A tasting took place in Paris in 1976, pitting the wines of Bordeaux against California. We all now know it as the Judgment of Paris and the results made the wine world realize New World wines weren’t so bad after all.
Ever since the famed tasting, the Bordelais have been challenged by a swathe of New World producers, eager to gain the same prestige as the Napa Valley. In 2008, it was the turn of the Gimblett Gravels to take on Bordeaux at its own game.
The Hawke’s Bay region on New Zealand’s North Island made headlines for taking several high profile scalps.
The Gimblett Gravels is a 400-hectare section on a former river bed. Its stony soils perform the same job as the pudding stones of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, warming up quickly in the early spring, allowing an earlier budburst and thus longer growing season. They retain heat throughout the season, allowing the Cabernet to ripen in most years (although 2011 and 2012 could be pretty green after less than balmy summers).
A recent tasting at Auckland’s Stardome Observatory underlined that a handful of producers are worth seeking out for their Bordeaux blends, particularly Newton Forrest’s Cornerstone range, Sacred Hill’s flagship wines and Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve. Trinity Hill and Mills Reef are not far behind either.
Inevitably, other producers in the area haven’t quite reached the standard required to take on Bordeaux classed growths.
The major criticisms would include too much sweet fruit and too much oak – why some producers choose to use American oak on their Bordeaux blends, is beyond me. Bordeaux producers don’t use American oak for a reason. There’s also the age-old problem of the spoilage yeast brettanomyces, creating a shitty stink and drying out the palate.
Generally, the quality is good across the board but the top producers show that there is still room for vast improvement from many wineries.
Here are my top 5 picks from the black-teeth inducing tasting (all prices are in NZ dollars)
Newton Forrest Cornerstone 2009
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 % Malbec, 10% Merlot, 19 months in French oak
RPP $60
Tight and youthful with a long life ahead. This is a mid weight Cabernet, without the sweet fruit typically association with the new world. Black fruit with the characteristic herbal edge of Cabernet and a crunch note of graphite. Fine tannins, classy and elegant. 19/20
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Merlot Malbec Cabernet 2010
73% Merlot, 14% Malbec, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19 months in 65% new French oak
RRP $59.99
Rich black fruit and spice characters. Round abundant tannins, fresh acidity and long length combine to make a very classy wine 18.5/20
Sacred Hill Helmsman 2006
45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 18 months in new and 1 year-old French oak
$n/a
This is New Zealand Cabernet for the Bordeaux lover who needs convincing that the New World can take on Bordeaux at their own game. It is starting to develop secondary characters including a meaty, savoury character (and, no, it’s not brett) with subtle tobacco and vanilla notes to boot. The taut structure and firm acidity is holding this wine together well. Drink now to 4 years. 18.5/20
Sacred Hill Helmsman 2010
45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc. 18 months in 40% new French oak.
$84.99
The youthful 2010 example is equally impressive. Great purity of fruit, linear and taut with good mid palate weight and rich tannins. Intense cassis and herbal characteristics. There’s plenty of vanilla-like French oak on the nose and palate yet it’s not overpowering and will surely integrate as the 2006 shows. 19/20
Villa Maria Reserve Malbec 2009
100% Malbec, 20 months in 65% new French oak
$59.99
Intense aromatics redolent of violets, black fruits and spice. It has great purity of fruit, is deliate on the mid plaate with round firm tannns and a fresh finish. It hides its 14% alcohol impeccably. 18/20
