Central Otago (14) Domain Road

The home vineyard, Domain Road

Graeme and Gillian Crosbie were, like many Dunedin residents, drawn to Central Otago for summer sunshine. ‘Everyone came to Central Otago for their summer,’ says Graeme, who made his money as a property developer, ‘so we’ve had a house here since 1987. All our adult lives we’ve been interested by wine, and when we saw what was happening around us the opportunity came to purchase this land and we jumped in.’

Graeme Crosby, owner, Domain Road

In 2002 they bought an old apricot orchard on Domain Road in the Bannockburn subdistrict and planted 6.5 hectares of vines. A decade later they purchased more land on Felton Road and popped in another 7.5 hectares, which they named the Defiance vineyard.

Defiance vineyard

Schist soils, Defiance vineyard

Loess soils, home vineyard

The area is marked by the gold rush of the 1860s, and from the home block you can see the sluicings: large areas where hillsides were washed away in the quest for gold. They are now protected as a historical feature: the act of desecration of a landscape now redeemed.

50% of their vineyard area is planted to Pinot Noir, which is a relatively low proportion for the region, which is Pinot focused. They do very attractive whites, too – including Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon and Pinot Gris.

But it has been a long and sometimes difficult journey, building a small winery in such a strong place. ‘A lot of people don’t realise that it’s a very long business to get up and running,’ says Graeme. ‘You do everything from growing the grapes, getting them into a bottle, getting the bottle away to some other part of the world, and then following it over there and selling it to someone. We are a small family business with 14 hectares of vines. I need all the skills that people would have if they had 14 000 hectares.’

Domain Road has an impressive new container-based tasting room on the Defiance Vineyard, which sits in a beautiful setting. This vineyard, on Felton Road, seems like a special site, and the inaugural Pinot from here, the 2016, is a very impressive wine. The wines are made at VinPro by Pete Bartle, and the 2017 Pinots tasted from barrel there looked really smart.

Domain Road Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
Has a barrel portion (20-30% depending on the year, but this vintage, which was quite small, had 40% barrel ferment), as well as some tank ferment. Very pretty and lively with nice focus. There’s some tropical richness, a bit of elderflower, and good acidity. There’s a hint of fig, too. Lovely texture here. 90/100

Domain Road Chardonnay 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
From the Defiance vineyard, 100% barrel fermented. Pressed off into tank overnight, and then to barrel after it is inoculated. This is quite delicate and bright with subtle toast, cedar and spice from the oak, as well as a solid citrus core, some floral notes, and really appealing peachy richness, too. Good acidity and a bit of structure, with lots of potential for development. Give this time. 93/100

Domain Road The Water Race Dry Riesling 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
Taut, fresh and lemony with brightness and focus. Dry and linear with good acidity (pH 2.88, 5.5 g/l rs) and a bit of tangerine exoticism on the finish. Good concentration of flavour here. 90/100

Domain Road Duffers Creek Riesling 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
11% alcohol, 14.7 g/l residual sugar. Lovely delicacy here with a bit of sweetness balancing out the high acidity. Very linear with a lovely tangerine and melon character as well as some limey brightness. Very stylish, finishing taut. 92/100

Domain Road Defiance Pinot Gris 2018 Central Otago, New Zealand
Rounded and textural with nice fresh melon and table grape notes, with a bit of sweetness. Has a very smooth texture. Attractive, rounded and pretty. Subtly smoky. 89/100

Domain Road Defiance Pinot Gris 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
13% alcohol. This is quite delicate, but it also has plenty of flavour. It’s quite stony and mineral with nice brisk acidity, but also some grapey richness and hints of bacon and smoke. 90/100

Domain Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2016 Central Otago, New Zealand
This is fresh and supple with bright red cherry and raspberry fruit. There’s good acidity and some nice tannic structure. Bright and red fruited, this has lovely focus. There’s a bite on the finish, too. Very stylish and quite serious, with nice grip and potential for development. 94/100

Domain Road Defiance Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016 Central Otago, New Zealand
First harvest from Defiance was 2015, and all the Pinot was used for making rosé. So this is the first proper Pinot from this vineyard. Not all of the Pinot is used for the Defiance. About 7 barrels are selected for the final wine, and everything else goes into the Bannockburn Pinot Noir. Textural and fine with some silkiness, but also nice sour cherry and raspberry fruit, with some structural bite. There’s generosity but also freshness. A really impressive wine. Such a joy right now but with potential for development. 95/100

Domain Road Paradise Pinot Noir 2015 Central Otago, New Zealand
This is from the home vineyard, and it’s a barrel selection: in 2015 three barrels were chosen, given 15-18 months in barrel. Not too showy, but with lovely assured tannic structure. Harmonious with fine-grained tannins. Has a savoury edge to the cherry and plum fruit, and a sense of elegance. Good structure here. 94/100

