Akarua Reserve Pinot Noir 2009

Akarua

Reserve Pinot Noir 2009

Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand

$55-60

www.akarua.com

This week’s New Zealand Wine Fair in Vancouver was an excellent snap shot of where the industry is at right now. Presented by New Zealand Winegrowers and the New Zealand Consulate General, the trade tasting featured a few dozen NZ wineries, each with a handful of products, and many not available on this market. In addition, numerous winemakers flew over to talk terroir with the knowledgeable crowd. A few key Kiwi facts:

1 – NZ is much more than Sauvignon Blanc. Though overshadowing other varietals with 63% of the plantings, the temperate maritime climate and long, dry autumns provide a happy home to Burgundian styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I also tried an impressive Auslese Riesling from Marlborough’s Staete Landt Vineyard.

2 – NZ is working towards being 100% sustainable by 2012. Already a pioneering leader in sustainable practices, the goal is to have every winery and vineyard in accordance with an audited program by next year’s vintage. They’re already 94% there, and the leader of the pack is Marlborough’s Yealands Estate – a carboNZero certified winery. Their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc is piercing citrus and dusty minerality – readily available on this market in the $18 range.

3 – NZ wine comes from places other than Marlborough. Absolutely Marlborough, on the northern tip of the South Island, has the greatest producing vineyard area. However there is wine coming from the top of the North Island almost to the bottom of the South Island, with distinctly differing soils and microclimates. I was very impressed by the whites and reds coming out of Central Otago, the Southernmost region, near Queenstown.

And it was Central Otago where I alighted on my fave wine of the tasting – Akarua Reserve Pinot Noir. Central Otago isn’t just New Zealand’s southernmost wine region – it is the world’s most southerly wine region. Grapes do love a challenge, and the harder you can push them and the more extreme the conditions, the greater the reward. I was fortunate to taste some of the reward in this reserve Pinot Noir. Vibrant black cherry, dark fruit and earth, with veins of savory meat crisscrossing mineral and herbs. Bright acid and firm tannins over deeply seeded sweet spice, most likely resulting from time in French barriques. Full of finesse and motion, but retaining Pinot’s grace. Pair with duck or wild mushroom risotto.

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Akarua Reserve Pinot Noir 2009

Central Otago isn’t just New Zealand’s southernmost wine region – it is the world’s most southerly wine region. Grapes do love a challenge, and the harder you can push them and the more extreme the conditions, the greater the reward. I was fortunate to taste some of the reward in this reserve Pinot Noir. Vibrant black cherry, dark fruit and earth, with veins of savory meat crisscrossing mineral and herbs. Bright acid and firm tannins over deeply seeded sweet spice, most likely resulting from time in French barriques. Full of finesse and motion, but retaining Pinot’s grace. Pair with duck or wild mushroom risotto.