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

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