Visiting
New Zealand's
wine regions
Part 4: Tasting at Montana
Patrick Materman (above), Marlborough winemaker, hosted
my tasting. After a bit of a false start – he studied
horticulture with a view to growing flowers for a job - Patrick
has been with Montana for 18 years, spending 4 years in Auckland
and the last 14 based in Marlborough.
About 70% of what goes through the Marlborough winery
is Sauvignon Blanc: this year (2008 vintage) 30 000 tons will be
processed, of which some 20 000 will be Sauvignon. Method
Champenoise is a big part of the business, and for Deutz 1300/1400
tons of fruit are hand picked in mid-February. The last fruit to
come into the winery (the Bordeaux-style reds, or in some years a
late harvest Riesling) is in the first week of May most years.
The
centrifuge used to treat juice prior to fermentation
In the early days the trend for Marlborough Sauvignon
Blanc was to make it with a nettly, grassy nose with lots of
methoxypyrazine. Then things went the other way, and winemakers
opted for a riper style, with sweaty passion fruit. The trend now
is to mover away from super-ripe to go for wines with a herbal
element (blackcurrant) and high thiol (volatile sulphur-containing
compounds that are an important part of the varietal typicity of
Sauvignon Blanc) character – these are the wines that are
winning the shows. Montana tend to start ferments relatively warm,
let them run for 2–3 days to build yeast numbers, and then cool
to 12–13 degrees Centigrade for the remaining time. This gives a
big thiol lift. Materman says that they look at copper trials
pre-bottling (copper removes any unwanted thiol notes – there
are bad thiols as well as good ones), and use the lowest amount
needed to clean the wine up, if any. In vineyard areas with young
stony soils they are looking to use fertigation to improve
nitrogen levels, which helps ensure a healthy fermentation. Yeast
strains are chosen with the required flavours
in mind.
Interesting fact: Montana is one of the world’s
leading Pinot Noir producers in volume terms, crushing some 3000
tons annually.
The wines:
First, a couple of fizzes.
Montana Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut Cuvée NV
Tight, bright, lemony fresh nose. The palate is tasty and
fresh with good acidity and some lemony fruit. Focused and pure
but with nice toastiness – a really nice wine. 88/100
Deutz
Blanc de Blancs 2002 Marlborough
Just 2300 cases made of this, compared with 50 000 for Deutz.
Fresh nose has a subtle herby edge to it. Quite elegant: focused
and pure with a bit of toastiness. The palate is crisp, broad and
fruity with some nice toastiness, subtle herbiness and good
acidity. Complex and full. 90/100
Then
the new series of ‘terroir’ Sauvignon Blancs, made in
quantities of 1000 cases each designed to show the regional
differences within Marlborough. The differences aren’t huge, but
they are there: I reckon you need to be quite a keen follower of
Sauvignon Blanc to be able to spot them in a blind tasting.
Montana
Conders Forest Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Rapaura, Marlborough
The ripest of the three. Rich, ripe fruity style with a
rounded palate that shows fresh, slightly tropical herb-tinged
fruit. Some sweetness here and nice presence. 88/100
Montana
Festival Block Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Brancott, Marlborough
This has more palate weight and will age best. Bright,
rounded, slightly herby fruit here. Nicely savoury with good acid
and some sweetness on the finish. 87/100
Montana
Railbridge Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Awatare, Marlborough
Herb-tinged tomato leaf character here: it’s fresher and
slightly greener, with some methoxypyrazine character. Nicely
savoury and tasty. 89/100
Stoneleigh
Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough
400 000 cases. From young soils in a warmer part of the
valley. Very attractive aromatics of ripe tropical notes together
with some flintiness. The palate has a bit of sweetness as well as
the riper, warmer fruit, finishing with some precise acidity. A
lovely wine. 87/100
Montana
Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough
Fresh, bright green herby edge to the nose. The palate has a
generous fruity quality with a bit of herbal interest. Quite a
rich, mouthfilling style.
Montana
Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough
Best part of 1 million cases annually. A Marlborough classic.
Winemaker Patrick Materman thinks it’s a better wine now than it
used to be, despite the volume, because of improved viticulture
and winery know-how. A lot of this is because of the juice
quality, centrifuging the juice and managing the ferments better.
It has bright green grassy aromatics with some warmth, too. The
palate is rounded but fresh with good acidity and a bit of
chalkiness. Lovely. 86/100
Stoneleigh
Rapaura Series Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough
Intense aromagtics: bright and a bit herby, with some
richness. Very ripe, bold and full on the palate with intense
fruit. A striking style, but if I’m fussy it’s a little
cloying. 87/100
Montana
Brancott Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough
Fresh, focused green herby nose is refined and expressive,
with some restraint. The palate has a lovely mouthfeel: it is rich
and focused with nice balance and minerality. 92/100
Montana
Pinot Grigio 2007 North Island
Rounded, slightly confected fruity nose. Soft, bright, dry
fruity palate shows clean, pure fruit with a hint of grapiness.
