Hermitage meets Barolo…
on Waiheke Island

Hay Paddock Syrah

“A legend in the making”
Michael Cooper

“Becomes more peppery with air and a hint of tar – a distinctive style of Syrah that I have not found anywhere else. Very refined”
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com

Hi from Anto

It has long been traditional for NZ wine producers to make a wide selection of wine varieties, usually to make for a range of wines with broader commercial appeal.

But as the industry has matured and become more quality focused at the top end, the producers that are leading the way with their respective grape varieties have been very narrowly focused on only a handful of grapes, and often, just one. Names like Vinoptima, Auburn and Wooing Tree spring to mind, as well as Hay Paddock on Waiheke Island.

Hay Paddock could best be described as Chris Canning and Bryan Mogridge’s legacy. The pair are veterans of the New Zealand wine industry and long-time friends who decided to cap their glittering careers by making Waiheke and New Zealand’s most individual and potentially world famous Syrah.

But NZ Syrah drinkers need to know – Hay Paddock is stylistically worlds away from other top NZ Syrahs like Deerstalkers, Bullnose and Homage, being much less obviously fruit-driven and more ‘European’ to the taste. Hay Paddock is almost disconcertingly Rhone-like so it’s no surprise to find that Hay Paddock has massal selections from vines in Hermitage and St Joseph, including selections from the great Jean-Louis Chave’s Hermitage holdings.  This style of dry, earthy wine is extremely food friendy as opposed to your regular intense fruit-bomb style – I know from this weekend just past that the Hay Paddock 2008 goes beautifully with Peking Duck after an hour or so in the decanter…

Though the vineyard is still only relatively young, what Hay Paddock has achieved in such a short time is nothing short of mind-blowing.  Michael Cooper has already awarded them his coveted 5-Star status and Hay Paddock Syrah has already picked up International Golds at the London IWSC, the London IWC and a trophy at the Hong Kong IWSC.

I have been a devout Hay Paddock fan for about 3 years now since I first tried the 2006, and each vintage improves with vine age and winemaking experience. The 2008 I tried last week comes from what was the first of 3 “vintages of a lifetime” on Waiheke: 2008, 2010 and 2013.

Over the next 10 years as New Zealand Syrah gets more of the global recognition that critics like Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke feel it deserves, the Hay Paddock Syrah 2008 will be great additions to any well considered cellar. I know they’ll be in mine anyway…

Cheers, Anto
Anto Coates – FWDC Wine Program Manager   

Hay Paddock Harvest Man Syrah 2009

Cellar Journal Price $29.99

91/100 FWDC Tasting Panel

The Hay Paddock Harvest Man Syrah is a single-vineyard, hand-made wine which demonstrates the best of New Zealand’s – and Waiheke Island’s – ability to produce a red wine style that expresses optimum ripeness and varietal character with the distinctive minerality and spice that is a feature of our unique soils. It is a wine designed to complement food and annual production is presently limited to 2000 cases.

Smells: A pleasantly earthy fragrance of manuka honey, cured meat and violet florals.

Tastes: The palate is dry with soft, supple tannins; it has expressive flavours of plum, black berries, cracked pepper, cold cuts, with a tiny hint of barnyard complexity. Such an obviously food friendly wine that it calls to mind all sorts of potential pairings during the lengthy finish.
 

Hay Paddock Syrah 2008

Cellar Journal Price $64.99

17.5/20 Jancis Robinson
94/100 FWDC Tasting Panel

“An elegant and complex Syrah with obvious cellaring potential”
Bob Campbell MW

The 2007 won Gold and Best in Class at the IWSC in London and the 2008 is widely regarded as the better wine from the better vintage.

A wine that is already being spoken of as one of NZ’s flagship wines in only its 3rd vintage. Collectors would be well advised to put some of this in their cellar as a yardstick for Rhone Valley varieties in New Zealand. The best performing vines from a selection of clones throughout the vineyard are chosen for separate batch fermentation. Low yield, optimum colour and tannin expression are the initial selection criteria. After six months in new French oak, blending trials are undertaken with a small proportion of Petit Verdot. After fining with egg whites the wine is returned to new oak for a further period of six to eight months before being cold stabilised and bottled under cork. The bottled wine is then cellared for a further two years prior to release.

Smells: Blood red ruby in the glass, the nose calls to mind Cornas; warm earthy notes mingle with liquorice, violet and rose florals and sweet herbs.

