World-class small producers

Mar 7 2008 by Helen Savage, The Journal

THE range of wines offered by some local independent merchants is as big as anything you’ll find in the major supermarkets and often much more interesting, with a good selection of often hand-crafted wines from quirky producers that are available only in very limited quantities.

Although some local merchants import wines directly from the growers, it’s only possible to maintain a huge range by buying from specialist importers.

Last week, 40 of the UK’s top such specialists held tastings for the trade in Manchester and London. I managed to cadge an invitation too – a fantastic opportunity both to discover some of the most exciting wines on offer in Britain, and also to talk to some of the people who make them.

I was delighted to meet one of the real stars of New Zealand, Larry McKenna of Escarpment Vineyards. His wines, especially his glorious Pinot Noirs, are hard to find. Demand for them is so great and the amount he makes is so little. Unlike many New Zealand winegrowers, he’s not much interested in Sauvignon Blanc. “There’s enough Sauvignon Blanc around. It’s done the job of putting us on the map, but I want to make more complex wines.” They include a truly complex, mightily impressive Chardonnay 2006 and one of the best examples of a southern hemisphere Pinot Gris I’ve ever tasted. It combines power with, again, great complexity. “I tried to get a Pinot Gris more suited to food,” Larry explains. But his pride and joy are his sensational new single vineyard Pinot Noirs.

It’s easy to see why he’s sometimes called ‘Mr Pinot Noir’. In a gesture of extraordinary restraint, he proudly refuses to charge the prices that some punters would probably not hesitate to pay for them. The richly, ripe 2006 Pinot Noir is £14.99 and even the top single vineyard example, Kupe 2005, sells for no more than £19.95. A red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) of similar concentration and style would cost twice the price. The best source to get hold of one of these precious bottles is probably online at www.halifaxwinecompany.com. They also offer the superb Pinot Gris at just £8.95.

Another top New Zealand producer, Forrest estate, owned and run by John and Brigid Forrest, also offers world-class wine at very reasonable prices (all available from www.adnams.co.uk ). They do make a fine Sauvignon Blanc, but John’s favourite grape is Riesling and Brigid loves Chardonnay. “I don’t care if the rest of the world’s gone off it,” she told me.

Their 2005 Chardonnay (£9.99) is buttery and rich, zipped up by juicy lemon and lime flavours. But their most surprising dry white is called simply ‘The White’. The 2006 has been blended from nine different grape varieties picked from the same number of John’s favourite vineyards over the whole of New Zealand. Wonderfully perfumed and intense, with soft, spicy fruit by the bucketful, words really don’t do it justice. Brigid says that “every 10 or 15 minutes it seems to become a different wine!”

At £15.99 it’s very fair value .

There were cheaper discoveries on show too. Jim Cancilla from Rutherford Ranch Vineyard in California’s Napa Valley showed me some very well-made wines made from grapes they harvest in other parts of the State and sell under the ‘Roundhill’ label. Several of these are available locally from Dennhöfer Wines www.dennhoferwines.com or call (01661) 844622.

Jim told me that in the Napa itself the demand for Cabernet Sauvignon is huge, so much so that it now fetches twice the price of Chardonnay. “If as a grape grower you can sell Cabernet at $4,000 a ton, why plant Chardonnay that you expect to get only $2,000 per ton for?”

Nevertheless, the Roundhill Chardonnay 2006 (a little over £8 at Dennhöfer Wines) made from grapes harvested in the Central Coast region is richly ripe, but balanced by lovely crisp acidity. Another best-seller is the Roundhill White Zinfandel (£6.33).

It’s not a style I often care for, but their 2007 was a revelation, much drier than most and with beautifully fragrant, grapey fruit.

The secret, Jim told me, is that they blended in a little Muscat. It’s this kind of touch that makes wines offered by the specialist importers that little bit different.

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Wine of the Week

Saint Mont 2006, Marks & Spencer, £6.99

Every year I come back to this deliciously crisp, perfumed dry white from south west France and it seems to just get better. Zesty with the flavour of crisp green apples and green plums, it’s the ideal partner for white meats or spicy seafood.

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Basque wines are unique

THE wines of the Basque country are quite unlike those found anywhere else – as are their tongue-twisting names.

From the French north side of the Pyrenees, Irouleguy offers sturdy, flavourful reds and tangy whites; but the Spanish wines are no less remarkable. I’ve just discovered Txomin Etxaniz 2007 from the rarely exported region of Chacoli near San Sebastian. It’s a blend of a local varieties that I’d never heard of before – Hondarrabi Zuri, which thrives in the unusually damp climate on the southern edge of the Bay of Biscay.

It’s a dry white of almost startling freshness, crisp, tangy and citrussy, with a lingering herby aftertaste. At £10.49 it’s not cheap, but it’s just as good as the voguish Albariño from further west. You can order it straight from the importers – Spanish specialists par excellence, Moreno Wines (www.morenowinedirect.com).

They also have a stunning dessert wine – Don PX Gran Reserva 1979 from Montilla-Moriles in the far south of Spain, intense, raisiny and almost treacly, it’s a rare bargain at £11.99.