Bargain Pinot Noir?

Birth of a Wine Blogger has been in hibernation for a while, a bit like our dormant vines. 

Recently I was woken from my slumber by a colleague in the industry sending me a link to a Facebook post he had published. He was making the point that a certain Pinot Noir (see link) is on promotion in supermarkets for just $10 a bottle. He went on to say that it must be made from wine at the lower end of the spectrum, sourced from the countries featured on the label, to retail at that price.  He asked, in a world of commoditised, characterless wines, is this something we really need?

Check out: http://tinyurl.com/nesvbh2

What concerns me about this, as a dedicated Pinot producer, is that Kiwi consumers will buy this wine thinking it is a bargain, try it, may not have a great experience, think all Pinot Noir is the same, and be turned off the variety forever. 

Why did he conclude that the wine must come from the "lower end of the spectrum"? 

Let's dissect the $10 and see where he is coming from. Of the ten dollars, the government collects $3.66 (the ALAC levy of about 3 cents, plus $2.13 excise duty and $1.50 GST); pretty good return for the government! 

Then, assuming the retailer takes a 30% margin ($3) and the distributor a 20% margin ($2), that leaves $1.34 for the winemaking! Let's be conservative though and say the winery sells direct to the retailer, so no fee for the distributor. In that case the remaining sum is $3.34. Let's see where we end up if we consider that.

What's left to cover the wine component after allowing for bottling costs, freight and distribution, warehousing, marketing and other related expenses? Say these add up to $1.80 per bottle. That leaves $1.54 for the wine. Say my analysis is too tough. Add another $1 back to cover that. That leaves me to ponder the quality of wine you might buy at $2.54 per bottle? 

Contrast that with the cost per litre of our 2015 Pinot Noir. That was over $13 per litre, before bottling, taxes, etc. So even if my costs are high, we can safely assume it is not top quality, hand-picked Martinborough Pinot Noir in the wine we are discussing. 

Disclaimer: I have not yet tasted this wine. I will as soon as I can get a bottle though, then I'll report back. If I have wronged a good product I will admit that. However, my comments above are based on experience and general principles. I can say with confidence is that I have learned in my 30 years in the wine industry is that it would be an absolutely amazing achievement to deliver a 'Premium Pinot Noir' (which is what the label claims) for $10, let alone $2.54. 

'Moby Dick'

At Murdoch James Estate, we have one of the oldest if not the oldest, balloon presses in New Zealand. It is a Wilmes, made in Germany, and dates from the late 1950's we believe. This is not one of your modern computer controlled, hands-off, "press 'start' and come back later" wine presses. Our press needs an operator to be in attendance at all times to care of its every need. One well-known local blogger referred to it as 'Moby Dick'; a big presence, imposing, round and long, and somewhat daunting. I must admit, it certainly looks a lot like the great white whale. The name stuck and all our team now think of this wonderful machine by that name. 

But now 'Moby Dick' (thanks for the name to both Jared and Herman) is in serious trouble. The gearing between the electric motor and the press cylinder has broken and parts to fix it are not able to be found. Yet we are not giving up! We have started a global search for the parts.

But, like Thomas the Tank Engine, where Thomas's steam power was under threat from upstart diesel locomotives, if we cannot revive Moby he may have to be sold as scrap. And that would be a tragedy. Like Thomas, we want Moby to fight back too, and prove his worth. He has a place beside our new press to provide back-up. We want to save him and continue to use his talents where we can. Moby is gentle to the grapes when pressing, and as we have to be there all the time to tend to his needs, we can see exactly what he is up to and encourage the very best from him. 

 As to how can you help? Well, we hear every day about the power of social media to galvanise support for important causes. And, what more important cause than saving Moby from the 'harpoons' of the scrap metal merchants. If you know of anyone who might be able to help let us know. We will fly the parts in from anywhere in the world if they are in good condition.

 

Maybe you know of a relation to Moby who is past restoration, but could become a part donor and keep Moby alive for future generations? We are going to post on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to make sure we make every effort to save him, so pass the message on if you are motivated to do so. If you can help, call us at Murdoch James Estate (+646 306 9165) or e-mail me at info@murdoch-james.co.nz. We would love to hear from you!

Is the Martinborough Region now producing the world's best Pinot Noir?