Domain Road Symposium 2018 Central Otago, New Zealand
Late-harvested Sauvignon picked at 32.5 Brix. 120 g/l residual sugar. Fermented a percentage in barrel, and used one of those for this wine – the second will progressively be used in future years. This is a third of the blend, and the rest was tank fermented. Very lively and fruity with good acidity, still, and lovely tropical and elderflower notes. Clean, fruity and sweet, but not fully sweet because of the acidity. Lovely fruit expression here. 92/100

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/new-zealand/central-otago-14-domain-road

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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In Bordeaux

I’m in Bordeaux. Tomorrow I get to taste most of the top 2017s in bottle, which will be my first look at this vintage. But this afternoon I had a few hours spare, so I wandered around the city on a perfect spring day and took some pictures and made a short film. It’s a lovely city these days, and I always enjoy my time here. Tonight we dine at Malartic-Lagravière with a focus on the wines of the Graves, and then tomorrow after the tastings it’s off to Cos and Pédesclaux. Then home Wednesday morning.

The short film:

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/bordeaux/in-bordeaux

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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Central Otago (13) Akarua

Akarua’s terraced 25 Steps vineyard in Lowborn: one of the most instantly recognisable vineyards in the region

Akarua is an important producer for Central Otago. In a region of small outfits, they are a reasonable size, and of late have been on a vineyard-buying spree. With winemaker Andrew Keenleyside (who fairly recently took over from Matt O’Connell) I visited a few of them.

Andrew Keenleyside, winemaker

The first is the distinctive 25 Steps vineyard, at the end of the Sugarloaf hill in Pisa. Here, terraces have been constructed, each holding two rows of vines. There’s also a vineyard block on the flat top of the hill. The challenge here is wind: it’s an exposed site that gets blown around a lot. This vineyard is 9 hectares, all planted to Pinot Noir.

They also bought the vineyard previously known as Pisa Range. This is now called Lilyvale. And next door is another purchase: what was Kawarau Estate is now De Bettencourt, and it was the first organic vineyard in the region. There are some 25 year old vines here, but they have had to replant much of the vineyard. Akarua also have 21 hectares on Felton Road. Add these together with the original Cairnmuir vineyard, and it makes them the second biggest player in the region after Mount Difficulty.

Looking across the vineyard over Pisa, with the netted cherries and then Lake Dunstan in the distance

The Pisa subdistrict

Looking across over Lake Dunstan

It’s a wind-affected site: short internodes on these vines

The history of Akarua goes back to 1996. It was established by Sir Clifford Skeggs, who made his money in fisheries, and later diversified to take in a range of businesses. He planted a significant vineyard, the 48 hectare Cairnmuir, and the first wines were made in 1999. Skeggs also holds the record for four terms as mayor of Dunedin, between 1977 and 1989. His son David is now in charge of the business.

The original vineyard in Bannockburn

The white area is netted cherry orchards

One of Akarua’s specialities is sparkling wine, and Tony Jordan has been consulting for them since 2009. The base wines are made in Akarua, but the rest of the production process is done at specialist fizz producer No 1 Family in Marlborough. The non-vintage spends 18 months on lees minimum, and the vintage has 3 years. ‘We are consistent on our dosages,’ says Andrew, ‘which says we are doing something right with our tirage – always in the 6-6.5 g/l range.’

Akarua Brut NV Central Otago, New Zealand
Blend across vintage, majority for this one is from 2016. 6 g/l dosage. 13% alcohol. Fresh, pure and clean with lovely crisp citrus and pear fruit. Focused with a bit of structure from the good acidity and a nice finish. 90/100

Akarua Rosé NV Central Otago, New Zealand
Mainly 2016. 6 g/l dosage. Lots of small batch fermentation, and one will be fermented half way on skins and then pressed off to get colour but not too much tannin. This is used as the colour component, and this is added at tirage. Pale pink colour. Linear and fruity with nice precision, showing subtle redcurrant and cherry notes, and good acidity keeping things fresh. Lovely pure fruit here. Dry style. Lovely. 91/100

Akarua Vintage Brut 2014 Central Otago, New Zealand
60 Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Some barrel ferment of base wine and 3 years on lees. Toasty and complex with subtle brioche and fine citrus and apple notes. Has nice focus and complexity. Lively acidity adds interest. Lovely complexity to this wine. Has richness and depth. 92/100

