Top New Zealand Pinot Noir…in the USA…
February 17th, 2010 | Posted by Kirk
Bring on the debate! Interesting article in the New York Times by Eric Asimov with comment on New Zealand Pinot Noir in relation to a recent tasting. The article kicks off under the heading ‘NZ Youths with promise’ and leads by saying our Pinots have come a long way in the last 10 years and seem to show improvement at every new tasting.
Throughout the article interesting points keep cropping up. 20 wines were tasted in all… There was a wide range in styles… The panel preferred the lighter more elegant style over the dense full bodied wines… The wines were very good but not great, apparently… no benchmark style… 6 of the top 20 were under $20… Ata Rangi (‘too simple’), Dry River (‘without shape or finesse’), Mt Difficulty and Felton Road (‘not particulary interesting’) all failed to make the top 10… Suprise wines that did make the list were Oyster Bay, Dashwood, Babich and, in 2nd spot, Stonecrop (who??)… Of the 20 only 4 were under cork and 1 of those was in fact corked…The top wine was Rippon 2007…half the wines were from Marlborough…
Is this preference for a lighter style of Pinot Noir something that NZ producers exporting to the USA should note for future production ? What do Americans really want?
The full list in order
1. Rippon 2007 – Central Otago – $50
2. Stonecrop 2008 – Marlborough – $22
3. Waipara Springs 2008 – Waipara – $16
4. Babich 2007 – Marlborough – $16
5. Valli 2006 – Central Otago – $45
6. Craggy Range 2006 - Martinborough – $48
7. Dashwood 2008 – Marlborough – $14
8. Oyster Bay 2008 – Marlborough – $15
9. Cloudy Bay 2007 – Marlborough – $30
10. Pyramid Valley 2007 – Central Otago – $45
Hennie
February 17, 2010
Interesting indeed. Few points here that could make for some heated debate:
1. Style
2. Price
Starting with style, the wines tasted here are just about from the furthest and most southern vineyards in NZ to the North Island vineyards. Geographically we’re talking from north to south roughly 1,500 km. Compare that to say wine producing areas in Europe. It’s like comparing or expecting a representative identity (voice or benchmark) for a particular varietal produced in regions stretching from Bordueax in France to Denmark in the north – if Denmark produced wine…
We know that the USA uses a 3-tier importation and distribution system. Each tier adds on average (or even at a minimum) 25% margin on top. With the strength of the NZ dollar against the Greenback, I worry when I see those price points because for the life of me, I can’t figure out how a NZ producer makes a profit – and that after risking a year’s growth, a year’s production time and then the storage before sale. Food for thought – and lots of debate!
sally richardson
March 3, 2010
This is who we are…..
A small 20 acre, family owned and operated vineyard in Martinborough, producing estate grown wines, (Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir).
Kind Regards,
Sally Richardson
Kirk
March 3, 2010
Thanks Sally, sorry to tar you with the OB/D/B brush there. You seem to be exactly the size/type of winery that I think NZ needs to get behind – quality focused small production, much like us here. I hope this US press coverage really boosts you over there. – Kirk