The wines of Neudorf,
Nelson
An in-depth look at one of New Zealand's top producers
Tim
and Judy Finn’s Neudorf Estate is one of New Zealand’s most
respected producers. Based in the Nelson region, at the top of North
Island, they make excellent Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and
Pinot Noir from their 33 hectares of vines, spread over two sites:
the home vineyards at Moutere, and a second site at Brightwater, south
of Nelson. I caught up with them to hear their story and taste their
wines, including some back vintages.
Back
in the 1970s Tim Finn was a research scientist at Ruakura
Agricultural Research Centre in Hamilton. His speciality was animal
behaviour. In particular, he was studying the social and disease
problems in New Zealand dairy herds that were the result of herd
sizes increasing from 150 to around 600. ‘I enjoyed it,’ he recalled,
‘but it wasn’t something I could do myself out in the country.
The “back to the land” movement was calling us.’
Near
to Ruakura was the Te Kauwhata Viticultural Research Station. It was
at this time that Tim got interested in wine and began thinking
about growing grapes. ‘I realized that I didn’t want to be a
scientist forever.’
Heading-up
Te Kauwhata was Dr Rainer Eschenbruch, a soil scientist. ‘The sad
thing is that the industry was paying no attention to him,’ says
Finn. ‘He’d been telling them that they shouldn’t add water to
wine and things like that.’ The flip side of this was that
Eschenbruch had time to spend with people who would listen, such as
Tim.
Finn
recalls that these were exciting times. ‘New Zealand was just
starting to come to terms with the wines of the world, and there
were lots of interesting wines at the research station.’ Along
with Tim and his wife Judy, lots of people were joining the industry
who hadn’t been in it before. ‘I had to try to convince Judy to
leave the joys of middle class New Zealand to head out to the hippy
land of upper Moutere.’
Tim
and Judy moved to Nelson in 1976 to look for land that would suit
them. He was still working as a government scientist. ‘On paper
Nelson had a lot going for it,’ says Finn. ‘It was an
alternative place—it still is—and at the time had lots of
communes. The 1960s had had its effect.’
Tim,
with long hair and a beard, bought an old commune called ‘Farmagusta’,
which at its height had been home to 20 people. When Tim and Judy
bought the land, there were still two families on it.
The
Finns were
pioneers as winegrowers in the region. ‘Hermann Seifried was
already there. When we came to look and bought our land we didn’t
realise he was down the road from us. He started at pretty much the
same time.’
‘We
started off with about 5 acres, and we grafted the vines ourselves.
We made a little grafting machine of three saw blades. First of all
we put the vines under heat and humidity in a downstairs toilet, and then
we grew them in a nursery for a while. It was very hard to get
rootstock. Hermann told us we should be on rootstock but no one had
bulked it up.’
The
first vintage was 1981, with some Riesling, Chardonnay and Gamay
Beaujolais (which turned out to be misnamed – it was actually a
clone of Pinot Noir). ‘I thought “shit I don’t want to be
famous for an ersatz Beaujolais”’ says Tim. ‘But we realized
it was Pinot Noir and cut down crop, and made a Pinot Noir.’ He
was really pleased with the first Chardonnay. ‘Even though it was
unoaked, it had some great character to it.’
‘I
worked out we could earn $64 000 a year, and said to Judy that if we
didn’t do this we could head back to the city. We never did go
back.’
Tim
reflects: ‘going through 30 years of vintage gives you a lot of
insight. We didn’t know what New Zealand could produce, and we
didn’t know what we could produce. We’ve been through a time
when the change in the New Zealand industry has been so huge. If you
look at the next 30 years, we’ll have old vines and more
knowledge. The future for the NZ wine industry is great.’
Judy
Finn adds, ‘to make wine was the first challenge. To make good
wine was the next challenge. The goalpoasts have moved out: the
country now wants to make great wine. For people like us, there is
no point in making wine that is a commodity. We have to make wine
that has spiritual and artistic integrity.’
I
think the wines are superb. My pick of the bunch isn't the more
famous Pinot
Noir, but the Chardonnay, which is world class.
THE
WINES
Tasted 10/10:
Neudorf
Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Nelson
13% alcohol. Very aromatic and fresh with nice tropical notes
and rounded fruit. The palate is lively with grapefruit and tropical
fruit notes, and lots of presence. Really good stuff. 91/100
Neudorf
Riesling Moutere 2009 Nelson
9% alcohol. Crisp and limey on the nose, leading to a fresh,
limey palate with real texture and presence. Very bright with lovely
sweetness and good acidity. Youthful and primary. 90/100
Neudorf
Brightwater Riesling 2009 Nelson
12% alcohol. Reductive with a matchstick edge to the nose. Fresh
and limey. Crisp, tight and limey on the palate with high acidity.
