The latest issue of Decanter magazine, Volume
34, No. 12, September 2010, features New Zealand on the front cover and
as its two leading articles. The prime
store is ‘New Zealand’s Top Twenty’ as selected by Bob Campbell MW, our leading
wine writer, author, educator and judge, who has been following his home
industry for four decades. Bob describes
the difficulty of the selection process, but also the fascination and enjoyment
in coming up with his ‘Top 20’. Decanter
has the selection grouped to region of origin naming the producer and the
selected wine. Here is the list:
Marlborough
Dog Point ‘Section 94’ Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2007
Villa Maria ‘SV- Seddon’ Pinot Gris 2007
Hawke’s
Bay
Te Mata Estate ‘Coleraine’ 2008
Esk Valley ‘Winemaker’s’ Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet 2007
Craggy Range ‘Le Sol’ Syrah 2007
Trinity Hill ‘Homage’ Syrah 2007
Auckland/Northland
Kumeu River ‘Mates Vineyard’ Chardonnay 2008
Gisborne
Vinoptima Gewurztraminer 2006
Waipara/Canterbury
Pegasus Bay Waipara Pinot Noir 2007
Bell Hill North Canterbury
Chardonnay 2006
Greystone Waipara Late-Harvest Riesling 2009
Central Otago
Misha’s Vineyard ‘Verismo’ Pinot Noir 2008
Mt Difficulty ‘Target Gully’ Riesling 2008
Felton
Road ‘Cornish Point’
Pinot Noir 2008
Nelson
Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay 2008
Martinborough
Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2008
Dry River Gewurztraminer 2009
Escarpment ‘Kupe’ Pinot Noir 2008
Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007
The second New Zealand feature article, titled
‘On the Brink of Stardom’ is written by Tim Atkin MW who attended the Syrah
Symposium in Hawke’s Bay as a speaker, earlier this year. Atkin reports on the “huge potential” of the
Syrah variety in New Zealand,
predicting how it will play a leading role for the industry. Although there less than 300 hectares of
Syrah planted (originally propagated by Alan Limmer),
the Rhone-style elegance and complexity bodes very well from an international
perspective.
Tim Atkin MW’s ’10 Best New Zealand Syrahs’ are:
Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels ‘Le Sol’ 2007, Millton Gisborne ‘Clos de Ste Anne
– The Crucible’ 2007, Kennedy Point Waiheke Island 2008, Te Mata Estate Hawke’s
Bay ‘Bullnose’ 2007, John Forrest
‘Collection’ Gimblett Gravels’ 2006, Man O’War Waiheke Island 2008, Trinity
Hill ‘Gimblett Gravels’ 2007, Vidal Gimblett Gravels 2008, Villa Maria ‘Cellar
Selection’ Hawke’s Bay 2007 and Babich Gimblett Gravels’ 2007