Vintus

Decanter’s March 2012 cover story is entitled “Burgundy and Beyond”, an issue dedicated to Pinot Noir.  Benjamin Lewin MW writes the cover article in search of Pinot Noir outside Burgundy that exhibits both typicity and a complexity and quality comparable Burgundy.  He names a total of 12 Pinot Noirs to challenge Burgundy, from California, Switzerland, Oregon, the Loire Valley, Alsace, Alto Adige, Ahr, Victoria, and New Zealand.  Dog Point Pinot Noir 2007 is named and pictured, with the following note:

“Bursting with fruit in a similar aroma and flavor spectrum as Beaune or Pommard.  Tarry nose opening into earthy strawberries.  The palate has full-force earthy strawberry fruit, with glycerin bringing and opulence to the finish.  Too powerful for true elegance but has bags of character.”

A huge endorsement not only of Dog Point’s Pinot Noir within New Zealand (there is only one other NZ producer named), but globally.

Click on the images below to see the cover and the feature on Dog Point.

Dog Point has just sent their December newsletter and it includes a recipe and pairing from Kong Hans, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Thomas Maarjerg is arguably Denmark’s top sommelier and has paired Dog Point Chardonnay 2009 with a dish of arctic char, black trumpet mushrooms, spinach and hollondaise with  brown butter and seabuckthorn berry juice.

Incredible!  If you’re in Copenhagen this pairing will be featured for a few months, otherwise give the recipe a shot – click on the image below for a full-size PDF of the recipe that you can print out.

The Otago Daily Times runs through a number of mostly 2010 Sauvignon  Blancs, and awards top billing to Dog Point’s Section 94 2009, calling it, “One of the handful of wonderful Marlborough Sauvignons that step outside the usual mold.”  You can read the full article here.

We’ll have to wait for this baby in the US until next year.  There’s lots of great wine to drink in the meantime.

In a major feature on the 2009 New Zealand Pinot Noir vintage, Bob Campbell MW of Decanter magazine gives the ’09 Dog Point Pinot Noir 5 out of 5 stars, proclaiming it one of the very best pinots to come out of Marlborough.

2009 was an exceptional vintage for Pinot Noir all across New Zealand. As Campbell puts it, “winemakers in each of the country’s five main pinot regions are incontinent with joy about their 2009s. Some even claim to have made their best Pinot Noir ever.” The write-up on Dog Point reads as follows:

“It seemed inevitable that a partnership between Cloudy Bay’s ex-winemaker and viticulturist would make cracking wine. This is one of Dog Point’s best Pinot Noirs yet. It’s a seriously good wine with excellent cellaring potential.”

Read the full article here (subscription required).

The  Quarterly Review of Wines has just published a two-page feature on Dog Point in its Summer issue. Written by Rosemary George MW, the article describes the exciting new wine project started by ex Cloudy Bay chief winemaker and viticulturist, James Healy and Ivan Sutherland.

Here are a few excerpts from the article:

“When James and Ivan decided to work together, they laid down the ground rules, agreeing that they would do away with the high tech approach with which they had become familiar at Cloudy Bay. Their winery would be very “hands on.” Also they would hand-pick everything, which is pretty unusual for Marlborough. They are adamant that it enhances quality. Margaret Sutherland suggested the difference between a bruised windfall apple and the apple picked carefully from the tree, which has a much better flavor. And they elected to concentrate on the three varietals that suit Marlborough best – namely Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.”

“They make two qualities of Sauvignon. The simplest has a gentle pressing, with no lees contact, and entails a small percentage fermented with natural yeast. Section 94, which was named when the valley was carved up by the early settlers, is barrel-fermented, using old barrels, and spends 18 months on the lees. James explaiend that the method is very different from that used for Te Koko at Cloudy Bay. The pressing is very gentle and the management of the oxidative conditions with no SO2 is quite tricky. The aim is to enhance the minerality of the wine.”

“Cloudy Bay was the nursery for two talented winemakers, who are now creating their own labels, from grapes provided by one of the country’s most skilled viticulturists and grape growers.”

The January/February 2011 issue of Wine 100 magazine features a rave review for Dog Point Vineyard 2008 Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc, and 95 points to go with it.

“New Zealand’s most complex and sophisticated Sauvignon is built around passionfruit and lantana characters, with layers of complex hazelnut cream, caramel and exotic spice. Its focus, definition and textural acidity elevate it to the next level.” 95 Wine 100

Yet another testament to the bold complexity and ripeness of Marlborough’s finest wines. Get the full review here (with subscription).

When Jamie Goode of WineAnorak.com sat down to try Dog Point 2008 Chardonnay, he was caught totally by surprise. “Coming from celebrated Marlborough producer Dog Point,” he writes, “I was expecting this Chardonnay to be good. But not anywhere near this good.”

Dog Point Chardonnay 2008 Marlborough
“Complex, beguiling, minerally, nutty, flinty nose with some richness but also lovely freshness. Concentrated, powerful palate with lovely acidity. Fresh and mineral with citrus and spice notes, with incredible intensity. A thrilling expression of Chardonnay. One of the world’s greats.” 95/100 Wine Anorak

Click here for the entire post.

Yesterday’s post on Stephen Tanzer’s Winophilia points to the Dog Point Vineyard 2009 Sauvignon Blanc as the quintessential New Zealand sauvignon blanc, “with aromas of lemon grass, grapefruit pith and pepper that practically scream out their variety.”

Tanzer writes:

“This concentrated, vibrant sauvignon displays a classic sauvignon herbaceousness that’s tempered by the wine’s sheer richness of grapefruit and soft citrus fruit and its almost dusty impression of extract.“

Read the rest of Tanzer’s list of New Zealand’s crisp sauvignon blancs here.