The Champion Wine of the Show at the
2010 Bragato Wine Awards can now be purchased from Regional
Wines. Very limited
quantities of the Cobblestone Vineyards
Te Muna Pinot Noir 2009 have been made available to Regional
Wines in Wellington
exclusively. This wine also took a gold
medal and the Mike Woltner Memorial Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir at the
Bragato Awards judged in August. The
result took most of the wine industry by surprise, as Cobblestone Vineyards is
a new entrant on the wine scene, and as such, relatively unknown. This is set to change with these awards.
Cobblestone Vineyards is the
California-based wine business of Saul and Anita Levine, owners of vineyards in
Monterey and the Napa Valley Atlas Peak regions, focusing on limited
production, single-vineyard, family owned estate wines. This brought them to purchase land and vines
in Te Muna Road
with the express purpose of having a world class Pinot Noir to complement their
Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
With Pond Paddock, Escarpment Vineyard, Julicher and Craggy Range
as immediate neighbours, general manager P. J. Ochlan acquired the viticultural
services of Jeff Barber and Nick Hoskins,
and the winemaking expertise of Outi Jakovirta
from Julicher Estate in crafting this outstanding wine. Made from clones 5, 114, 115, 667 and Abel,
all from the Cobblestone Te Muna Road Estate, this was fermented to 14.9% alc,
then aged 12 months in 33% new French oak barriques. Only 694 cases were made, of which most was
sent to the U.S.
for sale there.
Full, deep, ruby red in colour with
some purple hues, this is youthful in appearance. This has a very fresh, lifted floral nose of
dark fruits, black cherries and violets, vibrant, pure and minerally in
expression. On palate, the vibrant and
aromatic nature of the dark florals, cherries and berry flavours are enhanced
by beautiful acidity, providing vitality and tension. The extraction is very fine, the wine having
elegance of structure with suppleness.
This has classic Te Muna
Road character and should age gracefully 5-7
years.
Bragato Wine Awards Chairrman of
Judges Olly Masters says "The Cobblestone Te Muna Pinot Noir 2009 is a great
example of what N.Z. Pinot Noir offers to the world. (It) achieves the difficult balance between
having good structure and being fruit expressive. The great thing about this Pinot Noir is you
can drink it now, but also know it will cellar well.” This summarises our thoughts exactly.