Having produced some of the best wines in the country for three decades
does not guarantee success. One must
keep in touch with the times and the market.
There is no doubting the quality of Martinborough Vineyard Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir, but only a few lucky people can afford the luxury of drinking these
wines daily. It was a wise decision for
Martinborough Vineyard to broaden the range of varieties and styles of its
production, as well as introducing a second tier of wines, ‘Te Tera’, in
addition to retaining a sister label, ‘Burnt Spur’ when the company acquired
other existing vineyards on clay soils, south of Martinborough. This has given Martinborough Vineyard a secure
base to raise the level of the premium wines and provide the freedom to push
the boundaries further with the ‘super-premium’ wine under the ‘Marie Zelie’
label. It was at the release tasting of
the new 2006 ‘Marie Zelie’ Pinot Noir that we had the opportunity of tasting a
full range of Martinborough Vineyard wines.
It was a very heartening experience, to feel a strong sense of security
and with the brand. With quality fruit
resource and an experienced team of Peter Wilkins in the
vineyards, Paul Mason in the winery and Janine Tulloch as general manager,
Martinborough Vineyards is in very good hands.
Here is my brief synopsis of the wines tasted:
The Current Release Wines
First in the line-up was the Martinborough
Vineyard Rosé 2009, in 500 ml bottles.
Pretty pink, with deliciously sweet, soft red berry fruits, more
luscious than its 7.3 g/l residual sugar would suggest. The Martinborough
Vineyard ‘Te Tera’ Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was full with pungent passionfruit
flavours, made in a style that is very highly desired in these modern times. The Martinborough
Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008 had excellent palate weight and depth, and
was still fresh and lively. No asparagus
notes, and no hurry to drink at all.
Riesling is a strength in the region, and the new release Martinborough Vineyard ‘Jackson Block’
Riesling 2009 at 4.0 g/l displayed lovely lime and peach notes with
minerals, whereas the Martinborough
Vineyard ‘Manu’ Riesling 2009, with approx. 25 g/l rs was somewhat more
decadent with honeyed notes to the florals and fruit. The Martinborough
Vineyard Pinot Gris 2008 continues to progress towards greater fruit
expression, with decreasing winemaker input, yet retains a serious
outlook. Similarly, the Martinborough Vineyard Chardonnay 2007
is more elegant than previous, but still sophisticated, complex and satisfying. It is a top Chardonnay. The Martinborough
Vineyard ‘Te Tera’ Pinot Noir 2008 has real dark berry and savoury
interest, yet accessible as many of the 2008s are. However, a step up was the Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007,
with its depth of fruit, firmer tannins and ability to age further. It certainly has an edge of steel that this
is common in this vintage. The Burnt
Spur range was also on offer. The Burnt Spur Sauvignon Blanc 2008
drinking well now, with some breadth and openness, along with some
development. The Burnt Spur Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was attractively fresh and crisp,
quite elegant, but with sweetness of fruit.
Archetype stonefruit aromas and flavours enhanced by a touch of spice,
on a dryish palate were seen on the Burnt
Spur Pinot Gris 2008. The Burnt Spur Pinot Noir 2007 had a
crispness and cool firmness to its fruit, and its medium weight elegance meant
good drinking now. The Burnt Spur Pinot Noir 2008 was sweeter,
with less tannin and acid bite, and showing attractive features for earlyish
term consumption.
The 2006 Pinot Noirs
It was a very instructive exercise to go through the four 2006 vintage
labels for Pinot Noir. The vintage is
regarded as an ideal one in the Martinborough region, with perfect conditions
for fully-ripened and healthy fruit. The
best wines for many seasons have been made.
First was the Burnt Spur Pinot
Noir 2006, with strawberryish and dried herb, savoury fruit on a soft,
broad, but reasonably substantially weighted palate. Though lighter in weight and tighter in
structure, the Martinborough Vineyard
‘Te Tera’ Pinot Noir 2006 was riper in fruit expression and had good tannin
grip and greater freshness and this longevity.
The Martinborough Vineyard Pinot
Noir 2006 was a step up again, richer, riper, and slightly bigger, with
layers of aromas and flavours that developed in the glass. The harmony of the wine was its feature, and
it was in no way over-done or clumsy.
The Martinborough Vineyard ‘Marie
Zelie’ Pinot Noir 2006 was a greater leap up again. Darker, deeper, with fabulous concentration
of aromas and flavours, yet seamless in its fruit sweetness and
complexity. Underneath it all was a
palate with considerable structure, depth and length.
The ‘Marie Zelie’ Pinot Noirs
To see the two releases of Martinborough Vineyard’s super-premium wines
was a treat. The 2003 and 2006 ‘Marie
Zelie’ wines shared a similar personality, best described as ‘essence of
Martinborough’. Dark berry fruits with
savoury, game complexities. Immense
flavour interest, yet without any overbearing features. The Martinborough
Vineyard ‘Marie Zelie’ Pinot Noir 2003 was gaining greater savoury,
forest-floor secondary notes, whereas the Martinborough
Vineyard ‘Marie Zelie’ Pinot Noir 2006 was still dark fruited and brooding,
harbouring potential. Pleasingly so,
both wines retained marvelous acidity and freshness of fruit. The 2003 will age another decade easily, and
the 2006 closer to two decades. Two
outstanding wines. For a fuller
description of the 2006 ‘Marie Zelie’, read the article on ‘N.Z.’s Most
Expensive Pinot Noirs’ to be posted on the website in ‘Premium Wines’ soon.