By Raymond Chan
Our annual
tastings of Craggy
Range wines are always
eagerly anticipated. The wines are truly
representative of the site and region.
The cool-climate wines, highly expressive of aromatic character are
particularly clear and pure in this, and as such, are wonderful to taste. The individuality of the superb, little
parcels of vines throughout the country are displayed wonderfully by the art
and craft of Craggy Range’s cool-climate winemaker Adrian Baker, who is
responsible for all the company’s wines from vineyards from Martinborough
south.. It was again a pleasure to have Adrian take us through a
great selection of his wines. This year,
he excelled himself with a group of Pinot Noir wines that displayed site,
region and vintage variation in a way seldom seen before. Here are my notes on the wines tasted:
Flight One: Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc
A starter
wine to show the style of Sauvignon wine that comes from Martinborough and how
it is worlds apart from that of Marlborough.
The Te Muna site of Martinborough was planted in 2000 and its 100 hectares
nearly doubled the regions acreage of vines at the time.
The Craggy Range ‘Te Muna’ Martinborough
Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (18.0+/20) at 13.5% alc and an imperceptible 1.7 g/l
rs was 45% whole cluster pressed and 24% indigenous yeast fermented in 12% oak,
and matured on lees for 4 months in 4% new French barriques. Pale straw with green hues, this had a tight,
but solid nose of gooseberries and herbs along with mineral nuances. Dry, tight and restrained in flavour, this
had a softness of texture allied to freshness and excellent weight and length,
making it a “more than one glasser” Sauvignon.
Here, there is no explosively rich, pungent fruit, and there is real
body and texture for food matching ability.
Flight Two: The Fletcher Family Rieslings
Colin and
Chris Fletcher with their children manage their vineyard on gravel influenced
soils on Old Renwick Road
in the Wairau Valley.
The vines, were planted in 1984 and the fruit totally contracted to Craggy Range.
Two variants
of Riesling from the 2008 vintage were served, with the aim of detecting any
vineyard character and similarity. The Craggy Range
‘Fletcher’ Marlborough
Riesling 2008 (17.5/20) at 11.4% alc and 13.5 g/l rs was still youthful in
appearance with its green hues. Very
fine, firm and intense aromas of limes and minerals, this was quite dry to
taste with an almost austere showing of peaches, limes and chalk. The acidity is prominent, but this should
develop well and come together over the next 6+ years. The Craggy
Range ‘Fletcher’ Marlborough Noble Riesling 2008 (19.0-/20) at 11.0% alc
and 115 g/l rs had a straw yellow colour with golden hints. On bouquet, this had limes, florals, minerals
and honey from the botrytis. Quite
restrained at first, the nose grew in the glass, emerging superbly. Very sweet, but fine-grained, this combined
honey and talc with citrus marmalade flavours on a palate that hinted at
decadence with stylishness. Excellent
acidity to prevent cloying, and a family chalk note.
Flight Three: The Otago Station Pinots
Situated
inland in north Otago is the Waitaki
Valley vignoble,
limestone foothills with gravel, and a maritime influenced climate. Overall there are less than 100 ha planted,
of which Craggy Range has 12 ha. The other producers are significant, Grant
Taylor of Valli, Jeff Sinnott at Ostler, John Forrest, and Michelle Richardson at Waitaki Braids.
The Craggy Range
‘Otago Station’ Waitaki
Valley Pinot Gris 2009
( 17.5-/20) was 13.6% alc and 6.0 g/l rs.
Straw yellow with some depth to the colour, this was quite Pinot Grigio
in style with its steely, flinty, kernel nose and dry, crisp, minerally palate. Elegant and delicate, this possessed an unctuous
mouthfeel underneath. The Craggy Range
‘Otago Station’ Waitaki
Valley Pinot Noir 2008
(18.0-20) was 13.7% alc after the fruit was all destemmed and native yeast
fermented, then aged 9 months in 33% new French barriques. Light ruby red with gentle purple hues, the
nose was light and elegant with an ethereal aspect to the bright, light red
fruit and rose flavours. Fine textures,
gentle tannins and good acidity were features.
These two
wines were seen by several of the group to have real “precision, delicacy and
poise".
Flight Four: Pinot Noir Pairs
This was a
fascinating flight of six Pinot Noir wines demonstrating three different
terroirs over two different vintages.
The first two
pairs of wines came from Central Otago. 2008 was a high cropping vintage which
required heavy crop thinning to produce quality, concentrated wines. 2007 was a very good, warm, low yield season
producing concentrated, structured wines.
The Zebra Vineyard is situated in a cooler section of Bendigo, established in 2001 and 2002, and is
regarded as a cooler, late-ripening site.
The Craggy Range
‘Zebra’ Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008
(18.0-/20) at 14.2% alc was totally destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts
and aged 10 months in 40% new French barriqies.
Medium deep ruby red with purple hues, this had a full nose showing a
touch of alcohol with bright dark cherry fruit aromas. Supple and elegant, the bright cherryish
fruit showed good concentration, fresh acidity and low extraction, allowing
accessibility. The Craggy Range ‘Zebra’ Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 (18.5+/20) at
14.1% alc, also totally destemmed and fermented with native yeast, was aged 10
months in 42% new French oak. It was
full and deeply coloured, youthful purple-ruby in appearance. The nose was intense, deep and spicy with its
dark cherry aromas and firmly tannic palate.
Matching the full structure was concentrated, but rounded fruit with
density and richness. The two ‘Zebra’
wines shared a linear dark cherry character.
The Calvert
vineyard is a warmer site in Bannockburn,
situated on Felton Road. It is managed biodynamically by the Felton Road team
and is reckoned to have a “life and vitality” according to Adrian.
The Craggy