Quartz Reef Tasting
18 June 2010
We were host to Rudi Brauer winemaker at Quartz Reef Vineyard in Central Otago N.Z on the evening of the 17/06. Rudi has just been anointed N.Z. Winemaker of the Year for the second year running. His wines internationally are amongst the most sought after from N.Z. Rudi showed us his range of current vintages, plus a range of older Pinot’s.
We started with his Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle, lovely toasty nose, super clean crisp fruit on the palate and long and lingering - fantastic aperitif.
Next up was Rudi’s Quartz Reef Pinot Gris 2008 - a cracker, powerful clean fruit flavours a lovely unctuous mouth feel and the flavours linger on.... the Kiwi’s do this variety a lot better than Australia.
Then came the Pinot’s. We started with a Quartz Reef 2002 Pinot Noir, amazingly vibrant and youthful, sparkling fruit flavours - and Rudi stated that the current 2008 was a far better vintage than this and will have even greater longevity.
Next was the Quartz Reef Bendigo 2004 Pinot Noir, lovely drinking but my least favoured wine in the line up. A big call because the line up was so damn good – standing alone it would be a terrific wine!
Then the Bendigo 2005 Pinot, this wine interestingly enough got the nod from the majority of the females attending the tasting as their favourite, where as the males mostly leaned toward the Bendigo 2006, yours truly included. The 05 has a slightly more full voluptuous mid palate, but for me the ‘06 has the je ne sais quoi, full of flavour. Rudi thought his ‘06 to be a more “old world” style Pinot than the ’05 which is a little more upfront.
We finished with the new Quartz Reef 2008 Pinot Noir, youthful and as Rudi stated from a very good vintage. Lovely nose, a little tight on the plate, but given time and with the track record of the 2002 this wine will develop into something special.
We started with his Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle, lovely toasty nose, super clean crisp fruit on the palate and long and lingering - fantastic aperitif.
Next up was Rudi’s Quartz Reef Pinot Gris 2008 - a cracker, powerful clean fruit flavours a lovely unctuous mouth feel and the flavours linger on.... the Kiwi’s do this variety a lot better than Australia.
Then came the Pinot’s. We started with a Quartz Reef 2002 Pinot Noir, amazingly vibrant and youthful, sparkling fruit flavours - and Rudi stated that the current 2008 was a far better vintage than this and will have even greater longevity.
Next was the Quartz Reef Bendigo 2004 Pinot Noir, lovely drinking but my least favoured wine in the line up. A big call because the line up was so damn good – standing alone it would be a terrific wine!
Then the Bendigo 2005 Pinot, this wine interestingly enough got the nod from the majority of the females attending the tasting as their favourite, where as the males mostly leaned toward the Bendigo 2006, yours truly included. The 05 has a slightly more full voluptuous mid palate, but for me the ‘06 has the je ne sais quoi, full of flavour. Rudi thought his ‘06 to be a more “old world” style Pinot than the ’05 which is a little more upfront.
We finished with the new Quartz Reef 2008 Pinot Noir, youthful and as Rudi stated from a very good vintage. Lovely nose, a little tight on the plate, but given time and with the track record of the 2002 this wine will develop into something special.