Just off-dry. 89/100
Neudorf
Riesling Moutere 2002 Nelson
10% alcohol. Showing a bit of evolution on the nose with a hint
of petrol as well as bright citrus notes. The palate is lively with
a nice texture and a creamy finish, with a hint of residual sugar.
90/100
Neudorf
Maggie’s Block Pinot Gris 2009 Nelson
13.5% alcohol. Fresh and aromatic with a grapey nose. Nice
purity of fruit on the palate which is textured yet dry with melon
richness and a bit of smokiness. Very nice. 91/100
Neudorf
Pinot Gris Moutere 2009 Nelson
13% alcohol. Grapey, melony fruit with some smokiness on the
nose, as well as an attractive herbiness. The palate is grapey and
rich with nice texture and melony richness. Hint of sweetness.
90/100
Neudorf
Pinot Gris Moutere 2001 Nelson
14% alcohol. Interesting melony, herby nose with melon richness
and citrus freshness. Quite powerful and very fruity. Broad, herby
palate has nice intensity of melon and citrus fruit. Distinctive.
92/100
Neudorf
Chardonnay 2008 Nelson
13.5% alcohol. Taut, reduced, mineral nose leads to a palate
showing taut, lively, toasty, nutty notes. Lovely freshness and an
appealing savoury dimension. 92/100
Neudorf
Chardonnay Moutere 2008 Nelson
Taut, toasty nose is lively and fresh with some citrus and nut
character. Crisp and bold in the mouth with lovely fresh complexity
and a lively, intense personality. One for the long haul. 93/100
Neudorf
Chardonnay Moutere 2002 Nelson
14% alcohol. Rich, toasty, creamy and buttery, with some nutty
notes. Lively and mineral in the mouth with appealing toastiness and
fresh finish. Exciting. 93/100
Neudorf
Chardonnay Moutere 2000 Nelson (from magnum – 20 were made, cork
sealed)
Really complex with nice matchstick reduction. Crisp, mineral
citrus and pear fruit with some toasty notes. Lovely fruit here with
real precision and richness, finishing fresh. This is evolving
beautifully. Thrilling wine. 95/100
Neudorf
Pinot Noir Moutere 2008 Nelson
14% alcohol. Lovely right, aromatic nose of dark cherries.
Focused and fresh with real vibrancy. The palate is fresh and has
nice cherry fruit with a hint of sappiness and an almost metallic
spiciness on the finish. 91/100
Neudorf
Tom’s Block Pinot Noir 2008 Nelson
13.5% alcohol. Sappy, vivid and elegant cherry fruit nose. The
palate has crisp cherry fruit as well as nice greenness. Juicy and
bright. 91/100
Neudorf
Pinot Noir Moutere 2004 Nelson
14.5% alcohol. Lovely cherry fruit nose with some herby
complexity. Taut undergrowth notes complement the fresh cherry
fruit, adding a nice savoury dimension. 92/100
Neudorf
Pinot Noir Home Vineyard 2006 Nelson (magnum)
Vibrant dark cherry and plum fruit nose with some spiciness and
a subtle green herbal edge. The palate is dense, spicy and a touch
green with lively fruit. Slightly sweet and sour. 91/100
Neudorf
Pinot Noir Moutere 2000 Nelson (Magnum)
Very sweet aromatic nose with cherries and sweet, spicy, fudge
and soy sauce overtones. The palate is sweet showing some tar and
spice evolution. Complex, warm, spicy and rich with nice complexity.
92/100
Tasted
10/09:
Neudorf
Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Nelson
Intense, fresh and grassy with nice fruit as well as green
herbal notes. A rich, complete style. 90/100
Neudorf
Chardonnay 2006 Nelson
Very bold, toasty and dense with pungent notes of figs, herbs
and pineapple. Concentrated and bold with dense herby fruit. 92/100
Neudorf
Chardonnay Moutere 2006
Nelson
Sophisticated and intense with notes of toast, lime and
pineapple. The palate has elegance combined with power. Intense,
bold and spicy with high acidity. Lovely. 94/100
Neudorf
Pinot Noir Moutere 2006 Nelson
Bright and nicely aromatic with floral cherry fruit nose. The
palate is elegant with a hint of meatiness to the lovely fruity
palate. 90/100
See
also:
Visiting
New Zealand: Central Otago
Visiting
New Zealand: Marlborough, Waipara, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne
Published
06/11
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