83/100
Montana
Pinot Grigio Reserve 2007 Hawkes Bay
Rounded and smooth with nice pure fruit and some grapiness.
Nice concentration and softness of texture, but it’s quite dry.
86/100
Stoneleigh
Pinot Grigio 2007 Marlborough
Lovely aromatic complexity: this is very Alsatian. Grapey and
a bit spicy. The dry palate has good concentration and nice
smoothness of texture. Some minerality. 88/100
Stoneleigh
Rapaura Series Pinot Gris 2007
Nice smooth aromatic nose. The palate is rich and smooth
textured with nice richness and some complexity. Melon and lychee
notes, too. 90/100
Montana
Riesling 2006 South Island
From Marlborough and Waipara regions. Big, limey, herby nose
with really intense aromatics. The palate is warm and brightly
fruited with some sweetness. It’s just off-dry. Very rich and
citrussy. 88/100
Montana
Reserve Riesling 2006 Waipara
Tight herb, lime and floral nose is quite refined. The palate
is expressive with nice texture and some delicious spiciness. Dry
but richly textured. Lovely. 90/100
Stoneleigh
Riesling 2007 Marlborough
Taut, fruity limey mineralic nose. Palate is rounded and
fruity with nice acidity. Bit of herbal character, too. 84/100
Camshorn
Dry Riesling Salix Clays 2006 Waipara
Fresh, precise and limey but still fruity and not austere.
Nice balance: mineral and fresh. 89/100
Montana
Unoaked Chardonnay 2007 Gisborne
Rounded, fresh and a bit nutty with a touch of herb and straw
character to the ripe fruit. Nice. 86/100
Stoneleigh
Rapaura Series Chardonnay 2007 Marlborough
Lovely warm, smooth nutty nose is a bit buttery. Very
inviting. Lovely broad, smooth palate with rounded nutty flavours.
Mealy and delicious. 91/100
Montana
South Island Pinot Noir 2006
This even has a bit of Central Otago fruit in it, as well as
some from Waipara. The bulk is from Marlborough. Lovely fresh,
herby nose is bright and berryish. Juicy, fresh palate has lovely
bright character. Cherryish and delicious. 88/100
Stoneleigh
Pinot Noir 2006 Marlborough
Lovely smooth nose has rich berry fruit. The palate shows
focused berry fruits with a primary quality and good acidity. Very
smooth. 89/100
Montana
Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 Marlborough
There’s some spicy structure here to this fresh, bright
Pinot, which has some dark cherry fruit, herbs and spice. Quite a
fresh style.
Montana
Forgotten Valley Pinot Noir 2006 Marlborough
From an unirrigated vineyard next door to the Brancott Estate.
Smooth, ripe dark fruits nose is ripe and quite precise. Elegant
red fruit purity. Really smooth palate with pure elegant red
fruits and nice intensity. Lovely stuff. 92/100
Montana
Corbett’s Legacy Pinot Noir 2006 Waipara
Bit of spicy, earthy presence to the meaty dark fruits nose.
The palate has a nice spicy, earthy depth to it with good acidity.
A really lovely complex, savoury wine. 93/100
Montana
Gabriel’s Gully Pinot Noir 2006 Central Otago
Aromatic, smooth dark fruits nose. The palate shows lovely
focus of sweet dark cherry fruit with a nice smoothness and
elegance. A beautifully expressive wine. 93/100
Stoneleigh
Rapaura Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 Marlborough
Smooth elegant nose with supple dark cherry fruit. The palate
is smooth and sweetly fruited with a subtle herby, spicy edge.
Lovely presence and density here: nice fruit purity. 90/100
Montana
Terraces Pinot Noir 2006 Marlborough
Smooth, refined, elegant dark cherry nose. The palate has good
focus with cherryish berry fruits and good acidity. There are also
some tarry spicy notes. Very refined and polished. 91/100
Montana
Terraces Pinot Noir 2003 Marlborough
First crop was 2002, so this is young vines. Some evolution,
with nice earthy spiciness. Rich and smooth, but evolved, so drink
soon. 89/100
Stoneleigh
Merlot 2006 Marlborough
Fresh, juicy and quite bright with leafy blackcurrant fruit,
as well as some herbiness. Soft sweet fruit – a commercial
style, but still nice. 86/100
see
also: New Zealand series part
3, Montana
(Tasted 11/07)
Find
these wines with wine-searcher.com
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