The Instinct label of Kate
Radburnd has allowed CJ Pask to play with fruit beyond the
home base of the Gimblett Gravels. Kate
has an exceptional palate, as can be seen from her deserved appointment as
Chair of Judges at the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards, and the Instinct brand
enables Kate’s instincts and intuition come into play, producing this range of
great value (the wines retail around $20.00 per bottle), accessible drinking wines that have excellent, all-round
appeal. Kate understands that wine
regions have different strengths and the Instinct wines can take advantage of
this. In addition to fruit being sourced
from the Gimblett Gravels and Hawke’s Bay, the Instinct wines also utilize
grapes from different sites in Marlborough,
and now from Martinborough. We offer
three very affordable Instinct red wines, perfect for drinking over this winter
and the next couple:
Instinct
Martinborough Pinot Noir 2009
Made from Abel clone Pinot Noir from Puruatanga Road on the Martinborough Terrace, the fruit was
transported to CJ Pask, where it was given a short cold soak and inoculated for
a warm ferment of 26-27ºC then aged in 1 y.o. and older French oak barrels for
7 months. The result is a classic
Martinborough Pinot Noir with excellent structure and full-flavoured,
savoury-red berry fruit and nuances of mushrooms and game. Special care was taken to ensure supple
tannin extraction and this shows in the softened grip through the palate. The wine is still youthful as the freshness
of acidity attests. This will be a great
match with duck dishes now and over the next 3-4 years.
Instinct
Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2008
With two very distinctive and high quality Syrah
wines under the CJ Pask label, the Instinct version offers a difference in the
aromatic nature of the fruit profile and also in the moderated tannin extraction. Here, Kate has aimed for more floral lift to
the fruit, and this has been achieved by the use of whole bunches in the ferment. All
of the fruit is sourced from the Gimblett Gravels, and the wine following
vinification to 13.5% alc, was matured in oak for 9 months. Medium ruby-red, the bouquet is redolent of
violets, white pepper and spices, all in harmony. Elegant in structure, the palate has density,
but is soft and supple. This is still
youthful, and the palate will reveal much more over the next 4-5 years. An excellent wine to go with Middle Eastern
and Asian dishes as well as tomato-based pastas and pizza.
Instinct Hawke’s
Bay Cabernet/Merlot/Malbec 2007
Being one of the pioneers in the Gimblett
Gravels, the fruit sources for the CJ Pask and Instinct labels is impeccable,
and this can be seen in the quality of this wine. Deep, dark, vibrant ruby red in colour, this
has classical Bordeaux overtones to the fruit on the nose and palate with
excellent blackcurrant and cassis notes, enhanced by dark plum characters and
spicy nuances from the Malbec as well as barrel work. Medium-full-bodied, this has tannin depth
allied to acid elegance, resulting in a degree of finesse and real accessibility. This is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot
and 17% Malbec, all the components fermented and aged 14 months in oak
separately before blending. At 14.0%
alc, this is a wine that will be perfect with all roasted meats, and will keep
well for 5-8 years easily.