News and reviews of New Zealand Ostler wines

“…..Among the highlights of my tastings were a small but growing number of pinot noirs from limestone-rich sites with favored northern expositions. Until recently, precious few such sites had been found, much less exploited, but between the North Canterbury producers Pyramid Valley and Bell Hill and a growing number of wineries in Waitaki Valley in North Otago, this category holds considerable promise for making world-class pinots noirs with distinctive soil character and real drive. “ Stephen Tanzer.

"Medium red. Sexy aromas of raspberry, plum, mocha and earth. Broad, savory and dry, with plum and underbrush flavors complemented by smoky minerality. Very distinctive, pliant pinot but not about primary fruit. Finishes chewy and long, with sweet tannins and considerable appeal. 91"

"Good bright medium red. Complex but reticent aromas of raspberry, strawberry, smoke and musky underbrush. Tightly coiled and energetic but a bit youthfully dumb today and hard to taste; less expressive and pliant than the '06, showing some intriguing pepper and smoke elements. Originally I wondered if this wine was as fresh as the 2006 version at a similar stage of its development, but 24 hours later it was even more vibrant. This wine is made by Jeff Sinnott, former winemaker for Amisfield, and this property, on a north-facing limestone slope, was developed by Sinnott's sister and brother-in-law. 89(+?)?"

“Tanzer’s lucid grasp of the terroir of the Waitaki is significant. Contrary to more highly visible wine critics who favour power over subtlety, his innate understanding of the wines of Burgundy reflects in his impressions of these wines” says Ostler winemaker Jeff Sinnott. “ It is especially gratifying to see wines whose emphasis is to faithfully express their terroir rather than to impress the wine judges get the nod. In a time when the industry is undergoing a degree of globalisation this comes as welcome news for the little guy”.

"Reading between the lines of Tanzer’s comments on younger wines it is reasonable to expect them to continue to reward cellaring, in fact it may be mandatory to allow this new region to fully express its potential. After all, the best Burgundies are neither cheap nor drunk young."

Recovered from the cold 2006/2007 season, the vines are balanced and showing the beneft of increasing maturity. After a roller-coaster spring with the frost-fighting helicopter called a record six times, flowering has actually commenced 2 weeks early after a period of warm nor'westers. A rapid onset of flowering augurs well for a tight, even fruit-set.

With vineyard establishment now well behind us, increasingly we look to more organic methods of viticulture - substantially and progressively reducing herbicide use. This year we are trialling a whole block with a certified organic nutritional programme and an organic botrytis spray. Our practices have always fitted within the guidelines of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand. However we seek to constantly improve of our soil care by moving steadily "to the left" in our attempts to find organic solutions to vineyard management.

A massive increase in earthworm numbers sice we first planted macroscopically attests to the success of this program.

A former GP and now co-owner of Ostler vineyard, he and his brother-in-law, winemaker Jeff Sinnott, planted vines in 2000 on north-facing limestone slopes in Priests Rd near Duntroon. They had been on a fishing trip and came back with a vineyard - or at least land for one, Mr Sinnott has said. He thought the limestone soils were similar to that of Burgundy in France, which is the home of great pinot noir.

Around the same time, Howard Paterson was developing a company to sell vineyard land a little further up the valley at Otekaieke, so after agonising over the matter, Dr Jerram and Mr Sinnott and their families bought the land and started planting.

At the time, Dr Jerram said everyone, even in Central Otago, thought the valley - with its maritime climate - was too cold to ripen grapes, and he admits it is certainly "on the edge". In December 2006, the year the icebergs came up the coast, it was so cold fruit did not set on the vines so they harvested none of their own in 2007.

Instead they made wine from grapes grown further up the valley and from Central Otago, and now they have also planted a small vineyard among others at Lake Waitaki. Those who did not have frost protection in spring have little crop this year, he said - and added he was fighting early autumn frost in April, four to six weeks before the grapes were ready for harvest. Theirs is one of the last grape crops in New Zealand to ripen.

However, wines made on the cool climatic edge are often the most exciting, he says - something the Central Otago growers used to say until they realised that most of them weren't really "on the edge".

That edginess and the limestone soils certainly give unique flavour and structure to Ostler's wine, judging from the three vintages they have managed to make from their vineyard.

Ostler Audrey's pinot gris (named after Dr Jerram's mother Audrey Ostler) from both 2006 and 2008 (about $35) stood out as remarkably textural, creamy and savoury, especially when compared with Ostler's elegant but fruit-salady 2008 pinot gris from Blue House Vineyard further up the valley, which is on schist rather than limestone.

It has been suggested that aromatic varieties, such as pinot gris, will do particularly well in the Waitaki, and while I'm waiting for more evidence, the few I've tasted from Ostler and other growers certainly show great promise.

A vertical tasting of three vintages of Ostler Caroline's pinot noir (named after the late Caroline Plummer who helped in the vineyard and after whom the Caroline Plummer dance fellowship at Otago University is named) showed the development of the vineyard.

The first tiny vintage was the 2004, which is still perfumed and has a savoury hint and persistent finish, although it is ageing. The 2005 shows the effects of a cool summer with its edgy, herbal flavours, but the recently released 2006 (about $50) is superb. It has lovely savoury mushroomy, forest floor characters with gently sweet strawberryish fruit, and an intense, powerful finish. It is completely different in style and structure from the dark berry and spice Central Otago Grower Selection Pinot Noir Ostler made in 2007 ($35) when it had no fruit of its own. If this is an indication of what limestone-grown Waitaki pinot noir can do, then there's a great, if climatically difficult, future for it.

Jasper Morris MW,UK
Caroline's pinot Noir
"Here's my note on the 2006:
An attractive deep red colour. The bouquet is very perfumed from the very first sniff, with black cherry dominating. A few herbal notes mingle with the softly scented fruit. With time in the glass the herbal notes disappear and the black cherry gives way to a softer, strawberry fruit. The middleweight palate is beautifully crafted, low in tannin, balanced in acidity and refreshingly normal in alcohol. The length is impressive. Real density may come in later vintages as the vines age, but for now this is a perfectly poised pinot for drinking over the next two to three years.
Very nice it was too! - Jasper"

Bob Campbell MW, NZ
Audrey's Pinot Gris 06
"Attractive highly scented wine with classic pear juice aromas plus a suggestion of spice. Lovely fruit purity and a lingering finish. Perfectly balanced with a suggestion of sweetness. Very impressive wine. Score: 93"

Vineyard owners Jim and Anne Jerram are giving money to the trust based on the work done by volunteer pickers.

The idea was initiated last year in conjunction with Duntroon man Andrew Pickles, who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2004.

It raised $3000 for the trust, which is based at Burwood and supports projects and programmes to boost independence for people with spinal-cord injuries.

The money will go to the trust's new programme Connecting People, which provides links for people with spinal-cord injuries with others who have been through a similar experience. Trust chief executive Andrew Hall was thrilled Ostler Wines was repeating the fundraiser. "We're over the moon that the local community is getting behind us in such a practical way and some of our staff have also helped pick grapes," he said.

The harvest attracted people from all over New Zealand, with Pumpkin Patch founder and vineyard shareholder Sally Synnott flying from Auckland and others arriving from Blenheim and Dunedin.