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.

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.

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.