By Raymond Chan
The Royal Easter Show Wine Awards entered its 57th
year of judging and although New
Zealand’s oldest running wine judging
competition, it continues to break new ground.
Kate Radburnd of CJ Pask Winery became the first woman Chair of Judges
in a major wine show in Australasia. And also not insignificantly there was a strong
inclusion of women in the judging panel makeup.
One of five panel leaders, two of ten senior judges and seven of ten
associate judges were women, reflecting their increasing numbers in the wine
industry, previously a male preserve!
This year’s increasing top medal awards over that of recent
years was no doubt an indication of the better quality of our wines as a result
of work in viticulture lowering yields and winemaking technique being hones,
according to Radburnd. Of 1517 wines
from 276 winery entrants, there were 102 golds (6.72%), 222 silver (14.63%) and
551 bronze (36.32%). The varieties that
performed exceptionally well were Sauvignon Blanc (19 golds – all except two
from Marlborough), Pinot Noir (16 golds – of
which 10 were from Central Otago), Chardonnay
(15 golds), Riesling (10 golds), and Bordeaux-varietal wines (10 golds – all
from Hawke’s Bay). Regionally, Marlborough was
unsurprisingly the most successful (38 golds) followed by Hawke’s Bay (26
golds) and Otago (15 golds).
Of the producers, the Villa Maria group was yet again the
leader with 16 golds, followed by the Pernod-Ricard group with 8 golds and
Saint Clair with 7 golds. The Mudhouse
group took 4 golds. The Winemaker of the
Year was Rudi Bauer of Quartz Reef winery in Central Otago,
who made the Champion Wine of the Show, the Mondillo Central Otago Pinot Noir
2008.
As has become customary, Regional Wines conducted tastings of
the trophy and gold medal winning wines.
Following are my notes on the wines tasted:
The Trophy Winners Masterclass
It is extremely pleasing to find the availability of trophy
winning wines improve over the past few years, this showing the greater volumes
of top-flight wines being made by our wine industry nowadays. And another positive trend is the increasing
affordability of the wines. We were able
to offer for tasting every trophy winner from the show.
First was the Deutz ‘Marlborough Cuvee’
Methode Traditionnelle Blanc de Blancs 2006 (18.0/20), at 12.0% alc, 100%
Chardonnay from the Renwick and Brancott Estates, three years on lees and
12.0g/l rs. Very pale straw with fine
persistent mousse, elegant and with lifted citrus notes on nose with some
SO2. Dry to taste, this was fine and
tight, somewhat shy and unforthcoming, delicate floral and white fruits in
character. Good acidity, but sulphide
hints detracting. Another bottle much more
lush, aromatic and lifted. This is
normally beautifully elegant, nuanced and refined. Next was the Lake Chalice
‘Eyrie Vineyard’ Marlborough Pinot Gris 2009
(18.5/20), at 14.0% alc, fruit predominantly from the Waihopi with some Wairau Valley
material, with 7 g/l rs. Youthful, pale
straw, this was steely and minerally on bouquet, and showing classic white
stonefruit, minerals, spiced white pear varietal character on a firm, crisp and
driven, dry palate. The Champion Other
White Wine was the Villa Maria ‘Single
Vineyard – Ihumatao’ Verdelho 2008 (18.5+/20), at 14.5% alc, and 3.3 g/l rs, this came from fruit from the
Ihumatao vineyard, Manukau, 55% fermented and aged in 2 y.o. French oak for 6
months. Straw yellow in colour, this
possessed a shy nose of solid, tropical fruit aromas with straw hints. Dry on palate, this was a wine with power,
weight and warmth, hinting at exotic fruit, some alcohol noticeable. Balanced acidity completed the wine, making
it an accessible and richer style. The Lawson’s ‘Dry Hills’ Marlborough Riesling
2007 (19.0-/20) at 12.5% alc, and 6.0 g/l rs came from Waihopi Valley fruit
without any botrytis. Still pale straw
with youthful green hues, this had a very refined, but intense nose of lime
fruits and toasty, kero bottle-aged notes.
Dry on palate, this was very fine-textured and had excellent line and
length, leading to a long finish with a sweet lusciousness showing. The final aromatic white shown was the Omihi
Road
Waipara Gewurztraminer 2008 (19.0-/20), at13.5% alc, carrying 17.0 g/l rs,
made from fruit from the Rayner and McKenzie vineyards. Still youthful pale straw in colour, this was
elegant in expression on the nose, showing the cooler side of florals and rose
petals, on an off-dry palate, again elegant, soft, and superbly harmonious and
integrated. Not a big, weighty wine,
this impressed with its stylishness.
The next group of wines was the fuller whites. Tasted first was the Wooing Tree Central Otago ‘Blondie’
2009 (18.0+/20), at 14.0% alc and 4.3 g/l rs, this was made from 100% Pinot
Noir given limited skin contact.
Faintest pink, ‘eye of the partridge’ colour, this was very delicate on
bouquet and palate with very subtle red fruit nuances, lavender perfumes and
notes of peach fruits on a crisp, zingy palate.
More white wine than rosé or blush, and delightfully refreshing. Next came two Sauvignon Blancs. First was the Champion Export Wine Trophy
winner, the Clifford Bay
Awatere Valley
Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (19.0/20), at 13.0% alc and 4.5 g/l rs, fruit from the
Awatere Valley.
Pale straw with green hues, this had an extremely powerful and intense
nose of concentrated capsicum and pungent gooseberry aromas on a palate of
great richness, intensity and depth.
Lovely pungent gooseberry and mineral flavours are the feature, in this
benchmark Sauvignon Blanc. The Champion
Sauvignon Blanc was the Saint Clair
‘Block 6 – Oh! Block’ Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (19.0+/20), at 12.5% alc and 3.4 g/l rs, fruit from O’Dwyers Road,
Rapaura. Pale straw yellow with green
hues, this was very full, soft and broad on the nose with rich, pungent
passionfruit aromas and plenty of sweaty notes.
Powerfully expressed on palate, this was broad and soft, yet it had
great richness of tropical fruits.
Amazingly flavoursome and almost overwhelmingly delicious. Following was the Villa Maria ‘Cellar Selection’ Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2009 (
18.5-/20), at 14.5% alc, with 3.7 g/l rs, 15% wild fermented and aged 4 months
in 23% new French barriques. Pale straw
yellow in colour, this was still tightly bound and youthful, showing
concentrated apricot kernels, florals and ginger, complemented by some oak
toastiness on the nose. Dry, but fine
textured and quite tight, the balance of all the components was obvious, and
the brooding nature would be bound to unfold in glass or with another year or
two of bottle age. Final in the group
was the Sacred Hill ‘Riflemans’ Hawke’s
Bay Chardonnay 2007 (19.5-/20), at 14.0% alc, with 2.28 g/l rs