Craggy Range Prestige Collection 2011

 

Since its inception in the late 1990’s, Craggy Range has been heralded as one of New Zealand’s best wineries making some of the best wines from the country. Started by businessman Terry Peabody and guided by director Steve Smith MW, Craggy Range has grown in a short amount of time to become, arguably, New Zealand’s best known winery for red wines and certainly one of but a handful of wineries that are known for the age worthiness of their wines.

Steve Smith MW was in Hong Kong this week to host a tasting of three of the 2011 vintages which are due for release on the market on June 1^st this year. Steve himself is a giant of a man, imposing and, whilst staring downwards with your nose in your glass knowing that Steve is staring down at you, it’s hard not to fall in love with his wines!

(L-R): Jack Cumming (Montrose GM), Steve Smith MW, Monty James (Business Manager, Craggy Range)

No, actually, Craggy do make great wines and in my world there are certainly two that immediately spring to mind when someone mentions the name Craggy Range – Sophia and Le Sol. I have a couple of bottles of these wines in my cellar from the 2009 vintage – a big vintage that needs a good few more years yet Steve kindly informed me on Monday.

Both of these wines are made in the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand, but the company also makes other reds and a bunch of whites from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago. In fact, I never knew that Craggy Range made a Pinot Noir from Martinborough, but they do, and it’s called Aroha and it’s pretty damn tasty!

Aroha means ‘love’ in Maori and the 2011 vintage, although those with patience will be rewarded with cellaring, is drinking very nicely. It’s soft and rounded but with a firm structure and has an elegance that I can only describe as ‘it’s definitely not Central Otago’. Not that I don’t like Central Otago Pinot, quite the opposite, but Central Otago Pinot certainly have their own style and sense of terroir, and Aroha is quite different.

Red wines often get overtaken by the infamy of the grape that New Zealand has taken under its wing and made its own, Sauvignon Blanc, but wines from Hawke’s Bay and certainly from Craggy Range should not be ignored. For the serious wine drinker Craggy make Le Sol and Sophia. At a tasting a few years back someone asked Mary-Jeanne Hutchinson (head of sales and marketing for Graggy Range) where the name Sophia came from. She was rather embarrassed to tell the audience that it was really just named after the fabled actress Sophia Lauren.

 But the wine it a great one and the 2011 vintage is also drinking very well. The wine itself is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the typical Bordeaux blend and certainly needs some time in the cellar before it can be enjoyed at its best.

Finally, Le Sol is a 100 per cent Syrah from Gimblett Gravels vineyard in Hawke’s Bay and it’s a sublte yet punchy Syrah with good tannin structure and a good weight and body to it. Again, best with a few years aging and those that can wait will see how good it is in the next five years or so. The 2011 was quite a bit softer than, certainly, the 2009 and would be approachable right now if it were served with food.

I asked Steve why the 2011’s were showing so well right now, bearing in mind that other vintages were certainly bolder when they were released. He told me that yes, the 2011 is a little softer and more approachable and although drinking well right now, the true aficionado will have to wait to get the wines at their best, just that they won’t have to wait as long as they would do with some of the other vintages.

A special wine was hand carried over to Hong Kong by Steve. It was the 2011 Block 16 Pinot Noir. A cracker of a wine and made in tiny amounts, only 50 cases to be exact. The best thing about this wine is that even with its limited production, 30 of those 50 cases will be made available to the Hong Kong market, but you’d better be quick as this wine is sure to sell out fast. It most certainly needs cellaring and, if they are to make this wine year on year, it will most likely to become one collector’s item from New Zealand that wine lovers are sure to enjoy having in their cellar.

It was great to get to taste these wines pre-release and in my view, the 2011 is looking like a good vintage, one not unlike the 2007 or 2010 vintage in Bordeaux. That is, with a good potential for aging but not one that will need a lengthy time lying down to be at its best. Also, this means that the wines are approachable now so if you don’t have either a cellar or a whole bunch of patience, you’ll really love the wines for what they are right now.

Craggy Range wines are available from Montrose Fine Wines in Hong Kong and you can contact Sam Li for more information or pre-ordering by e-mail on sam@montrose.com.hk or by calling (+852) 25558877. You can also visit their website www.montrose.com.hk to see more of the wines they import and distribute.