OTAGOWINE.COM Newsletter 125: July 2010: Mid winter Specials - New Releases - Special Winter Freight Rates to Australia - New Listing: Ellero
The Official Newsletter of the Central Otago Wine Cellar - Online
Information Resource and Secure Wine Shop servicing the Central Otago Wine Industry, New Zealand. otagowine.com
Pisa Range, Central Otago - photo Carl Thompson
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Midwinter here in Central Otago and another closed-in foggy day for us in Cromwell! Its school holidays and the ski fields have been busy - certainly a good place to get above the fog into the beautiful mountains!
We've got some winter warming specials to keep away the winter blues. Special freight rates for sending wine abroad - (beat the GST hike due in October!) and the more you send, the better it gets!
Great news for Bannockburn based Desert Heart Vineyards who have just been awarded a trophy at the worlds most influential independent wine competition – the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in the UK.
DESERT HEART
Desert Heart vineyards, established in 2000, are nestled at the base of Mt Difficulty on the north facing slopes of the banks of the Kawarau River on Felton Road, Bannockburn.
Desert Heart's philosophy is to let the fruit speak for itself and in keeping with the romance inherent in the wine.
Each year IWC award gold medals to wines it considers 'best in class' and the gold medal winners are then entered into the trophy competition. Desert Heart Pinot Noir 2007 was awarded the prestigious Central Otago Pinot Noir trophy as well as a gold medal, the trophy results were unveiled at Lords (home of cricket) this week at the London International Wine Fair.
DESERT HEART PINOT NOIR 2007
A full, opulent wine with lots of complex, pure Central Otago Pinot Noir, the wine displays, concentrated dark fruit and raspberry aromas and flavours with complex spicy smoky herbs with underlying hints of forest floor. The palate is characterised by a rich complex, velvety structure with layers of elegant silky tannins and a well balanced acidity, culminating in a long lingering finish. "This should please both classicists and modernists" : Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine
Gold medal, Central Otago Pinot Noir Trophy, International Wine Challenge 2010.
NZ$42.95 PROMO PRICE NZ$34.95 per bottle - LIMIT 4
FELTON ROAD NEW RELEASES
Its that time of year again when Felton Road releases some of their latest wines - and to clarify the main label is now called 2009 Felton Road Pinot Noir Bannockburn - the same wine as was previously known as Felton Road Pinot Noir: it is made from grapes from the three vineyards in Bannockburn: Elms, Cornish Point and Calvert. Felton Road describe this wine as their village Bannockburn wine with the single vineyard wines above that being Cornish Point and Calvert, then the two single Block wines come from within the Elms: Block 3 and Block 5.
Likewise the Chardonnay now has a Bannockburn designation being a blend from the 3 vineyards.|
Available now:
Felton Road 2009 Pinot Noir Bannockburn
Felton Road 2009 Pinot Noir Cornish Point
Felton Road 2009 Chardonnay Bannockburn
Felton Road 2009 Chardonnay Elms
Felton Road 2009 Riesling
Felton Road 2009 Dry Riesling
We also have limited stock of earlier vintages available.
NEW LISTING: ELLERO WINES
The rugged beauty, generous people and outstanding grape growing environment drew Roberta Manell Montero and John Montero to move to Central Otago from California. This synergy and vitality inspire them to grow excellent wines.
Ellero Wines produce Pinot Noir from their organically managed vineyard, Pisa Terrace, Gewurztraminer from a neighboring vineyard with 20+ year old vines, and soon Riesling from the steepest slopes of their vineyard in Central Otago.
The name Ellero is a combination of two family names, Manell and Montero. The wines are personal expressions, products of the unique and dynamic environment in Central Otago, where the forces of nature come together with strength and purity.
Roberta is known in the Otago winemaking region from her work with Bouchard Cooperages, a supplier of premium French and American oak wine barrels from cooperages in Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Ellero Gewurztraminer 2009
- fragrant spice and light floral notes, with mouth filling richness despite the lack of residual sugars.