Now you all know from past blogs, that I have always thought Martinborough is the only place in New Zealand to grow classic Pinot Noir. By classic, I mean complex, layered, textured, savoury, lingering and long-lived. Well it looks to me if the world is about to realise that too!

Many newspapers and wine critics, including Huon Hooke, writing in the Melbourne Age, are head-lining the fact that a $200 bottle of New Zealand pinot noir beat off a strong field, including a $7000 bottle of French burgundy in a blind tasting in the US.

"Martinborough Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir 1998 triumphed over one of the world's most prestigious wines, 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache, to take No.1 ranking in the World's Top 20 Pinot Noirs competition in Pasadena, USA. Twelve judges blind-tasted 20 wines from New Zealand, the US, France, Germany and Australia. The competition was based on the 1976 Judgment of Paris, which caused a sensation when a Californian wine was chosen over famous French wines. As well as being ranked No.1 overall, the Martinborough Vineyard wine also received the most No.1 rankings - from three of the judges".

From a personal perspective, we at Murdoch James came to Martinborough to grow Pinot Noir because it had the potential to craft wines equal to the best of Burgundy. Now we believe the world is about to find out how much the dedicated winemakers in our region have moved from potential to reality in regards to that criteria.

There is something special about the vines, soils, climate and people here that create a very special terroir. What you now need to look for are the subtle differences in Martinborough's sub-appellations. For example, the wines from the lime rich soils of the Dry River region are noticably different to those grown on the gravels north of the village.

Hay in the pond - Makes a change from grapes on the vine!

This winemaking is such a serious business, that I had to share this very different experience with you.

The consequences!

Our vineyard is about 32 hectares in size, but we only have around 22 hectares in vines. We also have about 10 hectares that we graze cattle on. This time of the year we close off a couple of paddocks to cut enough hay for me to get the cows through winter. Usually we cut the hay on one of our low lying blocks, but this year we decided to cut it on one of the sloping paddocks. That was no big deal if we had also stuck to cutting and storing the hay in the traditional small square bales. However, I decided to be efficient and to store the hay this year in the big round bales. Now, any intelligent person would have seen the consequences of this combination, but not me!

Chris to the rescue!

Round bales on a slope do only one thing. They roll downhill, and fast. So I have had to drag them out of drains, ditches, holes, but worst of all, out of our ponds!!

When it came time to call for volunteers to swin out and retrieve the floating one in the big pond, candidates were few and far between!! In the end, Chris jumped in and pushed it to the side where, after 3 broken ropes, we finally managed to drag it out with the vineyard tractor. Remember these big bales are 10 times the size of a traditional one, so are pretty heavy, even before they get water-logged!

On dry land at last!

All great entertainment on a Friday night for sure!!

Monday it was back to vineyard work - somehow not that exciting by comparison! That said, we are having a wonderful year with the grapes. A warm and dry Spring followed by a hot, dry Summer. Just a few more weeks of this and we should have a stunning harvest in terms of both quality and quantity.

On the road again.......

I'm in Singapore this week for the NZ wine promo. Tonight (Saturday evening) was a consumer tasting at Loof. Loof is a rooftop bar/restaurant in that great city. They describe themselves as: "loof is a bar on a roof, a playfully versatile space which is multidimensional, split-level, and a juxtaposition of raw against refined. loof is designed as a refuge for the bedraggled office worker, a respite for the brilliant mind, a sanctuary for fools, a canvas for the budding artist and the launch pad for a brilliant night." Sounds great eh? That's what I thought too, but try pouring tastings for a big crowd in 30 degrees plus, and near 100% humidity! Anyway, good fun and lots of new converts to Murdoch James Estate wines. And a great location. The bar is on the roof of an office block with spectacular views of Singapore and nearby skyscrapers. Think I'll just come for a glass of Murdoch James Pinot Gris and enjoy the view next time though.


Tomorrow is a free day then Monday is full on with trade and media promotions. 

While I am away working hard to get Murdoch James established in the key Asian markets, back at home wine-maker Carl is preparing to bottle our specialty wines: 'The MacIntyre' (our port style fortified red, named after a much loved old friend who died last year), the 'Rhiannon Rosé (this is our Pinot Meunier rosé named to celebrate the birth of my first grandchild), the 2010 Riesling, the 2009 Blue Rock Pinot Noir and the 'Trafalgar' (our ice-wine style late harvest wine). Lots on, but very exciting. There are some great wines in this grouping! Make sure you are on our contact list if any sound interesting as most of these will just be sold at cellar door or direct to our regular internet customers.

