An oldie, but still a goodie

Having dinner with friends on the weekend and a visit to the deep dark depths of my cellar unearthed a bottle of the 1991 Pinot Noir. Allans first vintage, and I joined the ranks not long after.  Lovely to see the transition over the years with the label from then to now.
Everyone at work had the opportunity to have a sample this morning and here are some thoughts:
Allan - My first PN at Palliser.  As a young wine it had some robust tannins which are now softened  but provide the wine with good backbone and very satisfying texture.
Carla – Colour as you would expect from a 20 year old wine, soft jammy ripe berry fruit flavours, still finishing long and smooth in the mouth. A delightful treasure.

Author: Carla

Pencarrow Pinot Noir 2011

The talented wine scribe Raymond Chan recently tasted a bottle of our 2011 Pencarrow Pinot Noir. This is what he had to say:

The Pencarrow Pinot Noir has upstaged its more prestigious sibling over the last few years. Its success on the wine show circuit has no doubt been a result of the wine’s bold fruity style and reasonable accessibility, the latter attribute a result of less intensive tannin management and the selection of barrels that have the balance for earlier drinking than the ‘Estate’ wine. Winning gold medals and trophies has astounded some critics, but this second label’s consistent performance cannot be denied. Either the criteria for wine show competitions must be changed, or all of the judges sacked!

Teasing aside, the other reasons for the Pencarrow Pinot Noir accomplishments are increasing fruit quality from improving viticulture and the greater availability of high grade fruit. Consumers are not going to question the quality and value pricing, which should be celebrated.

Pencarrow Martinborough Pinot Noir 2011
Clones 114, 115, 667, 777, Abel and 10/5, all Martinborough, predominantly from company vineyards, the fruit given a cold soak and mostly indigenous yeast fermented to 14.0% alc., the wine spending 17 days on skins and aged 10 months in French oak. Dark, deep, black-hued red colour, lighter on rim. This has a tightly bound, but intense and penetrating nose of ripe black fruits with dark herb and spice notes as well as violet-like florals. Medium-full bodied, the flavours promise to unfold and reveal more with time. There are flavours of black fruits and florals, concentrated and densely packed, and supported by fine-grained, but firm tannins. The oaking is sensitive and the youthful acidity carries the flavours on a long, lingering finish featuring spicy black fruits and hints of liquorice. This is a tightly concentrated, brooding and firmly textured Pinot Noir that needs another year to become accessible. It will then develop for another 4-5+ years. Serve with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean styled red meat dishes

Author: Carla

Champion Pinot Noir & Open Red trophies for our 2010 Pencarrow Pinot Noir

We were very thrilled to receive 2 trophies for our 2010 Pencarrow Pinot at the Air New Zealand wine awards on Saturday night. Allan was there to receive the trophies which now brings our tally at these awards at 21 trophies – the first however for our Pencarrow range.

These awards reiterate what exceptional value and quality this Pencarrow Pinot noir is, so enjoy like the boys from Midnight Youth did on this youtube clip!

The judges citation was as follows: Brilliant dusky black cherry colour, full of Pinotness, with wild strawberry, cherry, warm forest, spice and briar notes on the nose. Brilliant tight sinewy autumn forest, whispy and wild, a bit Lindsay Lohan but with more spine and a lot more fine. Lovely long warm earth tannins with a hint of chalk dust. Greatness prevails.

Author: Pip

Someone else likes our wine

Joelle Thomson had this to say about two of our wines in the Dompost Weekend 12/02/11:

2009 Pencarrow Martinborough Pinot Noir $21
This is top value. Soft, supple, light in style but very refreshing… you could lightly chill this pinot noir on a steamy day and enjoy its soft structure and gorgeous cherry flavours with good brie on the side. Do yourself and this pinot noir a favour and decant it first.

2010 Pencarrow Chardonnay $15
Talk about great value for money and deliciously good chardonnay from one of New Zealand’s most consistent top shelf wineries; Palliser Estate in Martinborough. This affordable everyday drop offers freshness and depth of flavour, which is an impressive achievement for $15.

Author: Carla

GOLD

A big thank you to all our supporters who sent congratulations on our success in the latest Air New Zealand Wine Awards (Pencarrow Pinot Noir 2009 – Gold, Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2008 – Pure Gold,  Palliser Estate Pinot Gris 2009 – Silver, Palliser Estate Chardonnay 2009 – Silver, Palliser Estate Chardonnay 2008 – Pure Bronze). Many congratulations to our very talented Winemaking team Allan Pip and all those in the vineyard which is where our wines are born.Its a complex business so success is sweet given the current global economic conditions.

Some winemakers, and remember we are an individualistic lot, seem to suffer from award fatigue and do not enter what are undoubtedly some the country’s quality wines. I have to say I regret this. We are a small nation trying to make a living in a very big and indifferent world. When a major corporate like Air New Zealand sticks with the wine industry during these difficult times and does everything it can to showcase the country’s best they deserve not just our thanks but our support too.

Now I have a confession to make. I was one of those lucky enough to attend the Direct Capital event at Papakura last week. I can’t reveal the exact venue but some of you may have read about it on the front page of the Sunday Star Times. I have to say it was a privilege to be with that extraordinary group of young New Zealanders who have done so much for our reputation around the world. We have not always been very generous to our military so I was glad that the group could make contribution to the appropriate trust fund which helps make life a little bit easier for their families.

Reflecting on Air New Zealand’s loyal support for encouraging the very best in our industry and thinking back on the people I met a Papakura last week makes me feel very positive about this country.

Author: Richard