in Vienna attending VieVinum, an Austrian wine fair/symposium. I was intrigued to receive an invitation from “11 Women in Wine” to dinner at the well known Eisvogel (“Ice bird”) restaurant where they promised to offer the 11 best wines they have made in the past decade.

Eisvogel is in a large, ancient fair ground. We enjoyed an aperitif in a Ferris wheel dining car – the same one that featured in the film “The Third Man” – in fact the hero, Harry Lime, dies in a dining car in the final scene. Below is a photo of the dining car near the apex of the wheel with a close-up of a couple in the next car enjoying a romantic meal for two – actually there was (appropriately) a “third man” in their dining car.

 Spokesperson, Heidi Schrock, introduced the evening with a heart-felt speech about the history and objects of the group although put her foot in it slightly when she said with a final flourish, “enjoy the wine and enjoy the women”.

In fact I did very much enjoy the women all of whom seemed to be strong, passionate and as committed to the goal of producing great wine as they were to their own families. I asked the women at my table if it were possible to taste the difference between wine made by women and those with male makers. They responded by saying that modern winemaking equipment (the fork hoist was used as an example) meant that physical strength was no longer a prerequisite to becoming a winemaker. That had opened the door for women. They talked about the benefits of sharing ideas and even equipment within the group. One woman said that a thesis had recently been written proving that wine made by women did indeed differ from that made by men. She promised to get me a copy.

Women are far more nurturing than men and as wine requires a fair bit of nurturing in vineyard and winery it seems entirely feasible that they wine they produce may reflect that.

One thing is certain. Women winemakers enjoy themselves and party harder than men winemakers.

The eleven women are show in the photo. Their names are (from left to right):

Michaela Ehn, Helma Muller-Grossmann, Sylvia Heinrich, Birgit Braunstein, Heidi Schrock, Silva Prieler, Jutta Ambrositsch, Judith Beck, Petra Unger, Ilse Maier and Birgit Eichinger.