Our Chardonnay vines bite the dust!

A few months ago, we made the hard decision to remove our 26 year old Chardonnay vines.

They were ungrafted plants which, for those that do not know, meant that they were vulnerable to phylloxera which is a sap-sucking bug related to aphids. This bug eventually drains so much goodness from the vines that the plant will die. Martinborough was free of this problem until about two years ago when poor quarantine practices at one of the local wineries saw it established here. Now with phylloxera one thing is certain - if it is in town it will spread to all the local vineyards eventually. So the upshot is that all ungrafted plants here are going to die.

What folk now do to avoid this risk is to graft the vines you want (i.e. Syrah, Reisling or whatever) onto phylloxera resistant Amercian rootstock

But phylloxera was not the main driver for the decision. We are in Pinot Noir territory and if we make a great bottle of Pinot, we can sell it for upwards of $40, while a chardonnay will command a much lower price. So it came down to simple economics. In this difficult financial era we have to optimise our efforts, and so we have decided to replace the chardonnay with Pinot Noir.

Now that is an easy decision to make in the winery office, but as you can see from the photo above, heart-breaking when you look at the consequences for these old vines. Specially when one then looks at where the other vines are up to at this time of year. All are now bursting with new life as the sap starts running and the buds break out; as the accompanying shot of our Pinot Noir vines shows.

As you can see we have cut the charonnay right back and will pull out the roots by tractor, leave the ground fallow for a year, then replant with grafted Pinot Noir. For those wondering why everyone did not just graft from day one, think about this: an ungrafted vine is free (just stick a cutting in the ground and the vine will grow), but a grafted vine comes from a nursery and costs between $4 and $6 each. So you can see why folk were tempted to go with ungrafted plants when they might need thousands of vines!

What's best? Martinborough or Otago Pinot Noir?

A few blogs back, I was chatting about how fantastic a Winemakers Dinner we hosted in Hong Kong had gone. If you missed follow this link:  http://birthofawine.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

A few of our followers asked if we ever did anything like in in New Zealand? Well, the answer is yes! Here is your chance to enjoy a similar event in Wellington, and at the same time answer the commonly-asked question, which region makes the best Pinot Noir: Martinborough or Central Otago? We are hosting a dinner at Ortega on Tuesday 15th July at 7.30pm, entitled "THE NORTH & SOUTH DINNER".

This is a wine and food-Matched Dinner  with Murdoch James Estate of Martinborough & Olssens of Bannockburn, Central Otago. Over the last few years there has been an ongoing debate about which of these two regions produces the best Pinot Noir wines, and the theme of this dinner is designed to allow participants to form their own views. The concept is a dinner comparing the wines from Murdoch James Estate in Martinborough and Olssens in Central Otago. Both are small family owned vineyards producing premium quality wines.  In additional to the matched wine and food menu, guests will also get to try a back vintage of each of the wineries flagship wines, including the Fraser and Slapjack Creek Pinot Noirs.  Around 12 wines will be tasted on the night, all matching an inspiring menu.

Places are filling fast, but if you are interested, feel free to e-mail me at info@murdoch-james.co.nz and if you are interested in more detail, here's the menu:

Olssens & Murdoch James Dinner Menu

First Course

Couturier Goats Cheese & King Prawn Canneloni,

tomato chipotle salsa with a lemon infused reduction

matched with

Murdoch James Sauvignon Blanc 2008,    

Olssens Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Second Course 
Spicy Cakes Fish, citrus salad, chilli jam mussel 
with a tamarind lime dressing

matched with

Murdoch James Blue Rock Riesling  2008,

Olssens Riesling Dry 2009 

Third Course

Slow roasted Pork Belly, truffled lentils & cabbage,

sautéed mushrooms & Pinot Noir gravy

matched with

Murdoch James Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008

Olssens Nipple Hill Pinot Noir 2009                                

 

Fourth Course

Rustic Salad of Rabbit, lardoons, walnuts & blue cheese

matched with

Murdoch James Estate Blue Rock Pinot Noir 2008

Olssens Jackson Barry Pinot Noir 2008

 

Cheese Course

Livarot Cheese with brandied prunes             

matched with

Murdoch James Estate Syrah  2008

Olssens Robert the Bruce 2008

Martinborough & Burgundy

Monday 4th May

Today dawned cloudy and cold. I think the ‘Indian Summer’ we have been enjoying has come to an end. As the grapes are all in, we can relax, particularly as the weather forecast for the rest of the week is rain, rain, rain……

All the work from now on is in the winery, nursing our precious ferments through to a good conclusion. A nervous time as we monitor each individual ferment carefully – it’s a bit like a nervous parent watching over a new-born child – only we have 30 of them! Even ‘Octamom’ cannot top that!