Tastes: On the palate our first thought is ‘blood on a stone’, something along the lines of the Japanese style of cooking meat on hot rocks. The wine has an astonishingly pure minerality and savoury complexity with a juiciness and balance that indicates great potential in the cellar. Drink 2013-2020.

Hay Paddock Petit Reserve 2009

Cellar Journal Price $44.99

92/100 Fine Wine Delivery Company

Petit Verdot is one of the rarest red grapes in NZ but many of the very top Auckland producers are using it to great effect. Here Hay Paddock used 40% with 60% Syrah to craft a gorgeously idiosyncratic wine with fresh crunchy tannins and savoury complexity.

Smells: A perfumed nose showing complex black fruits mingling with fine cocoa powder and dark rose.

Tastes: The palate has a lovely crunchy character to it, showing hints of wood smoke, beef jus, plum and dark chocolate. The finish is savoury and long with hints of exotic spices.

State of the Nation:
Three outstanding cellar wines that capture the essence of NZ Pinot Noir in 2013

Hi from Anto

One of the most fascinating things about the NZ wine industry, and especially Pinot Noir, is how quickly things evolve. 10 years in NZ is like 25 years anywhere else.

It’s an exciting time to be a NZ wine collector and I’ve put together 3 wines that are among the finest examples of NZ Pinot Noir at their respective price points and styles. Interestingly, I only realised after selecting these wines that they are all from vineyards that are either fully or partially bio-dynamic…it seems the drums are beating ever louder!

I was fortunate enough to visit the producer of the first wine, Fromm La Strada Pinot Noir 2010, a few weeks ago. Winemaker Hätsch Kalberer is like the Bob Dylan of NZ wine, a kind of iconic winemaker/poet… he firmly believes his wines are living things and insists that they listen to the classical music of Verdi during their elevage. He allows the La Strada wines to occasionally listen to jazz, since they are about producing the house style at a slightly more accessible price than their stunning single vineyard Clayvin and Fromm Vineyard wines. The fruit quality is the same and as we can see from James Suckling’s rapturous reception of the 2010, the end result is equally profound. Jeff Poole recently pulled a 1999 La Strada Pinot Noir out of his cellar and it’s still drinking beautifully. At the bargain price of $29.99, I recommend stocking up on this extraordinarily age worthy Pinot before it flies out the door.

The second wine is perhaps the most crowd-pleasing and hedonistic of the 3 wines – a wine that embodies every reason why New Zealanders have fallen in love with Central Otago.  Pisa Range ‘Black Poplar Block’ Pinot Noir 2010 is from about 10 km north of Cromwell between Lake Dunstan and the Pisa Ranges. It’s the type of wine that is hard to judge objectively since it’s just so immensely tasty and likeable. But looking beyond its initial seductiveness, it has all the perfume, concentration, balance, elegance and length that makes the top Central Otago Pinot Noirs a match for any wines in the world. It represents amazing value at what has become the most highly contested price point of $39.99. Buy this in multiples of 6 or 12 and enjoy its evolution over the next 4-8+ years.

The third and final wine is a nod to the purists, the red Burgundy lovers with its hauntingly classical aromas and fully bio-dynamic production as well as being unfined and unfiltered to bottle. Quartz Reef ‘Bendigo Estate’ Pinot Noir 2011 is the latest in a successful run of vintages since 2007 that have seen this wine emerge to sit in a successful run of vintages since 2007 that have seen this wine emerge to sit in the rarefied air of NZ’s very top collectors wines alongside such names as Pegasus Bay Prima Donna, Schubert Block B and Felton Road Block 5. Bob Campbell describes Quartz Reef as his favourite Bendigo producer and highlights the 2011 as a “linear, focused Pinot Noir that is beautifully structured and shows terrific ageing potential.” Winemaker Rudi Bauer (selected in the world’s top 6 winemakers in 2011) is a man like Hätsch Kalberer who has an almost cult following and whose wines sell based almost purely on the fact that he has yet to make a wine that wasn’t amazing. The 2011 Bendigo Pinot would be a serious contender for Otago Pinot Noir of 2011, and it will reward those with the foresight and patience to invest 6-10 years of time in it. That said, it’s beautifully enjoyable now if you have a pressing dinner engagement with Peking Duck or rabbit stew…

Cheers, Anto
Anto Coates – FWDC Wine Program Manager    

Fromm La Strada Pinot Noir 2010

Elsewhere up to $38.60
Our Price $29.99

95/100 James Suckling, former editor of Wine Spectator

Awarded a mind-blowing 95/100 by James Suckling, the critical face of Wine Spectator for many years; elite recognition for a sub $40 Pinot Noir. La Strada was created to give those whose budgets did not afford Hatsch Kalberer’s more expensive terroir-driven styles; an opportunity to experience Fromm’s outstanding quality.

