Tasted last month, a small New Zealand session:
2015 Rippon, Riesling
A lovely nose – open and inviting. Fresh attack, direct, a little mouth-watering sweetness and perfumed finksh. Lovely.
2013 Rippon, Pinot Noir
Smells of some whole-cluster – round and attractive. Mouth-filling, a little astringent, but long flavours of freshness and interest.
2013 Rippon, Tinkers Field
A deep nose, of whole-clusters, sweet, really attractive. Lots of volume, melting flavour, long and with good concentration too. Yum.
2013 Prophets Rock, Central Otago
A more perfumed width of pinot fruit. Energy, complexity, slightly floral finishing. All these NZ wines are very aromttic so far.
2014 Prophets Rock, Home Vineyard
A deeper nose, dirty pinot, whole-clusters, perhaps reduction too – it sounds terrible but it’s quite lovely. Round, mouth-filling and complex, a good compbination of energy and sweetness of cherry-plum fruit style. Tasty wine.
There is one response to “‘foreign’ wines that have passed my lips…”
Bill, what, in particular do you identify as the main points of distinction between these NZ pinots and those of Burgundy please? I appreciate that it is a. Very narrow tasting base you have here.
Dear Stephen
I think more in terms of what unites NZ and Burgundy! The most overt thing for me is the freshness of the NZ acidity – it is the one, non-burgundian, location that offers the same acid-freshness whilst still having ripeness of fruit. Indeed NZ sometimes goes too far in the sweetness of fruit – almost Burgundy 2003 in style. But as there is an element of climate change – or at least a wave of warmer vintages – then 2009, 2015, 2016 levels of sweetness in Burgundy are more in the direction of NZ. The Antipodeans are still even more marked by vintage variation than the burgundy wines, but given the youth of their vines that’s hardly a surprise, and vine age is starting bring a level of concentration in those wines that they never previously enjoyed. Paint me a fan…
Bill