Vinoculation

I had the chance to duck out to the Gibbston Valley yesterday on a rainy, miserable Sunday, to visit four wineries: The Winehouse (not really a winery but a cellar door for several wineries), Chard Farm, Gibbston Valley Wines and Peregrine. No official notes were taken, but here are my brief thoughts from the trip.

Starting at the Queenstown end of the Gibbston and working our way back, we first visited the Winehouse and Kitchen, a cellar door facility for Rock Ferry, Van Asch and Freefall wines that also doubles as a classy little restaurant. It’s located right next to the AJ Hackett Bungy and the views of the surrounding gorge are magnificent, as is the landscaping and atmosphere of the facility itself. Rock Ferry is a label owned by Tom Hutchinson and based out of Marlborough, though they do have a 20ha vineyard in Bendigo that they also make wine from (the Viognier is from this vineyard). Van Asch wines are those of Henry Van Asch who set up the bungy business with AJ Hackett and the Freefall Wines are his second tier brand.

We were permitted five wines to taste (for $7) and I went for the 2007 Rock Ferry Riesling, 2008(?) Van Asch Riesling, 2008 Rock Ferry Viognier, 2008 Van Asch Rose and the 2007 Van Asch Pinot Noir. A couple of Freefall Pinots were also snuck in, along with a 2006 Van Asch Pinot Noir. The Rock Ferry Riesling stood out and was in fact one of my favourite wines from the day of tasting. A drier style (nice to see), with lovely weight and texture but remaining lithe, crisp and clean. The Viognier follows a similar script and is certainly one to look out for. I preferred the 2006 Van Asch Pinot to the 2007; the latter just too young and closed.

After surviving the hairy drive that winds up the cliffside of the gorge to Chard Farm, we tasted through most of the range (no charge for tasting, though a gold coin donation is recommended if no purchase is made). I thought the bubbly (a special wine made for the 21st anniversary of Chard Farm wines) was terrific, a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, that was very yeasty with some definite development from a long maturation on lees. A surprising start, though the label may need some work… Tasting through the range of whites and reds, the Gewurz stood out as a classy example of the variety, with the Rose a little disappointing. The 2006 Viper and Tiger Pinot Noirs (the flagships) are classic Pinots of the vintage, markedly different to the textural and fleshy 2005s, boasting more structure for mine and savoury qualities as well. Neither better nor worse than their predecessors, just different wines that will appeal to different people.

At Gibbston Valley Wines our time was short-lived, with the option to pay for a tasting plate of four wines, but instead I politely asked for just a taste of the 2007 Le Fou Riesling and the cellar door staff kindly obliged. This was a wine I had been very eager to try after hearing a couple of rave reviews. Regrettably, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m not a big fan of the sherbert, bath-salt style aromatics of certain Rieslings, which pushed me away from the aromatics straight away. It’s made in the classic off-dry style, with some nicely tangy acidity, but again the flavours seem candied and sugar-coated, with the sugar and acidity failing to unite. All this, with some astringency and bitterness on the finish, and I wasn’t a big fan. I should qualify this by saying that my disagreeance was the result more of a stylistic clash than any obvious faults or quality issues with the wine.

Last stop was Peregrine that seemed the busiest of all the cellar doors visited. Like Chard Farm, there was no charge for tasting here (something I strongly believe in). We worked our way through the range, starting with two Rieslings (the drier one and the sweeter Rastasburn, where I preferred the former), followed by two Pinot Gris. We tried the standard Pinot Gris and the new “Karearea” Pinot Gris (the Maori equivalent of Peregrine), a top-end version made in a full, dry style utilizing premium fruit and this was a stellar Pinot Gris (a comment I don’t make lightly, given my usual cynicism of this variety); beautiful texture, weight and fruit intensity on the palate. I then chose to move straight into the Pinots, where we tried a 2005 Saddleback (the second tier range), 2007 Peregrine and 2007 Peregrine Karearea. The Saddleback seemed a little tired and over the hill (a slight surprise given the vivacity of the vintage), the 2007 Peregrine still in need of some extra bottle time (the 2006 is drinking superbly) and the Karearea was brilliant; this is the sort of wine that is positioned as a premium version (priced at $65) and it will hold its own against some of the best from the region. Gorgeous dark berry fruit aromatics - brooding a little - with textural layers and a seamless quality in the mouth, finishing with fine, sweet tannins.

So that wrapped up the little wine-tasting journey, with the first and last wines my picks of the day.