Wines capture a moment in time, and wines from mature vines in an exceptional vineyard can also capture some of the character of the vineyard.
That was what Steve Smith MW, Craggy Range wine and viticulture director, and Terry and Mary Peabody, owners of the company, wanted to show wine writers from Australia and New Zealand last week.
The visit was to celebrate 10 years of their Te Muna Rd vineyard in Martinborough, taste 10 vintages of pinot noir from the vineyard, and have a sneak preview of the 2011 Aroha pinot noir, the prestige label from the best parcels of grapes.
It was a couple of weeks before vintage and the 167ha vineyard above the Huangarua River, was mostly covered in nets. Although Smith is a leading viticulturist and scientist, it was not until he lived in the Te Muna Rd vineyard that he felt he really got to know it. Normally based in Hawkes Bay, a few years ago between vineyard managers, he decided to look after the Martinborough vineyard himself for a season.
''You learn from spending time in a vineyard when no-one else is around,'' he said as we stood in the drizzle, unwelcome this close to vintage, overlooking the lower part of the vineyard and the river. Certainly, like many vineyards, it is a beautiful site.
The vineyard is farmed by agriecological methods, a sustainable farming approach that takes into account the entire ecosystem and uses technology in conjunction with natural, social and human assets. It is science but it includes biodynamic, organic and kaitiaki principles, he explained.
About 100ha is planted in grapes, divided into some 60 blocks. About half is sauvignon blanc on the more fertile lower terraces, and about 40% is pinot noir on the higher terraces. The rest is riesling and other Alsatian varieties such as gewurztraminer, pinot gris and pinot blanc. Smith is excited about new clones of these varieties that are coming into production. We were able to taste grapes from both the older clones of pinot gris and gewurztraminer and the newer ones, which have more flavour and bode well for the quality of the wine, especially as these vines get older. Most of the vines are now 12 or 13 years old and their roots are three metres down, well into the subsoil, so the character of the place is more significant, he says.
Unusually for New Zealand vineyards, the complex subsoil contains old, brittle rocks corroded by volcanic ash which have fissures that vine roots grow into for moisture and nutrients. The rocks absorb water and release it slowly, which means little irrigation is needed now the vines are mature.
A tasting of all the vintages of pinot noir from the vineyard revealed the evolution not only of the vines but also of the people involved, their relationship with the vineyard and their winemaking philosophy.
The first few vintages, 2002 to about 2005, from young vines and very ripe grapes, were showing their age, but the mid-vintages, 2006 to 2009, were drinking well. Winemakers realised they did not have to push the ripeness too far and they were using less new oak, Smith said. I suspect these will continue to drink well longer than the earlier ones.
The younger wines, 2010 and 2011, showed red fruits with hints of licorice, intensity and a lifted acidity. They promised to mellow and integrate with another few years bottle age.
The 2011 Aroha was perfumed with a hint of pepper and spice, had lovely dark red fruit and a silky texture. It is already a charming wine and will be released in June at around $100.
With the vintage variation, maturing vines and developing wine styles, it is hard to pick a vineyard character from a tasting like this, but Smith says he finds a certain textural grittiness in all the wines that seems to be a characteristic of this vineyard.
Besides the Te Muna Rd vineyard, Craggy Range also owns a large vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay which is planted with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and chardonnay. It also sources grapes from a few others in Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Central Otago, producing single-vineyard wines from each of them.
