New wine varieties on market

CHEERS: Barton on Wine

BY WARREN BARTON

Let's wait till the dust has settled on the Pinot Noir 2010 symposium before examining in detail what was achieved at the triennial talk and tasting fest which attracted an international audience to Wellington this week to tell us what we already knew anyway; that the pinot we make will foot it with any in the world.

Let's look instead at the arrival and the impending arrival on the market of some new varieties and styles of wine which may not create the same ripple of excitement among the so-called cogniscenti as New Zealand's take on the classic red of Burgundy did, but could have wide appeal to a less demanding audience. And special appeal to those still searching for alternative whites.

Last year Pernod Ricard introduced Sauvignon Gris as part of its limited release Montana Showcase series.

Now it has gone the whole hog and released under the widely available and redesigned Montana Reserve label this wine that smacks of both sauvignon blanc and pinot gris but is, in fact, an ancient Bordeaux variety.

It's not the first to be grown in the country – Te Mata Estate has been using it as a blender for some years – but it is the first time this pinkish early sauvignon blanc variant (also known as sauvignon rose) has been produced as a varietal.

My advice is buy it, try it and you'll be delighted by the result, especially if you enjoy a good, (and I emphasise good) weightier pinot gris and sauvignon blanc that doesn't pong.

It really is a textural treat and there are pears and stonefruit to charm the palate too. Officially it sells for $22.99 but is already being specialled in some outlets.

Watch out later this year also for more Gruner Veltliner (Groovy for short) which made its New Zealand debut in 2008 but yielded only a barrel for Coopers Creek in 2009.

Others have also since planted small quantities of the Austrian grape which produces fruity, spicy white wines that have proved a hit in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

Why not here?

Coopers Creek was also one of the first wineries off the blocks with Arneis, a fruity, spicy Italian white that has since been launched by Forrest Estate in Marlborough and by Trinity Hill, in Hawke's Bay, whose tropical-fruited $19 model offers a good introduction to the variety.

Slower to grab much attention has been verdelho, a fuller-bodied Portuguese white which does not appear to show the same lemony flavours here as those produced in Australia, but plenty of tropical, stone and pip fruit.

Try Esk Valley's medium dry 2009 (about $22).

Waiting in the wings is yet another newcomer, this one the lighter-weighted albarino an aromatic Spanish white made from a grape believed to be a riesling clone from the Alsace region of France.

But it will be at least a couple of years before the vines propogated at Riversun Nurseries and planted in Gisborne produce enough fruit to make what will be the first genuine Albarino in this part of the world.

This follows the discovery that the "albarino" grown and produced for a number of years in Australia was another variety altogether.

What can you expect?

A lighter, lower alcohol white with peach and apricot characters similar to those of viognier and petit manseng, which is also a work in progress at Riversun.

And for those who like something different and are prepared to pay for it, how about this Seresin has just introduced a multi-varietal white called Chiaroscuro which is a mix of chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling and pinot meunier, all of them fermented together in different quantities in four different lots and then blended.

The full-bodied fruity, spicy beauty sells for $60 a bottle, which reflects the very small quantity that was made. And not for the last time I would hope.

- © Fairfax NZ News