I haven’t met many Kiwis who can hold a decent conversation in French but Paul Pujol is one of them.
The winemaker at Prophet’s Rock has a French father and became the first non-family winemaker at Kuentz Bas in Alsace since it was established in the late eighteenth century. He’s now brought a little piece of Alsace to Central Otago, producing pure Riesling and Pinot Gris, as well as the signature grape of Central – Pinot Noir – from low cropped vines and wild ferments.
Allowing the ferments to occur naturally does not sit easy with many New (and Old) World winemakers. It takes about 10 days for the fermentation to start and is likely to take three months to complete. If I were a winemaker, I’d be too scared of it all going pear-shaped.
The winery’s distributor in New Zealand, Ryan Quinn of Merchant Wines, also thinks it’s brave winemaking. “Having a bunch of wild ferments on the go requires big balls,†he said.
He claims that New Zealand has been lacking enough winemakers with the balls to really do some crazy stuff. I’ve met a few along the way already: Andrew Hedley at Framingham and Mike Weersing at Pyramid Valley are just two of many. Perhaps there needs to be a few more of them but wineries need to make money and taking risks isn’t always a great commercial strategy.
Quinn added: “It has been imperative that the New Zealand wine industry throws out some wineries that push boundaries a bit further.
“Missing from the equation is a new generation of fanatics. What I recognise in Prophet’s Rock is some of that fanaticism.†Of course he would say that – he’s trying to promote these wines but I take his point.
The recent releases: the ‘09 Dry Riesling has a lovely purity and perfume with lime, lavender and minerality. It is light and nimble on the palate with lively acidity and a refreshingly low 11.2% alcohol. Clean as a whistle. 18.5/20
The ‘09 Pinot Gris was only bottled three weeks ago but no signs of bottle shock. Attractive pear and apple puree notes on the nose with some white rose in the mouth. This is really lean for a Pinot Gris – it’s not broad or fat at all – likely due to a lower pH than you’d normally see from a Gris (pH 3.25 for you MW geeks). While there’s 14g/l of residual sugar it only seems just off-dry thanks to that refreshing acidity. 18.5/20.
