A touch of class

For most of us nothing plays a bigger part in the selection of the wines we drink than cost.

Imagine if the reverse were the case. That cost was not the issue, or not so much of an issue, but quality and reputation determined what we drank, as it does for people who have developed an understanding and a love of fine wine, as distinct from much of that we buy off liquor store and supermarket shelves.

It is for them that New Zealand wineries develop what are variously described as prestige, super-premium or whatever-you-want-to-call-them wines. Or they produce wines in the normal course of operation that are in the same league and command the same, in some cases even more respect.

We are talking wines that turn heads not only here but also overseas and can, in some cases, cost $100-plus a bottle. Esk Valley's The Terraces malbec, cabernet franc, merlot for instance; Craggy Range's Le Sol syrah; Te Mata Estate's Coleraine and Stonyridge's Larose, both Bordeaux-style blends; Brajkovich's Mate's Vineyard and Neudorf's Moutere chardonnay; Felton Road and Pegasus Bay's cheaper but stunning rieslings ... the list goes on.

And we are talking about anything made in Martinborough by Dry River, generally regarded by the cogniscenti as the producer of some of this country's finest wines.

Which makes a new range of premium wines released without a great deal of fuss or fanfare late last year worth more than just a casual glance – mostly because it involves winemakers Neil McCallum, the founder of Dry River, and one of the industry's younger guns, Ant Mackenzie, formerly of Spy Valley in Marlborough, now at Te Awa in Hawke's Bay.

Their partnership is the result of the Robertsons, an American family, buying Te Awa and Dry River wineries and encouraging the development of a range of serious, age-worthy wines that reflect the the Hawke's Bay climate and soils. And as the name, Kidnapper Cliffs, suggests, wines that also reflect the same high standards and reputation as the family's other New Zealand interests, luxury lodges and golf courses at Kauri Cliffs in the Far North and Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay.

Ant McKenzie, who manages the Kidnapper Cliffs project, based on 17 hectares of Te Awa vineyard, says the genesis was the production of a Hawke's Bay merlot by Neil McCallum at Dry River in 2006.

This led to the marriage of other prime Te Awa fruit to Dry River's methodical, terroir-focused approach to fine wine production and the release in September last year of five varietals and blends under the new label.

Ad Feedback They include the powerful 2008 Ariki ($55), an impressive merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, the blend that got the project moving; Solan ($30) an ample and exciting mix of 2009 Hawke's Bay sauvignon blanc and semillon; a generous and complex 2009 chardonnay ($45) which has yet to fully reveal its charms; a 2009 syrah ($55) which is quite simply one of this country's finest, a stunning wine; and a 2009 pinotage ($45) which could be mistaken by some for a robust pinot noir.

These will be followed in April by three further wines from Kidnapper Cliffs – a cabernet franc, a cabernet sauvignon and a malbec, all made, like the others, in limited quantities.

All the wines will of course be available at Kauri Cliffs and The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, at selected restaurants and bottle shops in Australia and New Zealand, otherwise only by mail order which, given their remarkable value, will probably lead to a waiting list, as is the case at Dry River.

When Neil McCallum says: "We are not here to replicate what has gone before. Expect surprises. Expect fine wines." I'd suggest it's time to forget about the pennies, to sit up, pay attention and join the queue.