Akarua Sauvignon Blanc 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
From an organic block in the De Bettencourt vineyard in Pisa, from 25 year old vines. Pressed, first two thirds go to stainless steel then the more phenolic last third is splashed into barrel with some oxygen. Fresh, delicate, slightly nettle elderflower nose. Delicate palate with nice texture and tension, and lovely green herbal hints and a nice long finish. Very stylish and understated. 90/100

Akarua Riesling 2017 Central Otago, New Zealamd
From the Felton Road vineyard, 15 year old vines, just off dry style. pH 2.89. 12.5% alcohol, 9 g/l acid. Lovely melon and citrus fruit here with keen acidity that is balanced by a little sugar. Really pure and intense. Apricot and lime on the finish. 92/100

Akarua Rua Pinot Noir 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
Rua is Maori for number two. Aka is the word for the grape vine and Rua is for two (originally Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). Lovely floral cherry fruit nose with a bit of damson bite. So pretty with a nice bitter twist and some sour cherry. Very stylish. 100% barrel aged even though it is second-tier wine. Lovely fruit expression. 92/100 ($25)

Akarua Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
Subtle roast coffee edge to the aromatic cherry and plum fruit nose. Elegant, refined cherry and plum fruit on the palate with some fine spiciness. Such a lovely, refined structure: there’s tannin but it integrates so well with the fruit. Harmonious. 93/100

Akarua Kolo Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016 Central Otago, New Zealand
From the single block on Felton Road. Loess, plus river gravels and broken schist soils. Open, aromatic nose. Supple, sweet with some bruised apple notes and red fruits to the fore. Very smooth and stylish with light, expressive but nicely concentrated red cherries. This is a very distinctive wine. 94/100

Akarua The Siren Pinot Noir Bannockburn 2015 Central Otago, New Zealand
From different bits of the home vineyard. Ripe and smoothly textured with fine grained tannins and lovely sweet, generous red fruits. Plummy and cherry-scented with nice weight. Very appealing and textured, but there’s also quite a bit of structure. 94/100

Here is a short film showing the various vineyards that Akarua farm:

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/new-zealand/central-otago-13-akarua

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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People, places, landscapes and change

I’m currently intrigued by the idea of being from a place. Thanks to a friend, I discovered the author Robert Macfarlane, and I’m currently working through his book The Old Ways. He’s a gifted writer with an incredible voice, and in this book he takes us on his journeys discovering old paths and routes throughout the UK. There are so many gems in here: passages of great beauty that nestle like seeds in your mind, and then germinate to produce thoughts and ideas that just keep on going.

In one chapter, Macfarlane is in the Cairgnorms in the Scottish highlands. Later in their lives, his grandparents made this their home, and this powerful place wrote itself on them in mysterious ways:

…landscape has long offered keen ways of figuring ourselves to to ourselves, strong ways of shaping memories and giving form to thought

…better than anyone else Shepherd [an author he refers to] ‘recounted’ the power of the Highland landscape to draw people into intimacy with it, and showed how particular places might make possible particular thoughts.

I love this idea that belonging to a place can change us. That, in some way, the locale seeps into our thinking and our being, such that we are changed. In my travels I visit places that have quite a power to them. What must it be like to live for an extended time in Central Otago, or the Douro Valley, or Chianti, or the Alentejo? I could go on: the place changes the people.

This also raises questions. For example, if you are willing to engage with the place will it change you more? You could imagine that being outdoors, exploring, hiking and being present would enable a greater depth of interaction and thus change. And some places have more power: would they change you more?

This is highly relevant to wine. We think of the concept of terroir as being the influence of the place on the vine, and thus its fruit, which – with sensitive winemaking – results in a wine that conveys the place. But what of the human interaction. Does the place change the people who make the wine, and thus the way they grow their vines and make their wine? This is an intriguing notion.

But this idea is also extended by Macfarlane. Is it possible for our connection to a place to travel with us when we leave it?

But there are also the landscapes that we bear with us in absentia, those places that live on in memory long after they have withdrawn in actuality, and such places – retreated to most often when we are most remote from them – are among the most important landscapes we possess.

This gives hope to travellers like me. I can spend time in a place, absorb it, be changed by it, and then carry it around with me. I really hope that I can, at some stage, belong to a place fully. I’d really like that. For now, I just collect postcards in my heart. Places, people – it’s such an interesting way of thinking.

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/uncategorized/people-places-landscapes-and-change

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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Central Otago (12) Domaine Rewa

Philippa and Yannick Fourbet

In a privileged site in the Lowburn subdistrict of Central Otago, Domaine Rewa – a small biodynamic vineyard – is turning out some very smart wines. And there’s a great story behind it, too.

