Impressing your guests

BY DEBORAH WALTON AND PETER MORICE

Summer may be here, but there's still a place for a good red wine when that juicy steak comes off the barbecue. Many of us spend a great deal of time and money preparing a flash barbecue dinner, so it's only right that we should have an appropriate wine.

Mount Dottrel has produced an absolute stunner with its Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007. One taste and there was no surprise in learning that this wine had scooped the Bouchard-Finlayson Trophy for the Best Pinot Noir in the World entered in the 2009 London International Wine and Spirit Competition.

The nice thing about Mount Dottrel is that there's a family story behind this success, and when you want to talk about any aspect of the wine, you can talk with the people who established the label.

Mount Dottrel, the name that outshone some of the finest names on the international wine stage, comes from a vineyard north of Cromwell. Roy McCallum and wife Rosemary bought the bare land in 2000 after retiring from dairy and beef farming.

Roy initially visited Queenstown to look at a two-hectare site nearby, and although he thought it had potential, he looked further afield and found 42ha "for not much more". He bought the land and established a solid team, with Robin and James Dicey as viticulturists and Carol Bunn as winemaker. The land was made ready and the pinot noir went in.

Roy proved indefatigable – living in Palmerston North, he was suddenly thrust into a completely different type of "farming", and was managing a team that would often see a vineyard in different ways. He commuted to and from Cromwell to balance and sometimes chair some keen discussions.

When the first Mount Dottrel crop was harvested in 2005, the signs of success were apparent. In 2006, a new label, Mitre Rocks, was added to the portfolio. This label draws from specific blocks within the Mount Dottrel "home" vineyard.

It wasn't long before the awards came along in international and national competitions. The objective, to produce a Central Otago pinot noir with substance, heart and character that "expressed the rural values that the team had inherited from their own attachment to the land", had become more than an aim – it was realised.

Roy, Rosemary and son Simon are understandably delighted with the trophy win and are quick to acknowledge the expertise of the whole Mount Dottrel team.

It's a real Kiwi story – a retired farming family knowing little about viticulture but with a great understanding of the land pulls together a great team and makes a world-beating wine – and we can all enjoy it right now.

Mount Dottrel Central Otago - Pinot Noir 2007

Colour: A clear, intense plum red.

Aroma: A rich melange of aromas – cherries, some sweet dark berryfruit, oak, cigar and some herbal notes predominate.

Taste: Ripe, well-rounded tannins combine with rich fruitiness and some green herbal notes to produce a finely textured wine with excellent balance. Smoky with ripe plum and cherry flavours, this wine becomes very drying towards the finish. There's a jot of dark chocolate at the edge of the palate, and those crisp green herbal flavours assure a firm, balanced finish and aftertaste.

Price: Exceptional value at $34.95, and widely available. Buy some for now, and pop some in the cellar for a little later.

Rockburn Central Otago - Stolen Kiss

Rose 2009

The name Stolen Kiss is delightful. Rockburn's winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis says it originates from the fact that the juice is "stolen" from pinot noir fruit and embraces a more frivolous and fruity side to pinot noir's nature.

Colour: Pale rose pink.

Aroma: Strawberry, marshmallow and cream with a hint of something tangy – a slightly blue cheese note. A pleasant aroma.

Taste: Sweet and confected to begin. A pleasant whack of strawberry and cherry fruitiness then asserts itself – but don't be fooled, the action ramps up towards the finish, when this wine becomes warming, rich and spicy; the cherry aftertaste is liqueur-like. At 14 per cent ABV, be careful – this is a very drinkable drop.

Price: $21.

Wither Hills Wairau Valley - Chardonnay 2007

Aroma: Mealy, peachy and creamy with some lovely toasty notes and a rich, fragrant overarching grapefruit marmalade aroma. Some spicy apple and nutty caramel seals the deal – for intensity, this aroma is a winner.

Taste: We may as well begin with the verdict – this is a concentrated wine with superb complexity. The integrated flavours of ginger and ripe, rich fruit are underscored by some apple and citrus notes towards the finish, so balance is maintained.

A full-flavoured chardonnay that is warming and concentrated from start to finish; it has a lovely dollop of butterscotch that runs across the palate.

The gloriously rich and rewarding finish is nicely textured. This is a class act from winemaker Ben Glover – if you see this wine, buy it.

Price: Around the $25 mark.

- The Marlborough Express