The wine was partially tank fermented and aged to preserve its wonderful aromatics, with the remainder aged in a large oak puncheon "sur lies" to develop textural weight and complexity. NZ$24.95
Ellero Pinot Noir 2008
- an intriguing aroma of potpourri, reminiscent of naturally dried flowers with a hint of wild herbs, together with fragrant blueberry and plum notes. Dark, sweet fruit fills the palate, full of black raspberries and plums. Subtle French oak offers baking spice and chocolate notes, along with a mouth filling structure. A fine balance of tannin and acidity frame the fruit and contribute to nice palate length. NZ$33.95
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WINEMAKER ROUNDABOUTS:
Carol Bunn
Wine Artisan
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Pinot Queen and former Vinpro winemaker Carol Bunn and her twin sister Susan Cleaver have set up their own wine consulting business, Wine Artisan Ltd, to provide high quality services to the wine industry, ranging from hands-on winemaking to viticulture and branding. Carol has two vineyard clients in Central Otago - Locharburn Wines and Mitre Rocks and she provides extensive knowledge of the wine industry and wine making experience that covers over 15 years. Her passion is for Pinot Noir and she has a long list of award winning wines behind her name.
photo courtesy of Suellen Boag & Cuisine Magazine Issue #19
Peter Bartle
Vinpro
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Peter Bartle has established himself as one of Central Otago's most successful and respected winemakers with his no nonsense, passionate approach to winemaking.
Pete has been in the wine industry for over 17 years. After graduating in 1994 with honours from the Eastern Institute of Technology he worked for Villa Maria Estate with winemaker Michelle Richardson for 5 years and then became assistant winemaker at Forrest Estate in Marlborough for a year before being lured down to Central Otago by the promise of working with Pinot Noir. In 2001 he started here with Olssens and 3 years later the opportunity to work with multiple vineyards drew him to move to Peregrine.
Now Pete has moved on to take on the Chief Winemaker role at VinPro where his skills and experience will be a perfect match for the adventures ahead.
Nadine Cross
Peregrine
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Winemaker Nadine Cross began her career as an accountant but soon saw there was more to life than figures. She trained in viticulture and oenology at Lincoln University and has worked in California, France and in New Zealand with the last 9 years working at Wither Hills in Marlborough.
Now Nadine has returned to her roots in Otago, where she was raised on a sheep farm, to head the winemaking team at Peregrine in the Gibbston Valley.
ON THE GRAPEVINE
Earlier this year Felton Road owner Nigel Greening and winemaker Blair Walter accepted the inaugural Tipuranga Teitei o Aotearoa award which translates from Maori as for "great growth" or Grand Cru of New Zealand. The award was presented by the industry at the NZ Pinot Noir 2010 event in Wellington, to just two wineries - Felton Road from Central Otago, and Ata Rangi from Martinborough, recognising the top echelon who have been inspirational to the rest of the industry in their development of Pinot Noir.
The 2010 vintage volume was 7% down on last years across the NZ wine industry, but Central Otago's harvest at 6,196
tonnes was unchanged, according to the latest results released by NZ Winegrowers.
Central Otago is now officially part of the prestigious Great Wine Capitals Global Network (Christchurch) South Island. The global network was founded in Bordeaux 10 years ago with a goal of bringing together the world's most prestigious wine regions to enhance their economic, education, and tourism projects.
There are 9 members: Bilbao/Rioja, Spain; Bordeaux, France; Cape Town, South Africa; Florence, Italy; Mainz, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal and San Francisco/Napa Valley, USA and South Island, New Zealand.
TRAVEL
Planning a wine-tasting trip to Central Otago?? - check out otagowine.com for details on wineries, wine tours, accommodation, function venues and other activities along the wine trail. Our wine tourism section now includes a very useful Trip Planner and you can book your accommodation direct online. click here for more info... or you can select from our accommodation featured listings here...
SENDING WINE IN NZ
Delivery in NZ is freight free; there is a handling fee $7.50 per order, regardless of how many cases are ordered. Minimum order 3 bottles (or there will be an additional $5 charge for orders less than 3 bottles). Rural delivery $4.
WE ALSO SEND WINE OVERSEAS
0800 OTAGOWINE
Please feel free to use our 0800 number to phone your orders through. We understand people are often too busy to browse the web or are reluctant to give Credit card details etc. So please ring us to discuss wines we have available or place an order or simply just to follow up to an order with your credit card details.
Cheers!
Jean and Roger
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Australian customers - this is your chance to stock up from Central Otago !!
