Congratulation to David Boyd for winning our Limited Edition Escarpment Pinot Noir 2010 Magnum.
By Catherine, 12 January 2012
Congratulation to David Boyd for winning our Limited Edition Escarpment Pinot Noir 2010 Magnum.
By Larry, 1 July 2011
Tom Cannavan, Scotland’s favorite wine commentator, creates positive discussion for Escarpment’s Edge Pinot Gris and other NZ aromatic whites.
By Larry, 29 June 2011
Welcome to the first blog from Escarpment Vineyard and Larry McPinot
2011 Vintage Report
The Martinborough district couldn’t be happier with 2011. Large crops in general, very clean and healthy with excellent ripe fruit flavours.
It all started with the best spring since 2001. NO FROSTS, warm mild conditions and little wind. This meant good early growth with little damage to young shoots and leaves. This weather continued into a warm dry December where all varieties flowered very successfully. Large bunches were set (around 120gms where under 100 is more the norm in Martinborough). The warm weather meant a fast start to berry development and we were already thinking of an early harvest.
The summer progressed along the same lines with warm dry weather making growing conditions ideal right up until veraison (early February).
The critical period from veraison till harvest was just as good. During this time we want warm dry weather to alleviate any risks of disease (Botrytis) and to build up those all important fruit flavours. Due to the great spring and large bunch weights fruit thinning (green harvest) was required in most blocks. Up to 30% was dropped at veraison which is a very hard thing to witness. I had to leave Dave and his team to it and try and take a break before it all starts about 6 weeks later. This year 2 weeks in the UK, marketing, kept me out of the way so there was no interference from the top!
We started harvest about 10 days early on the 20th March. Our 2 American vintage hands, 2 metre Peter and Marissa (I know nothing about chickens) were keen and ready to go!
Huw and Dave were fully ready as well which was a great effort given how fast the season progressed. Huw has to have all of the previous vintage bottled before we start harvesting or it won’t fit in our under capacity winery in a big year.
The fruit was perfect especially Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. The unique thing about 2011 was the fact that sugar levels didn’t go through the roof. For some reason, I think for the first time in 30 years of winemaking in NZ, we were picking grapes with low acids and low pH levels. Winemakers are obsessed with low pH’s and NZ usually doesn’t oblige in this area. Perhaps we are finally seeing one of the benefits of vine age.
Escarpment picked some of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir I have ever seen in this district. The lack of disease, great flavours and ideal sugar/acid/pH balances were a joy to work with.
In the end, we now have lovely ripe flavoured, dark coloured Pinot noir quietly maturing in oak in our underground barrel room. The Chardonnays and Pinot gris natural ferments have behaved and finished off clean and dry. A great relief to Huwey who is off to Domaine Dujac in Morey St Denis to do it all again in August.
For the rest of us its heads down and on with the pruning setting the vines up for another shuffle of the deck.
I’m lucky enough to be invited to the International Pinot Noir Celebration in McMinnville Oregon in July so will be able to report on that during August.
By Larry, 26 March 2010
2008 was tricky for much of France and Burgundy was no exception. With a cool, wet spring flowering was not ideal with resulting yields between 5-6% down. Mildew also developed due to the damp conditions and hail also put in an appearance damaging up to 70% of some vineyards. As a generalisation, whites seem to have fared better than reds with Chardonnay cleaner than the Pinot Noir which suffered some botrytis infections, but September saw cool breezes which helped dry the fruit out, before a good warm period that ripened the grapes for vintage. As always in difficult vintages there will be some gems to ferret out.
For a very detailed and useful guide to the vintages of Burgundy (and a whole lot more information on Burgundy in general) click here
By Larry, 26 March 2010
Wellington again hosted the NZ version of Pinot Heaven during February. Pinot Noir 2010, the fourth triennial event was a great success with over 400 delegates. The highlight came on the second day when a great tasting of sustainably produced New Zealand Pinot Noirs drew a enormous deal of interest and comment. Jamie Goode (UK) gave a great presentation as part of this tasting and he is well worth following on his twitter page and blog.
The conclusion to the formal sessions was a tasting of Pinot Noirs from France, USA, Australia and NZ. Hosted by Larry it was a chance to decide just how far we have come globally and to taste if we are truly up to the international standards we must achieve. The learned global commentators were generally impressed. The best overall comments perhaps coming from Bob Campbell as quoted by Tim Atkin. Tim felt that out of the 100 plus producers on show 25 were of world class standard. He told Bob Campbell MW about his findings he nodded sagely, “In 2001, there were many dogs and a few stars. Now there are many stars and a few dogs.” Roll on Pinot 2013.