Back in 2010, Philippa Shepherd (now Fourbet, but we’ll get to that later) was working for Deutsche Bank in London. The job was pretty high-powered (she was at Director level), but she hadn’t left her roots behind her. She was born and raised on a farm in Waitahuna in Otago, about 2 hours from Rewa. ‘I always wanted to have a business,’ she says, ‘and I wanted it to be land based, because I always knew I wanted to be an old lady in New Zealand.’

As a child she visited the area, but it was very different then. ‘This was all just rabbit-infested, desolate land, before the dam came in.’ Now it’s very different, and the Cromwell Basin is home to some of New Zealand’s top vineyards.

Here’s a film where I interview Philippa and Yannick – we discuss pots and biodynamics, among other things, including Yannick’s plans to make amphorae for wine.

After Philippa decided she wanted to buy something, she looked around for quite a while. She even thought about buying an apple orchard. But in 2009 her parents found this vineyard, which had been planted by the Lawrence family who now run Aurum wines. The next day, Philippa put an offer in from London, having only seen the property in photographs. ‘In 2009, no vineyard had changed hands in Central Otago for two years,’ she says. ‘There were 800 vineyards in New Zealand, and 500 of them were for sale.’

She says she got it for the price of a house in Auckland. It was planted in 1999, and has 2.5 hectares of Pinot Noir, and a hectare each of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling. Initially, as an absentee owner, she hired Grant Rolston of Vine Wise to manage the vineyard (he’s still involved now), and he spoke to Pete Bartle who ended up making the wines (he still does, at VinPro). They took over the property just after the 2010 vintage, and made the first wines in 2011. The initial Domaine Rewa production was just 3000 bottles, and now they are making 15 000.

In 2011 they started farming organically, and then started implementing biodynamics in 2012. If they’d carried on with certification, they would be certified in 2014, but they decided to stick with just organic certification, even though they still practice biodynamics. ‘They are quite painful here,’ says Philippa, referring to the biodynamic certifying bodies. ‘We had problems planting herbs in the garden and we couldn’t buy a lemon tree.’

The only viticultural problems have been with powdery mildew, which takes a lot of effort to control, and with the tannins in Pinot Noir. In some vintages the site is capable of making quite tannic Pinots, and they don’t think it’s an issue with not enough irrigation.

But the other half of the story is the French Potter, Yannick Fourbet, who is now Philippa’s husband, and who has transplanted his business from the south of France to Central Otago. Yannick was born and raised in Cameroon, and then moved to France to finish off his eductation. After a short spell as a marine biologist, he studied for an MBA in marketing, and then started dealing in antiques. He then fell in love with Anduze pots, and bought shares in a pottery called La Chêne Vert, where he learned how to make them. ‘Somehow, along the way, a Kiwi girl walked into my workshop.’ It was 2012, and Philippa was looking for pots for her vineyard in New Zealand. She was asking lots of questions and the sales person didn’t have much English. They came to find Yannick: ‘Yannick, Yannick, you speak English, there is someone here.’

‘I come out with my big apron and clay in my hair. Hello, can I help you? She fell in love with the pots before the potter, which is fine by me,’ he recalls. In 2013 he was exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show.

‘We had been corresponding for a year, sporadically,’ Yannick says. “I was done with setting up the stand and I gave her a call and said would you like to have a drink? She was really busy at the time: she was going right and left in Europe for Deutsche Bank, and her parents were visiting as well. So we had this drink and so much fun that the next day we reiterated the operation. We had dinner and, then, you know, it was very nice.’

At this point, Yannick was working in France running his workshop, and Philippa was still tied up in Deutsche Bank, working long hours and travelling a lot. But they began their relationship. ‘The next thing you now we decided to get married,’ says Yannick.

‘We got engaged in 2014 and got married in 2015,’ says Philippa. ‘I was pregnant with twins, but I stayed in London until the end of 2015, and then we lived in France for 2016/17 in the Cevennes, and then we moved here.’ They arrived in January 2018, and now Domaine Rewa is their home. They weren’t initially going to make the move so fast, but Yannick is 53, Philippa is 42, and with two young boys, it seemed the best time.

‘If you are going to run a vineyard from the other side of the world, unless you have so much money, you are really capped on where you can go,’ says Philippa. ‘There is no way we could have continued.’

So now they are in situ, and looking to grow production (they are still selling some grapes), and build Domaine Rewa. But there’s another side to the business: pots.

