[We’ll be running our contributors’ picks for the best wine performances for 2009 on a dialy basis through the end of the year, so stay tuned. Michael Franz]
My choice for the 2009 Winery of the Year is Craggy Range, a New Zealand winery headquartered in Hawkes Bay, on the North Island. Craggy Range gets my vote–not because their wines are the “best”–although they are consistently superior–but because they are taking New Zealand wines to another level with their focus on single vineyard wines.
New Zealand’s wine industry runs the risk of being equated with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Although it’s hard to complain about the quality and value of those wines, New Zealand has so much more to offer in terms of a diverse expression of its wines–be it Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Bordeaux blends.
Winemakers insist that Pinot Noir is a “transparent” varietal–that is it reflects where it’s grown. So it’s not surprising that Craggy Range produces a variety of Pinot Noir from vineyards that highlight the differences between–and within–Martinborough and Central Otago, two of New Zealand’s top areas for that grape. Adrian Baker, Craggy Range’s winemaker in charge of Pinot Noir emphasizes their philosophy when he says, “We don’t want to manipulate or destroy what the site has to offer.”
But just as their Pinot Noir show the diversity of New Zealand’s terroir, so do Craggy Range’s Chardonnays. They have a long term lease on Kidnappers Vineyard, on the coast at Hawkes Bay, only 500 yards from the ocean. Their 2008 Chardonnay from there–steely, flinty with a laser-like focus–could almost pass for Chablis. In contrast, their Les Beaux Cailloux Chardonnay, from a vineyard not 15 miles away in the Gimblett Gravels area, is on the other end of the style spectrum, conveying luxurious richness balanced by a firm backbone. To be fair, the winemaking is different between the two–Kidnappers is fermented mostly in stainless steel vats and sees little malolactic fermentation while Les Beaux Cailloux undergoes barrel fermentation and a full malo–but according to Steven Smith, MW, Director of Wine, the site drives the way they make the wines.
I applaud them for emphasizing one of the magical qualities of wine–how the flavors in the bottle are influenced by–and reflect where–the grapes grow.
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