If you had a Central Otago monopoly board, who’d be your Old Kent Road and who’d be your Mayfair?
I’ve had a few Old Kent Road Pinots but I shall spare them the Hall of Shame today. However, Felton Road (the road, not the winery) is probably the Mayfair – or “Park Lane†– says Duncan Forsyth, ‘the big cheese’, at Mount Edward.
Likewise, according to Matthew Jukes’ official classification, two of New Zealand’s top three Pinot Noir producers are based along this Bannockburn roadway: Mt Difficulty and Felton Road.
While Mount Edward is a Gibbston Valley-based producer, it bought an orchard here in 2007 at an “exorbitant†price (lucky there were no houses or hotels or it would’ve cost even more). But it’s worth it in Forsyth’s eyes.
“As time goes on I think it will vault ahead of everyone else,” he says. “It is the Park Lane of Central Otago.”
The first vintage of ‘Muirkirk’ Pinot Noir (well, all 65 cases of it) has already been released, made from existing vines planted in 1997. It’s more Oxford Street at the moment but as the vines get older, you can imagine that it could move up to Park Lane.
Despite a recession and a halt to planting throughout the rest of New Zealand, Forsyth planted another 4ha there last year. “I think we were the only fools to plant last year,†he laughs. Well, you’ve got to be a little bit crazy to become a winemaker in the first place.
