The Crater Rim
His name is Theo. He’s the winemaker for Crater Rim, based out of Omihi in Waipara. He was in store tonight, with his cousin Ben who handles distribution (ex-Fosters and a top bloke). Until then, I’d only tasted the Crater Rim wines once - maybe twice - since I’d been in New Zealand, without giving them so much as a second glance. Until now.
I intentionally scrutinized the wines tonight, knowing that having Theo around would create the usual favourable bias as happens in such situations. Most will know my relationship (or lack thereof) with Sauvignon Blanc, so I’ll utter the next sentence of blasphemy as quietly as I can. 2007 release - just been bottled; tropical ester nose, time spent on lees, all Waipara fruit, fantastic texture, a great sauv. There, I said it (and I expect a flood of abuse as people lecture long tirades re my hypocritical standpoint).
The ‘06 Waipara Riesling was poured next, further testament to the region’s status of groundzero for riesling in New Zealand as far as I’m concerned. Whilst not possessing the intense, tongue-fizzing flavour of a Pegasus Bay, at the pricepoint it punches well above its weight. They’ve adopted the medium sweetness style, with creditable sugar/acid balance, pleasant texture and lively frut aromatics.
I then had the chance to try the two pinot noirs they produce; one a blend of Canterbury (Burnham) and Waipara fruit, the other a single vineyard pinot from their Omihi Hills block. Both wines fulfil what they set out to achieve. The blended pinot is full of a huge, intense, ripe fruit nose (bordering on Merlot-ish) with more palate fruit and ripe, fleshy tannins; seriously gluggable and the cheaper crowd pleaser. The single vineyard Omihi pinot has a 30% whole bunch input, offering a more reticent nose; aromatic, floral, dark berries and earth. The palate flavour profile is consistent with the nose, the tannins finer grained than the blend and the finish more savoury. Classy effort that is sure to develop with more time in the bottle.
With promise of a Beerenauslese yet to come, expect great things from Crater Rim in the future.