‘After we met, I have always told Philippa that pots will sell wine, and wine will sell pots,’ says Yannick. ‘Where it ticks the box is that people from the wine industry have heard about us coming back here, me being a potter, and the idea of building a workshop to make horticultural pots like I have always done, except I plan to have collection that will be typically Kiwi, from Central Otago.’ The pot side of things has interested winemakers, and Pete Bartle, Alan Brady and Rudi Bauer have all asked Yannick whether he can make amphorae for wine. The workshop is now under construction. It will be interesting to try the first Central Otago wines fermented and aged in clay from the region.

The couple have a tremendous energy to them. Philippa, especially: she is still working in banking as a director for NZ Bank, and commutes once a week to Wellington where she works for a day, stays overnight, and then heads back to Domaine Rewa. Now they are living in the vineyard, this should be a winery to watch.

THE WINES

Domaine Rewa Riesling 2015 Central Otago, New Zealand
This wine has lovely texture with a citrus core and some subtle melon and honey notes. Dry with some sweet fruit and nice intensity. A stylish wine with some residual sugar countered by nice acidity. 92/100

Domaine Rewa Riesling 2016 Central Otago, New Zealand
There’s brightness and freshness here. Taut with attractive lemony fruit and a bit of pithiness, as well as really good acidity. Linear and bright with lovely purity and precision. Youthful. 92/100

Domaine Rewa Chardonnay 2016 Central Otago, New Zealand
An intriguing wine with a creamy, bready edge to the linear pear and apple fruit. There’s a nice pithy edge here with lovely stony notes. Such precision to this wine, which shows a great linear drive and a sense of delicacy. 93/100

Domaine Rewa Chardonnay 2017 Central Otago, New Zealand
Fresh and vivid with lovely juicy citrus and pear fruit. Has freshness and a direct, linear drive. Stony and bright with good balance and poise. 93/100

Domaine Rewa Pinot Noir 2012 Central Otago, New Zealand
This is drinking well, but it still has quite firm tannins. Juicy and fine with red cherries, some spices, some earthy notes and a fine-grained structure. Developing in a nice direction with good finesse. 93/100

Domaine Rewa Pinot Noir 2014 Central Otago, New Zealand
Lovely black cherry and blackberry fruit. Quite dark and intense but also showing some elegance. Really precise style with silkiness and purity, as well as some generosity. 94/100

Domaine Rewa Pinot Noir 2015 Central Otago, New Zealand
Delicate nose with some fine herbal notes as well as focused red fruits. Supple, juicy palate with redcurrant and red cherry fruit. There are also some hints of seaweed and decayed leaves. Sweetly fruited and expressive in a lighter style. This is an outlier. 91/100

Domaine Rewa Pinot Noir 2016 Central Otago, New Zealand
This shows pure, vivid red cherry and berry fruit. Finesse and elegance are the hallmarks, with purity, a lightness of body and a spine of grippy tannins. Lovely elegant style. 94/100

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/new-zealand/central-otago-12-domaine-rewa

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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The wines of François Lurton

François Lurton

It was great to meet and taste with François Lurton. His father, Andre Lurton, is a very important figure in Bordeaux. Lurton senior, who owns Château Bonnet, was active in establishing the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation and helping improve the quality of the affordable white Bordeaux wines that come from here. The family also own several other Bordeaux Château, including La Louvière in Pessac-Léognan.

Andre has seven children, and two of them, François and Jacques, became well known for their consulting work, beginning in the 1980s. As a team, they were important in developing wines that, mostly, ended up in supermarkets, offering good quality at an affordable price. In 1992 they went to Argentina, and worked with Catena. There they were taken by the Uco Valley in Mendoza and its potential, and in 1996 they bought what is now Chacayes. At the time, no one else was here: in the north there was Tupungato, and in the south La Consulta, and in between was a desert.

They pioneered viticulture in this central band, planting 100 hectares of vines, registering the name Chacayes for their top wine, after the place. Ten years ago the neighbouring vineyards that had been planted asked if they could use the name, and now Los Chacayes is a GI within the Uco Valley. It’s an alluvial fan coming down from the Andes, and has quite heterogeneous, low fertility soils. In 2007 François and Jacques stopped working together, and now all the projects come under the banner François Lurton, with wineries in France, Spain, Chile and Argentina.

The Uco Valley estate is called Piedra Negra, and when they began they planted a range of different varieties, including Pinot Gris, which has been a huge success and now accounts for a third of their production. They also planted Friulano, which is a phenolic variety with lots of tannins in the skin: he ferments this in oak. The reds are Malbec based, with some vine material coming from Argentina and some from southwest France.

