It’s easy to see why they call New Zealand the land of the long white cloud. This is the landscape at Rippon Vineyard in Central Otago.
I tasted more than 450 wines from New Zealand this year and despite being unable to travel, we have covered the best producers thoroughly in this report. Of the top wines, pinot noir once again dominates both in terms of the high scores and the diverse, regional styles on offer. New Zealand pinot noir is a such an interesting category.
The three highest scoring pinots (and the top rated wines overall) are the Bell Hill Pinot Noir Waikari 2017, the Rippon Pinot Noir Central Otago Tinker’s Field 2017 and the Rippon Pinot Noir Central Otago Mature Vine 2017. Already established among the best of New Zealand pinot noir wines, Bell Hill Pinot Noir has always been of impeccable quality, but in the 2017 vintage has evolved into a more integrated and seamless wine.
Rippon aced our tasting last year with the 100-point re-release of its 2010 Mature Vine Pinot Noir and the pair of 2017s in this report are both exceptional quality while showing different stylistic lines. Tinker’s Field, a single parcel bottling of the oldest vines at Rippon, produces a fragrant and detailed expression of fresh and taut pinot fruit. The Mature Vine bottling, an amalgam of plots on the estate, has all that is present in the Tinkers Field but adds a deeper layer of fruit flavor and a wider base of tannin. Both combine elegance with power.
These are wines in scarce supply. The best New Zealand pinot producers tend to produce more single-parcel bottlings, so while interest is deepening for pinot lovers and collectors, availability is the compromise, especially in the 2019 vintage, which delivered concentrated and balanced wines from all corners of the country and across a brand range of styles, but whose yields were sometimes very low.
The 2018 harvest was also challenging, and qualities like balance, depth and harmony were sometimes elusive. The best producers like Fromm, Burn Cottage, Ata Rangi, Mount Difficulty, Mount Edward, Quartz Reef and Prophet’s Rock crafted impressive wines, but the usual attractiveness and depth of New Zealand wine was hard to uncover in 2018. It is a vintage in which you need to hunt by producer to find the best wines.
-
- Rippon’s pinot noirs were once again a highlight of our tastings.
-
- Felton Road’s pinots were super quality, but its 2020 rieslings were also exceptional.
The lead into 2018 was warm and dry, a pattern that was established in the proceeding two vintages also. But cyclonic activity in the Pacific unleashed some significant March rainfall which affected many regions and set the disease meter ticking. Canopy management was crucial and while some producers picked early to mitigate any liabilities, others, literally, weathered the storm and held out.
Along with Hawke’s Bay, Central Otago was one of the better performing regions in 2018 as Matt Dicey of Mount Difficulty explained: “2018 was one for the record books but also one where we saw our land through a different lens.” Dicey reported that while the early season was warm all the way through to February, temperatures then dropped and vines ripened in more typically cool conditions. “I think this cooler period allowed us to preserve some of the purity and focus we see in Central Otago pinot.”
Ata Rangi’s Helen Masters managed typically high quality in 2018 in what she describes as a “light, pale and quite open” style of vintage for Ata Rangi’s flagship pinot noir. A hallmark of a great producer is making high-quality wine like this in a tougher year. Their yet-to-be-released 2019s are something to look forward to also, from a year Masters described as “a really solid vintage that has produced concentrated wines with good tannin development, acid balance and overall power.”
2019 also led with warm dry conditions and then panned out beautifully across much of the country. Warm days and cool nights allowed vines to produce concentrated flavors and structural balance. Ditto 2020; the early wines are bright and reflect the same conditions. Anna Flowerday of Marlborough’s Te Whare Ra described 2020 as “the Goldilocks vintage. Not too hot, not too cold; just right!”
Certainly Felton Road’s 2019 pinots are a memorable set of wines and among their best releases to date. These are so energetic and reflect the combined effect of careful and dedicated farming of site-specific characters. The Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir 2019 is sensational and has a fleshy and supple core of vibrant fruit with long, immaculately toned tannins. It delivers such intense flavors.
New Zealand chardonnay from 2019 performed very well too, with those same hallmarks of delivering concentration and power with that all-important sense of balance that is seen in 2019 pinot noir wines also defining the top chardonnays. The 2019 range from chardonnay specialist Kumeu River is impressive, following the established pattern of style and and hierarchy of quality across their range, lead by the intense and powerful Mate’s Vineyard 2019.
The 2019 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay is one of the best value whites New Zealand has delivered to date and a wine that rivals white Burgundy for quality. Certainly it wins on price. “The ripening period for our chardonnay sat in a cool-to-warm temperature zone and was really ideal,” said Kumeu River’s Michael Brajkovich. “The vineyards that contribute to our Estate Chardonnay gave us some magnificent fruit. The level of citrus fruit complexity, and the layering of aromas and flavors that this wine shows are stunning,” he added.
-
- Ata Rangi proved its quality by producing great wines in a challenging year.
-
- This pinot from Pyramid Valley wine with dried red cherry and wood, as well as dried strawberry and some leafy notes.
Hawke’s Bay has also delivered some excellent chardonnay wines in this report with the Sacred Hill Chardonnay Hawkes Bay Riflemans 2019 casting a showy and rich palate that is texturally complex and packed with ripe chardonnay stone fruits. The same goes for the Te Awanga Chardonnay Hawkes Bay Trademark 2018 and the Church Road Chardonnay Hawkes Bay Tom 2019, the latter also showing some reductive complexity. The Villa Maria Chardonnay Hawkes Bay Keltern Vineyard 2019 and the Craggy Range Chardonnay Hawkes Bay Les Beaux Cailloux 2019 are also worth seeking out.
The top Hawke’s Bay reds maintain their consistent level of quality and style in 2018 with the Te Mata Hawkes Bay Coleraine 2018 leading the way and sitting at the head of an impressive range from Te Mata in both red and white styles. Trinity Hill is on form again with their Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett 2018 and the Trinity Hill Syrah Homage 2018, and the new Trinity Hill Syrah l’Eritage is a bolder take on the genre. Bilancia’s 2019 La Collina Syrah is a highlight from this excellent vintage.
The early signs suggest the 2020 New Zealand harvest is strong with the Marlborough sauvignon blanc wines tasted here generally emanating bright, juicy and balanced style. Bold fruit flavors combine with attractively fresh wines and there are few sharp edges. Producers like Greywacke and Dog Point have exceptional 2020 sauvignons and Folium and Clos Henri are a source of restrained, concentrated styles.
The 2020 rieslings for Felton Road also herald the arrival of a great vintage with the dry and off-dry styles all delivering vivid aromatics and fresh fruit. Stunning drinking now, they will also age very well. The early view of pinot from 2020 is that another excellent vintage is in the making but for now seek out the excellent 2019s before they disappear fast.
– Nick Stock, contributing editor
To see wine scores and notes below, you need to log in or subscribe to become a Premium Member.
