In previous years it has been held in the depths of wintry July as a sneak preview which was too early for many of the wines to be tasting well. This year, in balmy weather last Thursday just before the snowstorms hit, five wine writers gathered at Northburn Station near Cromwell to taste 80 new releases mostly from the 2009 vintage, but with a handful of 2008s and one 2007.
After the three-hour tasting and lunch - Jan Pinckney's lunch at The Shed cellar door cafe is always recommended - wine producers turned up to taste and discuss the wines.
Such a tasting gives a good overview of the 2009 vintage - and, when the identities of the wines are disclosed, reveals many unfamiliar labels yet to be investigated. However, with so many wines to taste it's impossible to give as much attention as one would like to each, or to see how they develop in the glass, which is often an indication of how they will age.
2009 was a cooler vintage with lower yields, and the wines are more focused and elegant, according to Malcolm Rees-Francis, winemaker at Rockburn.
In wine descriptions, "elegant" can be a euphemism for "light", and certainly these wines were not big, ripe fruit bombs as some can be in hotter years. But big is not always best when it comes to pinot noir. Often lighter wines can be more charming and harmonious than punchier wines, which is what makes the variety so delightfully attractive.
My overall impression was that many of the wines were fragrant and charming, with perhaps more red than black fruit at this stage, and crisp acidity on the finish.
Many were not showing well yet although some had great promise. Some would have been bottled only a few weeks earlier, possibly still suffering from bottle shock, and were begging for another few months, or a year's bottle age. Time will allow a savouriness to develop, though I did wonder if some of those with greener, edgier flavours would ever come round.
Dean Shaw, winemaker at Central Otago Wine Company says most of the 2009s won't be released for several months anyway. The handful of 2008s and the single 2007 demonstrated the benefits of age. As always with wine, time will tell.
Interestingly, among the wines shown this year were several made by winemakers based in other districts, such as Mud House of Waipara, and Forrest of Marlborough who have joined the Central Otago winegrowers' association.
Shaw says that half the 8000 tonnes of grapes picked in the region last year went north to other wineries. Expect to see more Central Otago pinot noirs made by bigger companies, much of it at the cheaper (read under $30) end of the price range.
A GLASS ABOVE
Some of the wines that impressed me at this early stage of their life were the savoury Round Earth Blind Trail 2009, the soft Archangel Long Neck 2009, the floral Hilock 2009, the spicy Judge Rock Venus 2009, the fragrant Northburn Station The Shed 2009, the lively Bannockbrae Goldfields 2009, the rich Mount Dottrel 2009, all of which were in the under-$30 bracket.
And among the more expensive wines, from $30 to $70 or more: the exciting Gibbston Valley China Terrace 2009, the fragrant Felton Road 2009, the floral Tarras Vineyards Canyon 2009, the attractive Ceres 2009, the elegant Lowburn Ferry Homeblock 2009, the delicious Two Degrees 2009, the fragrant 8 Ranges Barrel Selection 2009, the rich Aurum 2009, the stylish Felton Road Block 3 2009, the generous Gibbston Valley School House 2009, the distinctive Killsmill Tippets Mill 2008, the concentrated Coal Pit Tiwha 2009, the spicy Jackson Barry 2009, the harmonious Mondillo 2009, the attractive Rockburn 2009, the stylish Locharburn 2009, the savoury Ellero Pisa Terrace 2008, and the intriguing, complex Prophet's Rock 2007 which is showing the benefits of a couple of extra years' age.
TOP PINOT
A Central Otago wine, Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir 2009, has won the trophy for champion pinot noir at the New Zealand International Wine Show. More than 250 pinot noirs were entered, of which 28 won gold medals, 12 of them from Central Otago.
Full results are available at www.wineshow.co.nz
