New Zealand's best wines and wineries(2)
On the South Island, at altitudes that seem to have more to do with skiing than wine, you’ll find most of this country’s cult Pinot Noir vineyards — and a brilliant set-up called the Big Picture in Cromwell, where, for NZ$20 (£8), you can sit back and watch a film that flies you across the region in a helicopter, dropping into five wineries, including the actor Sam Neill ’s Two Paddocks. As the winemaker talks about his wines on screen, you get to sample them and compare notes. Maybe one day the winemakers of Bordeaux and Burgundy will come up with an idea this good. Until they do, I’m going to go on telling my wine-loving friends that it’s worth spending a day in a plane to get to New Zealand.
Whether you want to taste before you travel, pick up the best buys when you are out there, or order when you get home, here is my selection of the very best New Zealand wines by region, from a bargain at £7.99 to a real treat at £30.
Auckland
2006 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay (5/5)
Michael Brajkovich is the man who helped to kick-start the New Zealand screwcap revolution after repeatedly finding too many of his wines being spoiled by bad corks.
Today, about 90 per cent of the country’s wines are happily sealed in this way, including most of the best. This is a beautiful marriage between the rich nuttiness of great Burgundy and the tropical notes of New Zealand, built to last.
£15.50-£16.50 – for stockists, contact The Boxford Wine Co (01787 210187) .
Gisborne
2006 Vinoptima Ormond Gewurztraminer (4/5)
Made by Nick Nobilo in Gisborne, a region best known for its Chardonnay, this is a lovely example of a grape variety New Zealand does really well. Fresh and fragrant, with the spice of pepper, the fruit of lychees and the perfume of violets.
£24.49 – available from Berkmann direct (www.berkmann.co.uk), everywine.co.uk, Selfridges and Handford Wines (020 7589 6113, www.handford.net).
Hawke's Bay
2005 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Viognier (4/5)
The apricotty Viognier is a variety that likes a warm climate, and this example may also be benefiting from the stony soil of the Gimblett Gravels, which lie beneath most of the best vineyards in Hawke’s Bay. This is richly tropical, but with a good mineral note and a hint of ginger.
£17.75 – The New Zealand House of Wine (www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk).
2006 Clearview Enigma (4/5)
Made from the traditional Bordeaux combination of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this is a very Bordeaux-like wine. The key flavours are of plum, cherry and blackcurrant, but there are some perfumed notes too and a hint of spearmint. Classy and worth keeping.
£25.99 – Hellion Wines (www.hellionwines.com).
2005 Te Mata Estate Coleraine (5/5)
The oldest winery in Hawke’s Bay, Te Mata is one of the only producers in New Zealand with a track record of wines that age. This Bordeaux lookalike should reward keeping to allow its plummy, blackcurranty flavours to mellow. Stocks are low, and the 2005 will soon be replaced by the 2006.
£27.99-£28.99 – The New Zealand House of Wine (www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk), everywine.co.uk, Great Grog (www.greatgrog.co.uk), Noel Young Wines (www.nywines.co.uk) in Cambridge, and Edward Sheldon (www.edward-sheldon.co.uk) in Shipston on Stour .
2005 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels “Le Sol” Syrah (5/5)
One of the stars of Hawke’s Bay — and maker of great wines elsewhere — Craggy Range has produced about 3,600 bottles of plummy, peppery and wild-berryish Syrah to set against any top wine from the Rhône.
£29.95-£37.50 – Harvey Nichols, winedirect.co.uk, Harrods.
Wellington
2006 Palliser Estate Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc (4/5)
Most New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Marlborough Valley at the top eastern corner of the South Island. This comes from Pinot Noir country close to the capital, Wellington, on the North Island. It’s a little earthier and more “Loire-ish” than the Marlborough examples, but still packed with New Zealand gooseberry character.
£9.94, or £84 per case – Justerini & Brooks (020 7484 6400 , www.justerinis.com).
2004 Dry River Martinborough Syrah (5/5)
The Dry River winery was a pioneer of New Zealand Syrah — and its wine has been the model for a number of other producers. The use of the French name here — as opposed to Shiraz, the name by which this grape is known in Australia — is explained by a character that combines bright blackberry fruit with smoke and pepper, in a style that tastes much more like the Rhône than Barossa.
£28.44, or £273 per case – Justerini & Brooks (020 7484 6400, www.justerinis.com).