Tomorrow I’ll get Carl to explain what we are looking for with so many different ferments underway, but this evening I thought I’d talk about why Martinborough, of all New Zealand’s Pinot Regions, comes closest to the home of the world’s classic Pinot Noirs – Burgundy.

The geological character of the fabled Côte-d’Or is made up of three key elements – limestone, clay and sand. The varying percentages of these elements is what makes wines from each part of Burgundy so different to another - compare a delicate Volnay from the south to a powerful Chambertin from the north.

Like Burgundy, Martinborough is fortunate in that it is made up of a number of regions, each with differing soils, ranging from ancient gravels through to ancient marine deposits or clays. These wonderful soils are partnered with a climate that mirrors Burgundy – hot summers, mild autumns and cold winters. As a consequence the geological variations present us with a range of wines similar to Burgundy. looking at each map, one cannot fail to notice the similarities - both regions stretch north to south, yet are quite narrow. Both contain regions that produce fine Pinot Noir at the pinnacle of the very best, yet at the same time, also produce wines that are less complex, but represent great value for money.

The various sites can give us wines like those from Chambolle-Musigny (good colour and body, firm, yet with a distinctive suppleness) while others (like the Dry River region where Murdoch James is located) make wines more like a Clos de Vouget (deep red in colour, harmonious, elegant with a long finish). In other areas we see wines that are more solidly structured with rich aromas and long finishes, that some compare to a fine Corton.

Even if one disagrees with my examples it is harder to deny that of all New Zealand’s Pinot Noir regions, only Martinborough has such a variety of sites, all producing world-class Pinot Noir, in such a small area.

Vineyard Soil Profiles

Monday 20th April

Well a rainy day today at last, not heavy, but drizzly. It is forecast to pass quite quickly, then we are back into fine, dry conditions again. The drive into the vineyard is looking beautiful in full autumn colour now. As not a lot is happening with the harvest, I thought it would be good to talk a bit about our soils at our vineyard.

It has often been said that the soils and climate of Martinborough are very similar to that of the world’s greatest Pinot Noir vineyards; being the plantings of the Côte d’Or, in Burgundy. While it is true the climate is similar, the soils in most of Martinborough have much more in common with the gravely soils of Bordeaux, than the Côte d’Or.

10 kilometres south of Martinborough, in the Dry River region, it is a different story. Murdoch James Estate’s “Blue Rock” vineyard exhibits characters much closer to Burgundy. While retaining the low rainfall necessary to grow premium grapes, the soils here are quite different to the rest of Martinborough. On close scrutiny, the soil at “Blue Rock” has much more in common with those at Domaine Romanee Conti, Richbourg, and La Tache. They are free draining, limestone-based soils that give an added element of opulent richness and ‘flesh’ to the wines made from grapes grown on them.

For those interested in more detail, at Blue Rock the various blocks have slightly different characteristics. The Blue rock vineyard sits on five river terraces, four of which are elevated. All the elevated ones are predominately north facing. However there are subtle and interesting differences in the soil structure of each block.

1. Lower Flats Block: 1 ha, located on an old riverbed with very shallow loam soils over gravel beds.

2. Nelson Block: Lower First Terrace, 6.6ha - Sloping to the north, with moderate silt loam soils over gravels

3. Pipers Block: Back First Terrace, 2.85ha - Sloping to the northeast with moderate silt loam soils over gravels

3. Jims Block: Second Terrace, 3.07ha - Sloping north with deep silt loam soils over very deep gravels

4. Highfold: Third Terrace, 6.33ha - Sloping direct north contour, with deep silt loam soils with very deep gravels, and a high lime content.

Other observations:
• All soil pits dug on the property show deep silts with high mineral and lime content over varied gravel depths.
• Past profile holes have shown grape vine roots penetrating over 3 meters down.
• At this depth, they are still approximately 5mm thick.
• Machinery use is restricted in winter to avoid soil compaction.
• Summer irrigation is used on the sloping blocks