Excellent recognition for the wines of the Te Muna sub-region of
Martinborough has come recently in the form of Julicher Estate winning Champion
Wine of the Show at the 2009 Air N.Z. Wine Awards. The vineyards of Te Muna Road are situated
less than 5 km from the heart of Martinborough and the Martinborough Terrace
growing region, but share the same soil profile of silt loam soils with deep
alluviale deposits, with loess or clay.
Climatically, this sub-region has the same proximity effects of the Ruamahanga River,
with the bordering Huarangarua
River having a strong
influence as well. Mean temperatures are
a little lower resulting in picking approximately one week later than the
Terraces. There is an associated minor
increase in frost risk, and the prevailing north-west wind is a little stronger
here due to the exposure. However on hot
days, the Te Muna Road
aspect enables higher temperatures. It
has been noted that Te Muna fruit has slightly greater skin thickness. It is probably too early to deduce
sub-regional differences in wine styles, but the Te Muna Road wines may show fruit a touch
more in the floral aromatic spectrum.
However, there is no doubt the Te Muna wines are integral with those of
the Terraces, the geology essentially being identical. The Martinborough personality of riper, more
complex savoury fruit characters and greater structure is prevalent in the
wines, and it could be said that ‘winemaker signature’ has the most profound
influence on the final wine expression.
It will be fascinating as the vine age in Te Muna Road increases. The players on Te Muna Road are Big Sky, Craggy Range,
with by far the largest plantings, Escarpment Vineyard, Julicher, Pond Paddock,
Redbank and Te Hera. Ata Rangi and
Palliser Estate also source fruit from Te Muna Road plantings. It is very
worthwhile tasting and drinking the following Te Muna sourced Pinot Noirs to
explore the subtle nuances:
Julicher Estate ’99 Rows’ Pinot
Noir 2008
The second label for Julicher Estate and a remarkably successful one for
them. The 2008 vintage has been awarded
5 stars and listed in the Top Ten N.Z. Pinot Noirs by Cuisine magazine, and
most recently winning a gold medal at this year’s Air N.Z. Wine Awards. Made from hand-harvested clone 5, 6, 667, 114
and 115 fruit which was totally destemmed and given a 4-5 day cold soak before
fermentation in small, open top vats to 13.5% alc., then aged 10 months in 15%
new French oak casks. This has a
youthful, deep, ruby red colour and a full, deep and solid bouquet of dark
berry fruits with some savoury complexities of forest stalk and game. Youthful in mouthfeel, this is a reasonably
robust wine with good weight and body, some warmth from the alcohol and a real
juiciness of dark berry fruit flavours.
This is plenty of wine for enjoyment
here, and there is more than a passing resemblance to the complex and finer
Champion Trophy winning Estate wine.
Pond Paddock Pinot Noir 2008
This is the passion of Canadians Jeff Barber and Christine Barnett who arrived
in 1999 to establish 4.04 hectares of close planted vines on Te Muna Road. The 2008 Pinot Noir was made from hand-picked
fruit, 4 clones: Abel, 667, 114 and 5, totally destemmed, given a 6 day cold
soak and fermented to 13.7% alc. and aged 11 months in 30% new French oak. Jeff resists too much tannin extraction, and
the style of Pond Paddock Pinots is one of supple elegance. Youthful ruby red in colour, the nose is a
lesson in the ethereal beauty of the Pinot Noir grape with its stylish and
elegant aromas of soft red fruits, florals and delicate spices. Beautifully fragrant, with aromatic lift the
highlight here. On palate, the sheer
suppleness and finesse of this wine is startling. Wonderfully gentle and softly textured, this
has refined nuances of cooked red fruits, with floral and game elements. A wine of fine-grained features, exquisitely
feminine in style, yet with an inner core.
A gold medal winner at the 2009 Air N.Z. Wine Awards.
Craggy Range ‘Te Muna Road’ Pinot Noir 2008
Full, deep, dark ruby red with purple hues to the colour. This wines has a superb clarity and purity of
bouquet. The aromas of dark berry fruits
and plums, fresh and tightly bound still, with a minerally edge and some
new oak lift. This is a wine of substance and serious
construction, but the tannins are well-covered by the luscious, sweet
cherry-berry and boysenberry nuanced fruit flavours. In the final analysis, this has refinement,
power and youth on its side. This is
possibly the pick of the range of single-vineyard Pinot Noirs that are made by Adrian Baker of Craggy
Range, which includes the superb
‘Calvert’ wine from Bannockburn and the ‘Otago
Station’ wine from the Waitaki
Valley. Made from hand-harvested fruit of which 5%
was whole bunch, fermented by indigenous yeasts to 13.7% alc. then aged 10
months in 33% new French barriques. It
shows the true Martinborough fruit identity of ripe, complex, almost funky
fruit and plenty of weight to the palate.
Other Pinot Noirs with Te Muna Road fruit previously promoted at Regional
Wines include Te Hera’s second label ‘Kiritea’, the Escarpment Vineyard and Air
N.Z. Wine Awards Champion Julicher Estate, all from the 2008 vintage, and these
are worthy of consideration..