Piedra Negra Pinot Gris 2018 Los Chicayes, Mendoza, Argentina
This is fresh and taut with nice citrus fruit and some grapey notes. Good texture. Fresh and supple. 87/100

Piedra Negra Gran Lurton Corte Friulano 2018 Los Chacayes, Mendoza, Argentina
This is fermented in oak. It’s supple and textured with nice sweet pear and citrus fruit with a touch of oak. Very supple and fresh with good structure and character. Lovely weight with fine spicy notes and potential for development. 91/100

L’Esprit de Chacayes 2017 Los Chacayes, Mendoza, Argentina
This is unoaked, and it’s a blend of Malbec and Cot (Malbec from southwest France). Cold maceration before ferment, from high density vineyards harvested at 9 tons/hectare. Lovely floral blackcurrant and black cherry nose showing freshness on the palate with good structure to the sleek black fruits. Focused, and carries the high alcohol (15%) very well. 93/100

Chacayes 2015 Los Chacayes, Mendoza, Argentina
This is from an insanely close planted vineyard, with 20 000 vines per hectare. It is fermented in barrels which are sealed and then rolled to get very light extraction. Ripe and luxurious with lovely sweet cherry and plum fruit, with firm but fine structure. Fresh and detailed, with ripeness but also firm tannins and some nice brightness. Very expressive. Lots of concentration and structure but some finesse, too. 94/100

Chacayes 2014 Los Chacayes, Mendoza, Argentina
Lovely floral black cherry and plum fruit. Very polished with good structure and finesse. There’s some impressive tannin here, but also good balance with sweet black fruits and structure in nice tension. Has freshness as well as weight, and a nice salty note on the finish. 94/100

Chacayes 2007 Los Chacayes, Mendoza, Argentina
This was François’ first year alone with this project. It’s from slightly lower density parcels that are the oldest on the property. It’s ageing beautifully with fresh black cherries, some plums, subtle herbs and earth. Still has good structure and weight. Has aged really nicely. 93/100

Chacayes 2002 Los Chacayes, Mendoza, Argentina
This was made with his brother Jacques, and the vineyard was then 7 years old. This is developed, with notes of earth, spice and herbs. It’s a bit animal and spicy with some earthy characters. There’s lots to like, but it does taste quite old. 90/100

François also let me try some of his southern French wines. He went to the Languedoc looking to make varietal wines, but fell in love with some of the terroirs, and ended up buying a few domaines.

Domaine de Nizas 2018 Languedoc, France
From Pezenas, this is from vines grown on basaltic soils from the massif central. It’s silky and fine with sweet black cherry fruit. Fine, smooth and elegant with lush fruit but also nice meat, salt and olive complexity. 93/100

Château des Erles Fitou 2017 France
François Lurton purchased this 30 hectare domaine in 2001, and it now has 23 hectares of vines. This wine is half Syrah with the balance Grenache and Carignan, and it’s aged in one-year old oak. Supple sweet fruit with a touch of roast meat, a hint of coffee and some cinnamon. Sweet black cherry fruit with well integrated tannins. Ripe but expressive with nice finesse. 92/100

Mas d’en Janeil Sans Soufre 2018 Côtes de Roussillon Villages, France
No added sulfur dioxide. Fresh, with nice focus and sweet cherries and plums. Bright berry fruits with some raspberry character, and some grip and pepper. 91/100

Mas d’en Janeil Blanc 2016 Côtes de Roussillon Villages, France
Francois Lurton believes that there is huge potential for white wine in the Roussillon. This is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris and Macabeo. It’s supple and limey with nice pear and peach fruit, with a touch of fennel and hints of mint. There’s a lovely fresh, chalky finish. 92/100

Mas d’en Janeil Le Pas de la Mule 2015 Côtes de Roussillon Villages, France
This is Grenache from the highest plot on the property. Dense and sweetly fruited with nice weight and structure. Good weight and density here with grippy tannins and some alcohol. A rich, dense wine. 91/100

Mas d’en Janeil Rosé Sans Soufre 2018 Côtes de Roussillon Villages, France
Fermented in concrete eggs. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Supple and fresh with nice sweet pear fruit and a hint of red cherry. Fresh and fine with nice texture. 92/100

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from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/france/the-wines-of-francois-lurton

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The wines of Nyetimber, England

Nyetimber are probably the most famous winery in the UK, and along with a good number of other English sparkling wine producers, they were present at the ProWein fair in Dusseldorf this week. I popped along to try through their range, including a first look – for me – at the new prestige 1086 cuvées.

