LATEST FINE WINE ARRIVALS

2006 VINOPTIMA ESTATE ORMOND RESERVE GEWURZTRAMINER
From: Gisborne, New Zealand
Rated 94 pts by Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate
Price: $94.16 nett per bottle

“The 2006 Gewurztraminer Reserve has 7-18 grams residual sugar. A very tight nose of ginger, mandarin zest and a touch of honey. Very good definition, blossoms in the glass, unfurling to reveal touches of beeswax and frangipane. The palate is beautifully balanced, very well-defined with good acidity (though not as much as the 2005.) Spice, honeyed fruit, touches of ginger, pineapple and dried apricots. Off-dry on the finish. A very natural sensibility to this wine but it needs considerable ageing.

Having steered his family company to one of New Zealand’s successful producers, Nick Nobilo could have enjoyed a peaceful retirement after the company was sold to BRL Hardy. But instead he has dedicated his life to producing New Zealand’s finest Gewurztraminer from his 9.7-hectare estate in Gisborne, split into two blocks, the first planted in 2000 and the second in 2007 using budwood that Nick had been propagating for over 25 years.

The winery is so clean you could eat your breakfast off it, the 1,200L oak German oval foudres playing a key role in extracting the best out of this aromatic grape. The good news is that Nick is well on his way to achieving his dream because this was a stunning expression of Gewurztraminer, the wine adopting an Alsatian style rather than anything from the New World.”

2004 VINOPTIMA ESTATE ORMOND RESERVE GEWURZTRAMINER
From: Gisborne, New Zealand
Rated 94 pts by Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate
Price: $90.95 nett per bottle

“It pales next to the wonderful 2004 Gewurztraminer Reserve coming in with 14.0% alcohol and 20 grams per liter residual sugar. A stunning nose of honey, melted butter and lemongrass, the palate suddenly shows an upsurge in concentration with brilliant harmony and focus. It remains taut and imbued with nervosite: a great skill in such a flamboyant aromatic.

Available until 31st October, while stocks last!

Why Gewurztraminer?

Gewurz means ‘spicy’ in German while traminer means ‘coming from Tramin’, a small city in the south of Austria’s Tyrol region, where Gewurztraminer originated. Now however the benchmark Gewurztraminers are, without doubt, the great Grand Cru Gewurztraminer’s from the Alsace region of France. I had long believed that the geographic and climatic similarities between the Alsace region and parts of New Zealand were remarkably similar and that Gewurztraminer from New Zealand could become recognised as being amongst the best in the world.

In 1972 I pioneered the variety commercially at Huapai and later in the 70′s I had used the principles of terroir to identify a location at Ormond, Gisborne as a perfect site for aromatic grape varieties. I persuaded the owner, who was growing Muller Thurgau for Nobilo Wines at the time, to re-plant with Gewurztraminer. As lovers of wine will know, the term ‘Terroir’ covers a multitude of factors; surrounding typography, soil type and local climate all come into play together, and this place had them all!

The perfect location that years later I eventually selected to become the future Vinoptima Estate isn’t far from that original vineyard and benefits from the same unique microclimate that I knew could produce outstanding Gewurztraminer. It’s protected from the extremes of weather by low-lying foothills to the South, East and North of the property. The climate is also hotter and drier than the cooler growing climate of the coast, producing an unusually high intensity in aromatic wine varieties, which of course, is perfect for the Vinoptima Estate’s Gewurztraminer grapes. While the alluvial soils, high in magnesium and boron, provided the final piece in the terroir mosaic.