New Zealand Reds: Treading Lightly

BY REBECCA GIBB MW | APRIL 12, 2022

We all want to leave our mark on the world, and winemakers have the opportunity to live on through bottles of fermented grape juice. As a result of their pioneering work and groundbreaking wines, names like Robert Mondavi, Max Schubert, Didier Dagueneau, the Veuve Clicquot and many, many more have been immortalized, creating a legacy for their families, businesses, appellations and the wider wine world. But there is also the danger that winemakers will leave their greasy thumbprint on their wines, reflecting their desire to be a part of the wine rather than a steward ushering it from grape to glass. Overzealous winemaking is often the stamp of youth or of a young wine industry finding its way, but with growing maturity, there appears to be a dawning realization that guiding fermenting grapes toward fine wine does not need to be as interventionist as it once was. In New Zealand, winemakers are increasingly taking a step back in the cellar, a trend reflected in Central Otago winemaker Matt Dicey’s light-hearted job title: “Caretaker.”

While the New Zealand tourist board’s former advertising slogan “100% Pure New Zealand” was based on the country’s supposedly clean, green credentials, the wine industry was happy to ride the nation’s embrace of the “pure” messaging with its technically clean, crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Today, however, there is a desire to show that there’s more funk and soul in Aotearoa (the Māori-language name for New Zealand). The natural wine scene finally seems to be gathering pace, which is an integral part of the country’s growing maturity. While it’s important to champion new talent and entrepreneurship, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of hype surrounding young natural-wine producers making left-of-center wine blends. The wines are generally made in tiny quantities, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for with their polished Instagram profiles and quirky labels. And from the column inches, you’d think it was some sort of revolution. It is not. It is a continuation of what started nearly 40 years ago. In 1986, Millton Vineyard in Gisborne achieved organic certification and went on to become the southern hemisphere’s first biodynamic vineyard. Millton, Central Otago’s Rippon and Marlborough’s Seresin were the pioneers and reference points for those who wished to follow their organic and biodynamic path. What seems to have changed is that there is growing appreciation and a thirsty market for well-made minimum-intervention wines, particularly in the metropolitan on-trade, where a carbonic maceration Malbec (such as Daniel Brennan’s Giunta Nouveau), 100% whole-berry Pinot Noir or a skin-contact Pinot Gris (including Pyramid Valley’s Orange and Valli’s ‘The Real McCoy’) are genuinely attractive wines rather than weird, one-glass wonders.

Americans Mike and Ann Spratt moved to Waiheke Island in 2000. Joined by their son Sean, the family now produces super-premium Bordeaux-inspired red blends in an amphitheater-like setting.

The more sensitive, let-the-site-speak caretaking is evident in the oak treatment of the latest batch of reds from New Zealand. No longer are producers relying on oaky flavors in search of complexity, nor does the tannic structure need to come from wood; the quality of the tannin sourced from the skins has risen with increased vine age and improved viticulture, leading to better phenolic ripeness. As a result, we’re seeing more and more red wine producers leaving their wines on skins for extended periods; in the case of many top Pinot Noir producers, four weeks is no longer unusual. The intensity of extraction has eased too, with the number of daily plunges or punchdowns falling to one or two. Prophet’s Rock has taken it further, with only one per fermentation. Similarly, at Hawke’s Bay’s Te Mata, the estate behind the country’s most famous Bordeaux blend, Coleraine, is pulling back on physical extraction yet lengthening the period on skins. Refinements in the vineyard have led to enhanced physiological ripeness and smaller berries with thicker skins, according to senior winemaker Phil Brodie. Thanks to their new cuverie, fully operational since the 2020 vintage, an increased number of tanks and more precise temperature control allowing for reduced fermentation temperatures, they’ve been able to reduce the pump-overs from three to two times daily with no plunging toward the end of the fermentation, before extending the time on skins and seeds from 21 to 28 days. Brodie explained, “All of this allows for the extraction of a greater volume of the riper tannins we achieved in the vineyard. The longer maceration on skins and seed imbues a higher volume of riper, finer and more polished tannins, with a more immediate delivery that is balanced and even throughout the palate.”

Stems are always a contentious issue, dividing Pinot Noir makers and drinkers the world over. A portion can be beneficial, lifting a wine’s aromatic profile while also providing the wine with purpose and line, but it can also be a distraction from both variety and site, making for a furry, drying mouthful of a wine. Thankfully, there are few New Zealand Pinot Noirs that leave you feeling like you’re chewing on a badger, but there are a surprising number of new releases dominated by the green woody herb or wormwood characters of whole bunch. While its prominence may dissipate with bottle age, this winemaking choice seems to be creating a sense of aromatic homogeneity at this stage. In such a young wine-producing nation, it’s important to trial different techniques. But with little historical precedent, only time will tell how the wines will evolve in bottle in the coming 5-10 years. I will gladly retaste in a few years to see if those stemmy characters have integrated. 

While we’re on the subject of whole bunches, there’s also an increasing number of vibrant reds that undergo carbonic maceration as well as whole-berry fermentation, as producers seek to make young, fruit-forward styles that don’t so much as glance at an oak barrel. It’s a joy to see a new generation of fun, fruity reds, often with the merest dash of sulfur at bottling. Let’s face it: New Zealand’s naturally cool climate makes for crunchy, fresh reds that can put a smile on your face, and there’s a growing market for these styles both domestically and overseas, particularly as a by-the-glass option in bars and restaurants. What’s more, these styles have found favor with young winemakers seeking to establish their new wine labels with limited access to capital, allowing them to have wines in bottle within a few months of the harvest. It certainly helps with cash flow to finance the fruit for the next harvest too. Lance Redgwell, who founded Cambridge Road in Martinborough in 2006, produces low-intervention, high-end Pinot Noir and Syrah but has also expanded to skin-contact whites and a pét nat at lower price points. “We can make great Pinot Noir and sell it for a lot of money, but doing that can also make you broke; you can also make frivolous, fun wines that are affordable and that you can sell quickly.” It’s not only the younger crowd having a crack at fun reds – Esk Valley, which traces its history back to the 1920s, has started making a whole-cluster Gamay Noir, while Te Mata has been at the Gamay game since 1995.

The best wines are those that you look at as single entities rather than deconstructing their components. “You don’t have to put your stamp on a wine. It’s not about saying, ‘Oh, there’s the whole bunch, isn’t it awesome! And, is that the oak?’” agrees Master of Wine Steve Smith of both Smith & Sheth and Pyramid Valley. “When people talk about terroir, it’s often just soil and climate, but it’s soil, climate and your relationship with the land, so different people will have a different expression of place and some people put too much of themselves in the wine and the place is crowded.”

New Zealand may be the home of Crowded House, but crowded wines are less than appealing. If the new generation of wine producers do want to leave their mark on the world, leaving the land in better health than they found it should be their legacy. And with more than 100 organic wine labels now established in New Zealand, there are reasons for optimism in a turbulent world.

Vintage and Regional Overview