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée NV
The 2014 base, with 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013. 10.5 g/l dosage. This has lovely toast and spice notes with pear and apple, as well as a citrus core. Generous and harmonious with lovely brisk acidity giving balance to the richer elements. 92/100

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2013
This was the first wine released in 1996 with the 1992 vintage. Taut and focused with some generosity, this has harmonious citrus fruit with lovely tension and brightness. Has some subtle toast and some sweet pear and white peach. Some creaminess too. 93/100

Nyetimber Tillington Single Vineyard 2013
This was England’s first specific single vineyard bottling when it was released. The Tillington vineyard is 13 hectares in size, but just 5 of these are used for this wine, and it’s the third release. Three years on the lees, 9.7 g/l dosage. Lean, taut, precise and very elegant with some cherry and plum notes, a nice sappy green hint, and lovely well integrated acidity. The Pinot Noir (three quarters of the blend) really shines through with its fresh cherry notes. Fine and fresh with a lovely expanding finish. 94/100

Nyetimber 1086 2009
This is a prestige cuvee named after the Doomsday book reference to the Nyetimber estate. Nine years on the lees and disgorged September 2018. This is the expression of the entirety of the vintage, and it’s a blend of all three grapes. Complex and expressive with some toast, some herbs, and fine citrus, pear and apple fruit. There’s a richness here, with a luxurious, complex mouthfeel and a long, toast-laced finish. But despite the richness, there’s some precision too. It’s still quite linear, and there’s a bit of structure, too. Very fine. 94/100

Nyetimber 1086 Rosé 2010
25% Chardonnay, 75% Pinot Noir, dosage 8g/l, 18% red Pinot Noir in the blend. Pink/orange colour, with attractive cherry, herb and spice notes. Has some fennel/anise notes, and a touch of Turkish delight. Nice savoury edge with precision and focus. This has a long, dry finish that just keeps on going, and lovely layered spiciness, as well as faint sappy notes. Serious stuff that’s possibly the best English sparkling wine I have tried. 95/100

Nyetimber Rosé NV
Based on 2014 vintage with some 2013. Fresh, detailed and sappy with expressive cherry and plum notes and a really appealing green sappiness. Lovely linear palate with expressive fruit, keen acidity and a hint of sweetness balancing things out. Very fine. 93/100

Nyetimber Demi-Sec NV
Chardonnay, with 38 g/l dosage. Lovely fruit here: generous yet fresh with citrus, pear and table grape. Nice precision and detail, lying under the sweet fruit. Lovely balance here with briskness and lovely sweetness that integrates very well. Refreshing, fruity and quite delicious. 92/100

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from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/england/the-wines-of-nyetimber-england

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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Some high-end wines from Cramele Recas, Romania

Philip Cox is the man behind Cramele Recas, an incredibly smart, adept, market-sensitive Romanian winery. They sell 24 million bottles a year under a whopping 247 different labels, and they specialise in well-made affordable supermarket wines. But they also make some more premium offerings, and I got to try a few of these. Here are my notes.

Regno Recas Sauvignon Blanc 2018 Recas, Romania
12.5% alcohol. Youthful and primary with crisp, clean pear drop and citrus fruit. Very attractive clean fruity style, but not a lot of personality. It’s varietally true though. 87/100

Solo Quinta 2018 Recas, Romania
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Ottonel, Feteasca Regala. 13% alcohol. Aromatic and grapey, with rich table grape, mandarin, fennel and spice flavours. This has some richness, and a bit of tropical exoticism, but everything is kept in check by a nice citrus drive. Lots of flavour here. Dry but exotic and generous. 90/100 (£19 from Turton Wines in the UK)

Solevari Reserve Feteasca Regalia 2018 Recas, Romania
12% alcohol. This is really expressive: it’s grapey and floral, with some baked apple character and a fine spiciness. There’s some tangerine, too. Very fruity and grapey. Quite delicious. 90/100 (the Solevari wines are available in the UK from Virgin Wines at £11.99)

Solevari Reserve Feteasca Neagra 2018 Recas, Romania
13.5% alcohol. There’s a creamy edge to the floral fruity nose, and then the palate has direct, vivid raspberry and cherry fruit. There’s a slightly savoury, clove-like spicy edge to the fruit that reminds me a bit of staves, but the fruit quality is lovely. 89/100

Solevari Reserva Pinot Noir 2017 Recas, Romania
13.5% alcohol. Sweet, floral cherry and raspberry nose leads to a lush, smooth palate showing sweet berry fruits and hints of coffee, tar and cedar. Nice fruit, but the meaty, cedary savouriness intrudes a little. 88/100

Selene Merlot Reserva 2017 Recas, Romania
14.5% alcohol. Dense, ripe, chewy and spicy, with concentrated ripe blackberry and black cherry fruit, with a savoury, cedary edge. Rich and with lovely fruit, but the clove, cedar and coffee from the oak are a bit intrusive. And it is very rich and ripe. A really ambitious wine. 86/100 (Tanners carry the Cabernet Sauvignon at £16.30)

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/romania/some-high-end-wines-from-cramele-recas-romania

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Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2013

I was excited to try this new 2013 Blanc de Blancs from leading English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber, because it is the first vintage to feature wine from their Hampshire vineyards (30%), which have chalk soils (in addition to the Sussex greensand vineyards they began with, which make up 70% of the blend).

