Framingham 2011 Sweet Wines

Feeling a little snowed under with work a little while ago I (briefly) contemplated skipping a tasting of the new vintage sweet wines from Framingham. I had accepted the kind invitation though so of course I turned up at Ancesteral on Courtney Place at the appointed time, feeling slightly frazzled. I left a couple of hours later gob-smacked at the quality of the wines and delighted at having been given the opportunity to try these gems.

While 2011 was a difficult year in a number of regions, in Marlborough the planets aligned for Framingham to produce a quite stunning range of sweet wines with varying degrees of botrytis influence. Picking was staged over several weeks, starting on the 20^th of March and continuing until the 24^th of May, allowing wines to be made at varying degrees of ripeness.

Winemaker Dr Andrew Hedley and the assistant winemaker Andrew Brown evidently lost a few years of their lives with the effort involved in turning rotting grapes into liquid gold. From a wine lovers point of view it was undoubtedly worth it, their loss is our gain!

This is the finest collection of sweet wines released in New Zealand. They all exhibit great purity, depth and concentration and are devoid of VA or other off characters often found in sweet wines.

The first three wines were a Pinot Gris and two Gewurztraminers, named in the Alsatian classification style, followed by six Rieslings classified in the German Prädikat style. My notes:

F-Series Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive 2011 – Floral waxy notes on bouquet with honey and quince flavours on a long, unctuous palate. Lovely balance. 160gm/l rs, 8.5% alc.18.5/20

F-Series Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 2011- Lovely vibrant gold, intense varietal bouquet, spice, honey tropical fruit. Luscious palate that lasts beautifully. 150gm/l rs, 8.5% alc. 18/20

F-Sereies Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles 2011 – Hand harvested 24^th May at 44 brix! 100% Botrytis. Deep gold, some clarifying to come (this is not a finished wine however only the clarity will change from this point) Outrageous bouquet! Powerful, pungent with masses of different dried fruit, mango, ginger, peach, it’s all there. The palate is quite extraordinary, unbelievably rich concentrated and decadent, complex and long while deftly avoiding cloying. Fantastic wine. 335 gm/l rs, 7.5% alc. 19.5/20

F-Series Riesling Kabinett 2011 – Hand harvested on 20^th March 20.4 brix. No botrytis. Light in colour, quite shy on the nose initially, obviously young. Citrus and mineral notes combine with a touch of florals and green apple. Bouquet flows on to the palate with deft balance, classy wine that should age well. 58gm/l rs, 8% alc 18/20

Framingham Select Riesling 2011 – Spatlese equivalent, hand harvested on 1^st April 22.1 brix, no botrytis. Light in colour, again quite shy. Mineral and floral notes. A bit more weight on the palate. Red currents and raspberry on palate, richer in texture with hints of honey on the long finish. 65gm/l rs 8.5% alc 18.5/20

F-Series Auslese Riesling 2011 – hand harvested on 12^th April and 1^st May, 28.4 brix bunches selected from 15 – 30 % botrytis affected berries. Light gold. Botrytis evident, honey, Seville oranges, apricot on nose. Very pure palate with citrus/apricot characters, lovely cut, balance and length. Gorgeous wine. 140gm/l rs 8.5% alc 18.5/20

Framingham Noble Riesling 2011 – Equivalent of Auslese Gold cap. Hand harvested between 12^th April and 23^rd May. 31.8 brix net botrytis effected fruit around 50 – 60%. Light gold. Complex bouquet showing botrytis, cumquats, marmalade and mineral notes. Peachy stonefruit flavours on a young palate with great texture and fine acid balance. Delicious. 180gm/l 8.5% alc 19/20

F-Series Riesling Beerenauslese 2011 – hand harvested on 19^th May. 34.8 brix 100% botrytis. Gold. An incredible bouquet, very intense and complex. The palate has a freshness to the complex layers of flavours, very sweet but not at all cloying, superb balance and length. 205gm/l rs 9.% alc. 19.5/20

F-Series Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 2011 - Hand harvested on 19^th and 24^th May 40.7 brix 100% botrytis. Gold, Incredibly intense and powerful bouquet. Rich tropical fruit, spice marmalade and plenty of bot. An extraordinary palate, very complex, textural, unctuous and a finish that last till morning! Quite superb. 295gm/l rs 7.5% alc . 19.5+/20

Bravo to Andrew Hedley and the team at Framingham, these are wonderful wines with some made in incredibly small quantities. The quality and attention to detail in all of them is outstanding, I urge you to try them.