Looking out over a snow covered pitch at Lords cricket ground the New Zealand Wine Annual Trade Tasting was a surprisingly well attended event given all the travel chaos of the past few weeks. With over 700 wines on offer it was a great place to see the variety produced in this cool climate corner of the world.
Although we are agents for Leung Estate’s Ma Maison Pinot Noir in the UK we weren’t exhibiting ourselves but we went along to see how our wine compares to the competition, and to see if there was anything we were missing out on.
Concentrating on the Pinot Noirs there were some great examples, most notably from the Martinborough region (home of our own Leung Estate), for example the single vineyard offerings from Larry McKenna’s Escarpment Vineyard and the Ata Rangi Estate Pinot Noir. However what struck us most of all was how much you had to pay to get a wine that had the kind of depth, concentration and elegance we have come to expect from our favourite red varietal. In fact, it went so far as to highlight the exceptional value for money that some of our Bourgogne rouge wines offer in comparison with their new world counterparts.
One of our favourite New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs comes from Chris Seifried who has appointed Domaine Direct as the new agents for Redwood Valley Estate from Nelson. Chris is over in the UK on his honeymoon but took time out to attend the tasting – much to his new bride’s annoyance no doubt! (If you would like more information on these wines then do let us know).
The organisers were keen to promote the wide range of white varietals produced in New Zealand, in particular the more aromatic examples. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Viognier and Pinot Gris are all developing a following and whilst they aren’t close to matching the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc they can make an interesting alternative.
As ever at a tasting of this size we didn’t make it round every table but we felt we gained a good insight into the New Zealand style and there was much for us to take away from a very enjoyable day!
Verity
12/1/2010