The greater Wairarapa region encompasses
the Martinborough vignoble, and the diversity of the wines along with the
overall quality is extremely admirable.
There has always been considerable interaction between all the players
with the Martinborough growers and winemakers keen to see their success shared
with their surrounding neighbours. Exchange
of ideas and information has never been greater, and there is a cohesion of all
the sub-regions in marketing action. As
a result, the standard of the wines of the whole Wairarapa is very high and the
development of new styles and varieties exciting indeed.
As a class of wines, the Pinot Noirs of
the Wairarapa are very strong, and many wine commentators see a North Island
expression of greater richness and more savoury complex flavours in the wines
compared with those of the South Island. Their success is reflected in the 53% proportion
of the total 875 hectares of vine plantings in the Wairarapa (and Wellington) region.
We offer three Pinot Noirs from the
greater Wairarapa region, (this time not including Martinborough!), all from
the top-notch 2008 vintage, reminding you of the Wairarapa Wines Harvest
Festival, to be held on Sunday 20 March (click here for more information). All purchases of any of these wines will go
into the draw for one of four pairs of free tickets, the winners of which will
be announced on 10 March.
Wycroft
‘Forbury’ Pinot Noir 2008
The Wycroft Vineyard, situated on Matahiwi Road, 4 km
west of Masterton is a true boutique, with only 0.5 hectares close-planted to
the highly regarded Dijon
clones. The Wycroft production is
minuscule, with less than 250 cases released annually. Proprietor Lawrie
Bryant, former Wellington public relations specialist, loves
complex, long-lived Pinot Noir wines and has released some excellent wines in
this mould under the ‘Old River Terraces’ designation. The 2008 harvest produced Pinot Noir with a
delicious fruit forward style at Wycroft, and Lawrie introduced the ‘Forbury’
label for this. Lawrie contracted
talented winemaker Jane Cooper at Matahiwi Estate to craft this wine. The fruit
was all destemmed, given a cold soak and fermented to 13.0% alc, then aged 10
months in 30% new French barriques.
Light ruby red in colour, this has attractive, fresh raspberry and
cherry aromas and flavours with a soft, sweet fruited, plumy palate that
combines warmth with fresh fruitiness.
The ‘Forbury’ label has proven so successful that the 230 cases from the
2009 harvest has been bottled 30% to the premium ‘Wycroft’ wine and 70% to the
more accessible ‘Forbury’ style.
Urlar Gladstone Pinot Noir 2008
The striking new Urlar wines have been
very popular, delivering quality that matches the presentation. Angus and Davina Thomson, hailing from Scotland, have employed
Guy McMaster, formerly of Escarpment Vineyard as their winemaker, and the
initial releases have simply been superb.
All of the wines have strength of character and structure with flavour
interest, and are placed at the premium and innovative end of each style. With the Pinot Noir, great care to preserve
the individuality of the different plots and clones is taken, each fermented
separately in oak cuves. The wine was
cold soaked for colour and fermented to 14.0% alc, and matured for 10 months in
25%new French oak barriques. Dark ruby
colour with youthful purple hues, this is packed with dark plum and berry
fruits on nose and palate. The wine has
serious structure with good body and grip housing the fruit and oak. Nuances of spices and dried herbs provide
real complexity. There is sturdiness and
presence here. This should keep well
over the next 5-7 years. The 31 hectares
of Urlar vineyards are managed biodynamically, and sustainability is the
philosophy, reflecting the name ‘Urlar’, meaning ‘the earth’ in Gaelic.
Gladstone Vineyard Pinot
Noir 2008
As one of the pioneers of the region,
Gladstone Vineyard is the most consistent producers of quality wines, winning
top awards regularly. Christine and
David Kernohan have owned and run the operation since 1996. Their fruit source
is based on 2.7 ha of the Home Block established in 1986 and 10 ha in Dakins Road,
planted in 2000-2002. This is
supplemented by fruit from only three other contracted suppliers. The 2008 Pinot Noir is a gorgeous follow-on
from the multi-gold winning 2006 release.
Made from fruit from Gladstone Vineyard’s own blocks at Dakins Road and
Bideford (plus a small amount from Te
Muna Road!), this was cold soaked and fermented with 20% whole berries to 14.2%
alc, the wine was aged for 10 months in 30% new French oak. The result is an elegantly sized wine with
soft ruby colour, and a beautifully ethereal nose of florals, black and red
fruits and spicy fragrances. The wine is
lush and supple, and nuances of flavour unfold in the glass. The tannins are refined and there is
sufficient structure to enable 6-8 years cellaring.