By Anto Coates
Since case studies
are the mainstay of any Otago marketing degree, I’d recommend under-grads
take a close look at Mount
Difficulty. There’s much
to be learned. It’s not enough to make great wine these days – you have to have
a compelling package that captures the public’s imagination. Mount
D has it in spades: the Tolkienesque Elven
font on the label, the whirlpool motif, the evocative Roaring Meg name on their entry level wine – it
seems Mount Difficulty has made nearly every post a
winner in their short but delicious existence.
Marketing is what
gets bottles in people’s hands, but ultimately it’s what’s inside that ensures
a repeat purchase. At Regional we’re not so concerned with the superficial (which is
just as well, say those who have visited our tasting room) so with winemaker
Matt Dicey on hand, we cracked open some bottles to see what wonders lay within.
Flight one - Riesling
Mt Difficulty Dry
Riesling 2009. The relatively cool season cause a 10% drop in yields, but the
wine seems to be the better for it. The nose is lime, talc and florals, the
palate is waxy with the tart Rose’s lime juice phenolic grip and the wine
builds to a medium length finish. 18.0-/20
Mt Difficulty
Target Gully Riesling 2010. Rich and medium sweet, the Target Gully is all lime
sherbert, tart acid, with mandarins, citrus and grapefruit. Still young but an
excellent wine for dinking now or cellaring for up to 7-8 years. 18.5/20.
Flight two – Pinot Gris
Mt Difficulty Pinot
Gris 2010. The pinot gris shows alcoholic heat up front, which is an
inauspicious start and kind of masks the varietal purity of the wine. The wine
does show some nice rose petals and lees work but fails to fire a little,
especially in relation to the Manson’s Farm. Still a wine that will find
favour with many drinkers though. 17.0-/20
Mt Difficulty Pinot
Gris Manson’s Farm 2009. Botrytis apricot up front, apple strudel, baked bread,
with mouth-coating lushness (40g RS). Very long finish. 18.5+/20.
Flight three - ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir -
Vertical
Mt Difficulty Pinot
Noir 2009. Smoked bacon, grippy dusty tannins, pastrami, mustard and manuka
honey. A fantastically complex pinot noir that gets better and better with time
in the glass. You can see why Mt D are one of the benchmarks for the $40 pinot
in NZ. 19.0-/20
Mt Difficulty Pinot
Noir 2007. Cigarette smoke, musk, pipe tobacco, with spice, jet fuel, sweet
fruit and spice. A superlative pinot noir, with delicious concentration and
arguably approaching its best years between now and 2013. But those who prefer
older wines will find this one in good shape in 2015. For me the wine of the
night. 19.0/20.
Mt Difficulty Pinot
Noir 2005. Browner colour showing some bricking around the rim. Mint, menthol
cigarettes, soy sauce, silage, rubber, lino, dental surgery. A funny wine, kind
of the odd man out for me. Complex, but
not necessarily in all the right ways. 18.0-/20
Mt Difficulty Pinot
Noir 2003. Brown rim, with a yellow tinge, the oak seems to be left like a
cicada shell on a tree. Showing some reduction still, with caramel popcorn and
a smokiness. This wine didn’t do much for me initially, but started to show
beautifully with some warm milky coffee flavours after an hour or so in the
glass. A hard wine to pin down but
18+/20 seems about right, though could be more after a good decanting.
Flight four - Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs
Mt Difficulty ‘Pipeclay
Terrace’ Pinot Noir 2009. Savoury, some whole bunch-type stalkiness, though
subtle, with some fairly obvious vanillin and red fruits. My least preferred of
the single vineyards, though still a very nice wine. Give me 2 Estate Pinots
for the same price though…18.5+/20
Mt Difficulty ‘Long
Gully’ Pinot Noir 2009. This wine
exhibits lovely rose florals and a leather/berry character that actually
reminded me of shiraz.
Blackberry jam indicates it is plenty ripe, and the wine has excellent guts, acidity
and length. 19.0/20
Mt Difficulty
‘Target Gully’ Pinot Noir 2009. My favourite wine of the three single
vineyards. Poised and complex, with a
delicious nose of leather, bacon, berries and vanilla, the wine is substantial
but has very soft tannins indicating perfectly ripe fruit and concentration
from fruit weight, not over-extraction. Lovely stuff. 19.0+/20.