Wines of the week… Doctors’ wines and beautiful stones
It’s been a wine kind of a week. What other sort is there when wine is work and duty calls.
This week that duty included a day with mountain biker and winemaker Steve Davies, who headed up north from his home in Central Otago for a day of show and tell in the windy city. I had the pleasure of introducing him to a bunch of Wellingtonians so that they could taste his latest 2016 Doctors Flat Pinot Noir, one of my Wines of the Week
There have been many great wines this week. Here are the top three. It’s been a tough choice.
Bargain buy
2018 The Doctors’ Riesling $19.99 – 17.5/20
John Forrest is one of the doctors and his wife Brigid is the other one behind this low alcohol Riesling, which contains 9% alcohol and enough residual sugar from the grapes to fit firmly in the sweet category. It’s light bodied and balanced by high acidity (a hallmark of Riesling), so it tastes refreshing, crisp and long on the finish. History shows it ages well too, moving into concentrated flavours of lime and peach.
Treat of the week
2016 Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir $49.50 – 18.5/20
Doctors Flat winemaker Steve Davies named his 3 hectare vineyard land after an historic map (which no apostrophe on it, hence the name). It’s planted solely in Pinot Noir on an elevated site in Bannockburn, 100 metres above the region’s best known vineyards; Felton Road and Mt Difficulty.
Steve’s production is small and that’s how he intends to keep it. He made 970 cases of wine in the 2016 vintage; a comfortable amount for both grapes harvested and high quality.
The 2016 Pinot Noir grapes from Doctors Flat were harvested at 22.5 brix; lower than in the past. He has also reduced punchdowns to make a lighter Pinot Noir in colour and body. His vineyard is dry farmed along organic guidelines, which means there’s no irrigation and no sprays used, with the exception of sulphur dioxide (permitted in organics). He has also planted white alyssum flowers between vines as a bio companion to attract wasps which deters caterpillars.
Reaching for the stars
2017 Craggy Range Les Beaux Cailloux $139.99 – 19/20
Craggy Range has a new winemaker this year with Julian Grounds, who winged his way in from West Australia to work at the Hawke’s Bay winery. This month he introduced Craggy’s top reds and two great whites to a team of Wellingtonians, myself included.
Les Beaux Cailloux is my pick of the pair, despite its high price.
The words are French for the beautiful stones; Craggy Range’s name for its Chardonnay vines on Gimblett Gravels – an area way better known for red grapes than white. This is the second vintage of Les Beaux Cailloux from new vines and was picked at a relatively low 19 brix (sugar measurement in grapes). The wine retains freshness along with a full body, dry style and a long life ahead; or maybe just a short one, once you taste it.
