A taste of Wairarapa: Styles picks 10 to try
Martinborough Vineyard, Home Block Chardonnay, Martinborough 2019 95 N/A UK www. martinborough-vineyard.co. nz Hazelnut, brioche and oatmeal on the nose with a mouthfilling, textured and endless palate. There’s a glorious texture to this wine that just doesn’t want to let you go. Fantastic and fresh now, but this will clearly age too. The Home Block is on the Martinborough Terrace and there’s no escaping the pedigree. Winemaker Paul Mason is also dialling back the oak a little, and with fruit like this, it’s clearly the way to go. Drink 2020-2030 Alcohol 13%
Craggy Range, Aroha, Martinborough 2019 98
£65 Farr Vintners, Hedonism, Specialist Cellars, The NZ House of Wine
You’ll have to wait a few months for this Pinot Noir to be released, but it’s too good not to shout about now. Julian Grounds is a recent Australian import who’s already creating a stir. In recent years, Craggy hasn’t always hit the peaks of its promise, but this wine is really quite something. A beautiful, perfumed nose with lifted rose and violet, that continues on the lithe, sinewy and incredibly lengthy palate. Not big, brash or showy, just effortlessly beautiful. Drink 2020-2035 Alc 13%
Dry River, Lovat Vineyard Syrah, Martinborough 2016 94
£48 Raeburn Fine Wines
There’s something about Martinborough Syrah... when it’s good it can contend with Hawke’s Bay – and the world. This wine is truly delicious: inky, dark and wonderfully aromatic, with the pepper and herb mix close in style to Hawke’s Bay, along with a plush, juicy, black and blue fruit palate with wonderful freshness and length. This comes from one of Martinborough's most renowned vineyards, over the road from Ata Rangi. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 13%
Kusuda, Pinot Noir, Martinborough 2018 94
£ 124 (2016) Vin Cognito
Hiro Kusuda is a well-known perfectionist – there are even rumours he gets his harvest team to sort grapes by the berry. If that’s true, it’s paying off! Aromas of heather, ink and spice lead to a refined, svelte and supple palate that is pretty, fresh and long. There’s often a real uniqueness to Kusuda’s wines, and this is no exception: not showy, but it really stops you in your tracks. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 13.5% £ 35.99-£ 39 Ellis Wines, Hedley Wright, The NZ House of Wine, The Secret Cellar, The Wine Reserve While Schubert’s Block B is regarded as the ‘bigger’ wine, there tends to be more prettiness to Marion’s Block – it’s certainly more approachable at a younger age. This vintage shows a lovely, smoky tobaccoleaf fragrance with spicy potpourri notes. The palate has a supple mouthfeel; great body, tension and length. A great wine from a tough vintage. A real vindication of the Gladstone site and the organic farming. Drink 2020-2027 Alc 14%