Smells: Fresh bouquet of rose, alluring red fruits, dried herbs and garam masala.

Tastes: Beautifully juicy boysenberry, strawberry and red currant are threaded by hints of cured meat and porcini mushroom; dark chocolate pervades the harmonious finish. Cellar to 2020+ if well stored.

Pisa Range Black Poplar Block Pinot Noir 2010

Elsewhere up to $51.60
Our Price $39.99

93/100 – Bob Campbell MW
92/100 – FWDC Tasting Panel
91/100 – Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate
5 Stars – Michael Cooper
Gold Medal – Romeo Bragato Wine Awards 2012

The ultimate “arm chair” Pinot (sit back, relax and enjoy its hedonistic charms) this exceptional effort is the kind of wine that once tasted, is never forgotten. Inspirationally aromatic, richly layered and utterly mouthwatering… serious collectors must not miss this addictive elixir.

Smells: Overflowing with sweet black cherry, damson plums, chicory, chocolate and dried herbs.

Tastes: Mouth filling, opulent and silken with forest fruits, chocolate-coated coffee beans, smoky bacon and dark cherry complexity.

Quartz Reef Bendigo Pinot Noir 2011

Elsewhere up to $79.95
Our Price $72.99

94/100 Bob Campbell MW
95/100 Fine Wine Delivery Company
92+/100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate

Quartz Reef’s 35 degree sloping, densely planted, mature Bendigo vineyards are a formula for Pinot Noir excellence; precisely the terroir to craft international quality. Add in the huge regional expertise and skill of winemaker Rudi Bauer (recently selected in world’s top 6 winemakers) and this age-worthy Pinot Noir should be front and centre of any serious collection.

Smells: Hauntingly aromatic dried herbs, cedar, sandalwood, thyme, blackberry, violet and rosemary.

Tastes: Fantastically complex and velvety palate with dark berries, mulberry, ripe ‘whole bunch’ flavours, grilled meat and truffle. Mystifying and simply sublime! Should cellar beyond 10-years.

Lunch at Euro with Palliser Estate

Just a quick blog about a cracking lunch I attended this week at Euro (with a cameo appearance from Simon Gault) courtesy of Palliser Estate wines and Negociants.

The occasion was a chance for media and trade to look at the full line up of Palliser’s Great Dogs range, which are the winery’s super-premium Pinot Noir offerings made in only the best vintages.  They are selections of the finest barrels and on the evidence of 4 vintage yesterday, they are as good as any Pinot Noir made in NZ. It was my first chance to taste the wines and it was fun to do so alongside some of the characters of our wine media.

First, a little confession: When tasting super-premium Pinot Noirs like Marie Zelie, The Pinnacle and The Great Dogs, I have to fight my ingrained notion that high-end barrel selections are somewhat hollow in terms of Pinot Noir. Call me a hopeless Francophile, but for me, Pinot Noir’s great beauty is as a conduit of site and it should speak eloquently and very specifically of a time, place and a patch of dirt. It shouldn’t just be a luxury cuvee (in my opinion there are grapes better suited for this purpose ie better at holding lots of new oak!). Great Pinot Noir should be expensive because it is handmade from an intrinsically better vineyard site and of course naturally scarce, rather than being scarce because the producer decided to pick his 3 best rather than 4 best barrels. Luxury for luxury’s sake seems to me to fly in the face of the Pinot ethos as embodied in its spiritual home of Burgundy.