The Chardonnay grapes were pressed and settled, and then 97% was fermented in stainless steel, and 3% in new French oak. Full malolactic fermentation. Five years on lees, and then has 9.5 g/l dosage.

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2013 England
This wine has generosity and precision at the same time, with keen but well integrated acidity underpinning the ripe citrus, pear and apple fruit. There’s some bready, toasty richness, but it doesn’t obscure the fine, well structured fruit. There’s a very slight buttery, creamy richness, presumably from the malolactic fermentation, and then a long, tapering finish with lovely lemony fruit, and table grape and nectarine richness. Drinking beautifully now, this wine is really harmonious and nicely poised. 93/100

from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/sparkling-wine/nyetimber-blanc-de-blancs-2013

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Champagne highlights (2)

These bottles were all drunk on the trip. Some great discoveries here – these are all from smaller growers.

Champagne Emmanuel Brochet Le Mont Benoit Extra Brut NV France
Emmanuel Brochet farms 2.5 hectares with an average vine age of 35 years, working organically. He began in 1997, and all his wines are pressed with a Cocquard basket press and then vinified in wood. This spends 11 months in wood, and is a blend of roughly equal parts of all the three main varieties. It is bottled with 20% reserve wine and spends two years on its lees, and then has 4 g/l dosage. This is very fine, with an expressive nose of almonds, toast, citrus and a touch of wax. The palate is fruity and fine with red cherries, lemons and some tangerine. Very pure and linear with amazing precision and a real energy. Thrilling. 96/100

Champagne Remi Leroy Brut Nature NV France
The family have 9 hectares in the Aube on Portlandian limestone over Kimmeridgean limestone, and Remi has 3 hectares of these for his own lable, while they sell the rest. Most of the holdings (70%) are Pinot Noir. This wine is matured in 85% stainless steel, 15% oak, and then it spends three years on its lees. Disgorged May 2018, 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Delicate, vital and electric with lovely focused citrus and cherry fruit with very fine bready, toasty notes and keen acidity. The acid line is fresh and vital, with some salty, chalky notes and amazing presence. 95/100

Champagne Etienne Calsac Les Rocheforts Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru NV France
This is from a parcel in Bisseuil premier cru that is especially calcareous, and it undergoes full malolactic fermentation. Base vintage is 2015 and it was disgorged in 2018. Delicate and vinous with lovely precision to the sweet crystalline citrus fruit, with a hint of apple. There’s a crispness and focus on the finish with an expansion, and some grip. Amazing delicacy and finesse with the acid and the structure just so precise. Some almond notes, too, with a hint of sweetness on the mid-palate and some chalky grip on the end. 93/100

Champagne Marie-Noelle Ledru Grand Cru Extra Brut Ambonnay NV France
This is so complex, with cherry and cranberry notes from the Pinot Noir (85%) but then it morphs into bright citrus fruit, and a complex, precise finish. There is also some development and some oxidative hints. A thrilling wine that finishes with precision. 95/100

Champagne Rochet Bocart Brut Nature 1er Cru Vaudemonge 2006 France
A premier cru from the Montagne de Reims. Taut, complex and focused with fine toast and spice, and lovely precision, showing lemons, some pear and compact fruit. Real precision and focus here. 94/100

Champagne Françoise Bedel Origin’elle NV France
Based on 2010 vintage, this is 90% Pinot Meunier and 10% Pinot Noir, five years on the lees, disgorged October 2016. Focused and rich at the same time with apple and pear and a bit of citrus. Nice focus and weight with some citrus peel notes. Fruity with some baked apple, cherry and toast: a broad style. 92/100

Champagne Barrat Masson Cuvée Fleur de Craie Extra Brut 2015 France
No dosage, disgorged November 2018 , from 40 year old vines on chalky soils. Aurélie and Loïc are the team behind this wine: he took over the family farm and got rid of herbicides in 2005, and they have farmed their 7 hectares organically since 2009. They are in Villeneaux La Grand on the slopes of the Cezannais. This wine, 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir, has a lovely delicacy with some sweet citrus, a touch of pear and some white peach. It’s very pure with amazing balance for a non-dose wine. Subtle and fine with nice focus and purity. 93/100

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from Jamie Goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/champagne/champagne-highlights-2

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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