Wine Reviews
Pinot noir fanciers venture further afield
As Burgundy becomes increasingly expensive, the pinot noir lover may do well to explore other regions. You don't have to leave France to do so. That country's increasingly well-known "secret" is the pinot noir of Alsace.
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Bob Campbell, a Master of Wine from New Zealand, says that Croats were significant in the early history of the wine industry, as perfume gum diggers who went on to plant vines. More importantly for Campbell has been the change from producing large quantities of fortified wine to producing small amounts of award-winning wines. Older vines mean added complexity.
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At Quartz Reef in Central Otago, vines were planted in 1998. The Quartz Reef pinot noir 2012 is redolent of lavender and earthy. It's equally fruity (available from Watson's Wine Cellars at HK$248 a bottle).
Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle Vintage 2009
The 2009 Methode Traditionelle is beautifully scented of honey-drizzled peaches, apple tart and frangipani with hints of crushed nuts and lightly buttered toast. Very fine and frisky in the mouth, it offers plenty of zesty and yeasty flavors with a refreshing crispness in the long, mineral-laced finish. Drink it now to 2016+.
Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle Rose
90 / 100
Very pale salmon pink-colored, the NV Methode Traditionelle Rose opens with a nose of wild strawberries and lemon curd with nuances of baking bread, honeysuckle and chalk. The palate provides a great intensity of red berry and citrusy flavors with a good amount of toast and nut character supported by very fine bubbles and an exuberant acid line. It finishes with very good persistence. Drink it now.
Methode Traditionnelle Brut NV
90 /100
The NV Methode Traditionelle Brut flaunts notes of spiced apples, peach blossoms and marzipan with a hint of brioche. It has an excellent intensity of toasty apple and stone fruit flavors in the mouth accented with a great line of vibrant yet balanced acid and small, fine bubbles before finishing long. Drink it now.
Quartz Reef Pinot Noir 2012
92+
Pale to medium ruby-purple in colour, the 2012 Pinot Noir has an enticing nose of crushed cranberries, pomegranate and red cherries with hints of loam, iron ore and wild thyme. Medium to full-bodied and put together with a great structure or medium to firm finely grained tannins and enlivening acid, it has plenty of fruit to flesh it out the frame and finishes long with earthy, mineral suggestions. Drink it now to 2018+
Here be dragons
Quartz Reef Pinot Noir 2011
Over to New Zealand's South Island for this one and a pinot noir from a biodynamic estate. What excites me in a wine is finding a distinct taste that could come from nowhere else on Earth. As soon as I stuck my nose in the glass in a tasting room in London, images of Quartz Reef spooled across my mind. You don't need to have been there to appreciate the calm strength of the autumnal red.
Available from Majestic Stores UK
Quartz Reef Pinot Gris 2012
89 / 100
The 2012 Pinot Gris exudes pretty aromas of honeysuckle and jasmine over a core of ripe pears, white peaches and lemon pie, plus a whiff of orange peel. Medium-bodied with a great concentration of flavors, it offers a pleasant creaminess to the texture, well-balanced acidity, and finishes long and spicy. Drink it now to 2016