That little philosophical caveat/vent aside, I think the Palliser Estate Dog Series is as good a Super-Premium Cuvee offering as any in New Zealand, and of course their Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2010 is also a fantastic wine for the price tag. We tasted 4 vintages that have since been bottled under this label, the 2006 The Great Harry, the 2008 The Great Walter, the 2009 The Great Marco and the 2011 The Great Paloma. All 4 were superb – 5 star wines of slightly varying degrees. The one that took me was the 2006 The Great Harry, just in a great space right now. Lovely aromas of freshly pulled espresso mingling with florals on the nose and very silky mouthfeel. Still plenty of vitality but nearing its peak. The other that looks great is the 2011 The Great Paloma. An incredible wine that is as close to the archetypal Martinborough Pinot Noir as I have yet tasted.  Perhaps a little too technically perfect, and hence lacking a measure of personality that gets above 95/100 on our FWDC Tasting Panel scale, but that’s to be expected of such a young wine. And very few wine drinkers I know slate wines for being too perfect. (Just confused wine merchants.)

A note must go to the kitchen at Euro for producing such wonderful food to match. A fried Ribollita soup paired beautifully with the Palliser Estate Chardonnay 2011 and a soft lamb taco with avocado, warm porcini and spicy crunch was a great match with the 2006 The Great Harry. For the main I chose the venison loin wuith black garlic pate, spiced pumpkin and Worcestershire jus which really brought out the tightly bound charms of The Great Paloma 2011 (any customers who would like to purchase some, please flick me an email here). I hadn’t eaten at Euro for years, a function of Auckland’s ever-expanding dining scene and some time away from the city. Looking at the quality of food they prepared for a trade lunch makes me excited to come and sample their full a la carte offering.

A big thank you must go to Palliser Estate and Negociants for organising this great tasting.

Final thought for this blog: Am I the only one who has noticed that Richard Riddiford from Palliser Estate bears an uncanny resemblance to cinematic legend Walter Matthau?

New 2006 vintage of
The Islander ‘The Investigator’ is here!

The 2006 stunned our tasting panel and we gave it our
highest score this year with 95/100.

Only 168 bottles available for NZ.
Exclusively available to FWDC customers -
secure some for yourself promptly before it’s all gone.

Hi from Anto

I’m very pleased to offer Cellar Journal readers the opportunity to secure an allocation of The Islander ‘Investigator’ 2006, a wine we’ve reverentially dubbed “the Cheval Blanc of the Southern Hemisphere”.

The Lurtons are widely known as the ‘First Family of Bordeaux’ and have a whole website, Lurton.com, devoted to chronicling their global fine wine exploits. Jacques Lurton competes with his cousin Pierre at St Emilion’s greatest estate Chateau Cheval Blanc, to craft the world’s finest Cabernet Franc.

My predecessor, Matt Deller, had a long-standing relationship with Jacques Lurton through his Master of Wine studies, and after attending an MW Symposium in Bordeaux last year, Matt persuaded Jacques to release a small allocation of his globally revered wines. The wines are from Jacques’ twelve-hectare private estate on Kangaroo Island, the ‘Waiheke’ of Australia, off the coast of Adelaide.  This prestigious wine is available exclusively to a select handful of Fine Wine Delivery Company customers.

If you’re wondering why 2006 is the current release it’s because Jacques Lurton doesn’t release the wine until it is drinking well. This makes it a great cellar proposition, since you can drink it at now or cellar it up to 15 years of more.  Last year’s 2005 was quickly snapped up and with such a small amount imported, it will pay to act promptly.

The Islander Estate Vineyard is rated the highest possible “Outstanding” Five Red Stars in James Halliday’s 2012 Wine Companion.  Halliday says “Established by one of the most famous Flying Winemakers in the world, Bordeaux-born and trained and part-time Australian resident Jacques Lurton. He has established a close-planted vineyard. The wines are made and bottled at the onsite winery, in true estate style.”

I remember Matt Deller telling us how he took a bottle of the previous vintage Investigator 2005 to the Mercedes Benz Hawkes Bay Wine Awards Judges dinner, where it outshone an impressive line-up of reds including; 1985 Andre Noblot Premier Cru Chambolle Musigny, 1990 Naforio, Barolo Riserva, 2005 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, 2007 Ogier Cote-Rotie, 2000 Chapoutier Les Granitis Saint-Joseph and 2003 Chateau Prieure Lichine.  I can assure readers that the 2006 is every bit as good, if not better, and is serious world-class fine wine. I can’t wait to see what this 2006 looks like in 4-5 years time.

The Investigator epitomises Jacques Lurton’s vision to put Kangaroo Island on the world map of fine wine. Made from one of the greatest grape varieties, Cabernet Franc, this wine has been designed from vineyard to bottle to reflect the marriage of old and new world, strength and delicacy, power and elegance.  All grapes are picked by hand and all berries sorted on vibrating tables.  The wines are aged in large wood vats “foudres” for three years, with 20% seeing new French Oak.

