Following last year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards, it seems that traditional dominance of Pinot Noir from Central Otago may be losing ground to the more elegant wines of Marlborough, with half of the gold medal recipients in the category hailing from the top of the South Island.
Over the past three years Marlborough Pinot Noirs have impressively climbed the ranks at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards and with the recent haul, the region has firmly carved itself a standing amongst the elite red wines of New Zealand.
One of the wines to take out a prestigious Pure Elite Gold medal at last year’s awards, and leading the Marlborough charge was Steve Bird’s Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2011.
Judges described the Big Barrel Pinot Noir as “beautifully understated” and “fine and focused on the palate” – something which firmly sets it apart from its Central Otago counterparts.
“Eleven Pure Elite Gold medals were awarded for Pinot Noir last year and of those, four of them hail from Marlborough where our Big Barrel Pinot Noir is produced. This is a significant change given Otago has long been regarded as the quintessential heart of our pinot industry,” says Steve Bird.
Fundamentally different from traditional New Zealand pinots, Steve Bird’s Big Barrel Pinot is crafted using an innovative process known as Big Barrel roll fermentation.
“I’m able to preserve the delicate flavours and aromas of our grapes by using 900-litre oak barrels and gently roll them by hand instead of fermenting the wine in a tank which is the traditional method used elsewhere.
“The juice and later the wine never spends more than a day outside the barrel from crushing to bottling, resulting in a Pinot Noir with great finesse, complexity and beautifully focused fruit flavours and aromas,” says Mr Bird.
His unique technique has produced vintages that have won several accolades around the world, leading to increased international demand with 95 percent of Steve Bird Wines now exported overseas.
“Wine judges and consumers are growing to appreciate a more elegant style of Pinot Noir and are looking for the mark of individual winemakers rather than big blockbuster flavours,” Mr Bird says.
Half of the 21 Pinot Noirs that achieved Gold medal recognition at the 2012 Air New Zealand Wine Awards were also produced in Marlborough, where more than half of all Pinot Noir grapes are now harvested.
Mr Bird hopes consumers will give Marlborough’s Pinot Noirs the recognition they deserve and embrace the different methods and wine styles that are now emerging.
