Some favourites and new discoveries
One of the many joys of wine and beer is the discovery of new favourites as well as old.
The name Kim Crawford is very well known in the NZ market, but not everyone knows that the wines made under the name Kim Crawford haven’t had anything to do with the man himself for a number of years - after a slightly convoluted and lengthy business arrangement, Kim and his wife Erica effectively sold the name Kim Crawford, and were then unable to make any wine of any sort for a period of time.
The Crawford’s new venture is called ‘‘Love Block’’, in the Lower Dashwood of Marlborough’s Awatere Valley. Concentrating on making Sauvignon Blanc, their wines are all certified organic.
Unusually for NZ Sauvignon Blanc, the 2013 vintage is still vibrant and fresh, with appealing stone fruit notes. The small percentage of the 2016 vintage is aged in French oak, and the same percentage has undergone malolactic fermentation, which has led to an unusually creamy and textured wine, with lovely tropical fruit flavours.
Another old-established name doing new things is that of the Giesen Brothers - while the brothers continue to make very good wine, including the wonderfully concentrated, rich and vibrant dessert Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2014, they have also recently branched out into brewing beer under the name Kaiser Brothers Brewery.
The Kaiser Brothers ESB (English Special Bitter) proves that 3 German brothers making beer (and wine!) in New Zealand can make a very good ‘‘English’’ beer. Punchy and packed with delicious malt and zingy hops, it’s a top-notch drop. Another old favourite is the exquisite Neudorf from Moutere in Nelson. Produced by the legendary figures of Tim and Judy Finn, Tom’s Block 2015 Pinot Noir (RRP $33) is a refined, elegant, medium weighted wine that is beautifully balanced and enticing.
A couple of new-to-me names that have impressed me recently are Petane Station from the Esk Valley region of Hawke’s Bay, and Carrick and Grasshopper Rock from Central Otago.
Petane Station, perhaps unusually for Hawke’s Bay, concentrate on producing white wines. Their 2015 Gewurztraminer is a perfumed, off-dry marvel that is impossible to put down and works magnificently with spiced chicken of pork dishes.
They also make an excellent, slightly Chablis-esque Chardonnay, and a nicely weighty, mealy, concentrated Alsatian style Pinot Gris - testament to winemaker Philip Barber’s time in France and Germany.
Grasshopper Rock are owned by a consortium of friends from all over the country, and concentrate on making classic Central Otago Pinot Noir. Their 2015 Earnscleugh Vineyard Pinot is ripe, elegant and complex, and bursting with the cherry flavours we have all come to expect from top examples.
Carrick, from Central Otago’s Bannockburn, also produce a wonderful Pinot. Their flagship wine, the 2015 vintage is elegant, silky and seductive and will cellar easily for a decade at least.
I was particularly impressed with the Carrick 2015 Riesling, a lip-smackingly delicious off-dry example, packed full of exciting, vibrant and racy citrus flavours and some delightful honeyed notes that hint at a wine that will cellar for a long time to come.
The Hawke’s Bay Brewing Company are one of NZ’s original craft beer producers, having been in the game for over 20 years. Their excellent Black Duck Porter is a bold dark ale with nice chocolate and coffee notes, and their alcoholic and otherwise Ginger Beers are all delicious. Well priced at around the $5 mark, it’s worth hunting them down to try something a bit different.
-Waikato wine and beer writer Simon Wood grew up in Hamilton and now lives in Te Aroha, email woodonwineandbeer@gmail.com