Beautifully packaged in individual three packs this latest vintage of “Australia’s Cheval Blanc” is a true collector’s item. 
To secure your share, please complete the order form below and reply to wine@finewinedelivery.co.nz . 

Cheers, Anto
Anto Coates – FWDC Wine Program Manager

The Islander ‘Investigator’ 2006
FWDC Special Price:
$59.99 per bottle on 3-pack purchases
$69.99 per bottle on single bottles

“One of Australia’s finest reds – unsurprising considering Jacques’ cousin makes the world’s most famous Cabernet Franc, Cheval Blanc.   The Islander’s flagship carries Jacques Lurton’s vision to put Kangaroo Island on the world map of fine wine and combines strength,  delicacy, power and elegance. It’s carefully cellared, then released as a 7-year old presticge red ready for enjoyment; however its best drinking lays ahead through 2016-2020.”
95/100, Fine Wine Delivery Tasting Panel 

Smells: Intense nose of blackcurrant, cigar, chocolate dust, dried tobacco and rose.

Tastes: Ripe black fruits, tamarillo, grilled tomato, roasted espresso, chocolate and leather with long mellow tannins. Generous and refined.
“Spends three years in 20% new French oak barriques, and requires no acid adjustment. Like the prior vintage, has excellent colour retention of primary hues; the fragrant bouquet evolves over 30 minutes after pouring, and the palate has significantly greater depth of dark berry fruits than prior Islander red wines, ripe tannins in precisely judged support.” 95/100 James Halliday

“His flagship wine spends three years in oak and two years in bottle. Late released. Round and fresh and full of character.”  Jancis Robinson MW

“It’s one of the finest, most delicious Australian reds there is.” Phillip White, The Independant

“Bordeaux’s St Emilion in the aroma and flavour, but a sunny Australian smile on the delicious palate. It’s a unique, beautiful wine”
Chris Shanahan

“The name Lurton is synonymous with wine.” Jancis Robinson MW

“The Lurton’s are Bordeaux’s first family” Decanter Magazine

Only 168 bottles total allocation for New Zealand
Presented in 3 bottle cases exclusive to FWDC customers at…

$59.99
(per bottle on 3-bottle buys)
Single bottles $69.99

Lunch at Poderi Crisci

Sunday gone Virginia and I enjoyed a brilliant long Italian lunch with good friends at the winery restaurant of Poderi Crisci on Waiheke Island. Locked away in the hills on the Eastern End of Waiheke it overlooks the inner estuary surrounded by hilly farming land. Behind the winery and restaurant the vineyards extend upwards steeply ensuring excellent drainage. Owner Antonio Crisci (current and founding owner of Non Solo Pizza) brings an Italian flavour to his Waiheke Island wines. All of his wines off the site are made in very refined, food friendly styles with judicious use of quality oak partnered with low yielding fruit in a sophisticated expression of the terroir. When matched with the brilliant Italian inspired, fresh cuisine from the estates kitchen the wines are perfecto!

The service is excellent delivered by wine knowledgeable Italian speaking staff which makes you feel like you’re locked away in the heart of Tuscany somewhere. I couldn’t fault the food; in fact what I should say is the textures, freshness and cooking were as good as you could wish for. The Arneis (Italian white grape variety) grown on site was incredibly elegant and crisp with just enough mid-palate richness to deliver total drinkability. The Chardonnay is excellent and more in a Puligny Montrachet style of Burgundy and it too was a beautiful food wine. The Estate grown Viburno (Merlot dominant Cabernet Franc blended red) from 2009 vintage is a very restrained Right Bank Bordeaux style and was gorgeous with the roasted sirloin and fresh vegetables. Our pre-lunch Prosecco (tank fermented Italian sparkling) and Moscato Passito di Pantelleria (Italian dessert style made from the Muscat grape) were Italian imports but both excellent examples of their respective styles.

It is a long lunch (6-courses delivered at a leisurely pace) so be prepared for a 3-4 hour stop. Believe me 4-hours went all too quickly when enjoying perfect cuisine, delicious wines and exceptional company. Thanks to James & Linda Sclater, Paul & Helen McCormack and Donna Aitken (Chris was at home unwell) for sharing a Waiheke weekend of fine wine, great food and loads of belly laughs.