9th March 2008
Cellar Le Pinot, in conjunction with Ruby Red Fine Wines in Shanghai, hosted a dinner in Beijing showcasing the wines of Terrace Heights Estate (THE), Marlborough, New Zealand.
The dinner was held at private dining facility, Il & Elle, which specializes in Huaiyang cuisine with some French twists.
Director of Sales and Marketing, Steve Hammond, had come up from Shanghai on a general China-leg to present his wines. Terrace Heights Estate was born only as recently as 2002 – with the release of its first Sauvignon Blanc – although Hammond has been involved in growing vines in the region since 1993.
These are wines defined by purity of fruit expression and regionality. They are not over-blown in any sense, a far cry from the over-extracted wines that can crop up in Marlborough (that sherbet fruit bomb problem on over-ripe Sauvignon Blanc, for example, where acidity also tends to suffer and alcohol levels creep suspiciously high or otherwise give way to unseemly residual sugar).
Hammond mentioned that most of his wines are designed for early drinking, although the Pinot Noirs should certainly age well in the medium term, perhaps for longer. In fact, we have added some notes from our earlier experiences with Terrace Heights’ Pinots (vintages 2003 and 2004 - see below). These older vintages should still be in fine fettle.
Here are our notes:
2007 Terrace Heights Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Appearance: medium green.
Nose: slight gooseberry, light guava nose, very pure fruit, slight minerality.
Palate: lovely acidity here, great fruit whose concentration comes out gradually, very good length.
Conclusion: this is what Marlborough Sauvignon is really about: purity of Sauvignon Blanc fruit, lively but not too zesty acidity, some mineral notes and cool concentration of flavours. Excellent. Drink now. Retail RMB230.
Rating: 18.5/20
2007 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Gris
Appearance: deepish yellow with green tints.
Nose: immediate pear fruit, slight spice (white pepper note), other savoury aromas.
Palate: lovely fruit, impressive acidity, well-balanced residual sugar here. Off-dry, integrated.
Conclusion: a good expression of the grape. Doesn’t quite have the finesse of the Sauvignon Blanc, but this is the first time Terrace Heights has released a Pinot Gris. At least the wine is well expressive of grape variety. Made in the traditional Alsace style really with not too high a level of residual sugar, but not as spicy on the nose as Alsatian examples. Good. Drink now. Retail RMB230.
Rating: 17/20
2006 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir
Appearance: dark purple-red.
Nose: attractive, perfumed nose featuring red and black cherry fruit (more cherry here than raspberry or strawberry notes), backed by lovely oak and some spicy aromas (largely traceable to the oak).
Palate: excellent acidity, lovely intensity of fruit with soft, silky medium tannins and nice length.
Conclusion: very well put together Pinot Noir. New Zealand has, of course, shown its powers in managing this unyielding grape variety. Even if some will wonder whether Pinot in New Zealand can attain the heights of greatness occasionally possible in Burgundy, let’s not forget New Zealand has a better track record than France overall at producing reliable Pinot; and with innovations in many regions, including Central Otago, who knows what’s possible. This wine is very well-made. Drink now or up until 2011. Retail RMB430.
Rating: 18/20 [possible higher with time]
Two Older Vintages of the Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noirs: 2004 & 2003
2004 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir
Note: This wine was tasted on 6th July 2006. It should be even better now.
Appearance: deepish purple-red.
Nose: warm Pinot fruit nose, some floral notes though too. Good oak here.
Palate: high alcohol (actually 14.5% here). But what’s impressive is that the Pinot has not lost typicity: good fruit, nice acidity, medium slightly chewy tannins, good length.
Conclusion: it may be a higher alcohol Pinot than the below 2003, but it’s still well-made. Drink now until 2012.
Rating: 17.5/20
2003 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir
Note: This wine was tasted on 10th July 2006. It should be even better now.
Appearance: medium purple-red.
Nose: showing less alcohol than the 2004 vintage (this wine 13%, the other 14.5%), this has integrated, lush Pinot fruit and shows good use of French oak.
Palate: good fruit, decent structure with low-medium silky tannins and a slight bitterness on the finish (which would probably settle down with further ageing).
Conclusion: very impressive. Should age very well, up to 2012. Would probably go further than the 2004.
Rating: 18.5/20
Cellar Le Pinot, in conjunction with Ruby Red Fine Wines in Shanghai, hosted a dinner in Beijing showcasing the wines of Terrace Heights Estate (THE), Marlborough, New Zealand.
The dinner was held at private dining facility, Il & Elle, which specializes in Huaiyang cuisine with some French twists.
Director of Sales and Marketing, Steve Hammond, had come up from Shanghai on a general China-leg to present his wines. Terrace Heights Estate was born only as recently as 2002 – with the release of its first Sauvignon Blanc – although Hammond has been involved in growing vines in the region since 1993.
These are wines defined by purity of fruit expression and regionality. They are not over-blown in any sense, a far cry from the over-extracted wines that can crop up in Marlborough (that sherbet fruit bomb problem on over-ripe Sauvignon Blanc, for example, where acidity also tends to suffer and alcohol levels creep suspiciously high or otherwise give way to unseemly residual sugar).
Hammond mentioned that most of his wines are designed for early drinking, although the Pinot Noirs should certainly age well in the medium term, perhaps for longer. In fact, we have added some notes from our earlier experiences with Terrace Heights’ Pinots (vintages 2003 and 2004 - see below). These older vintages should still be in fine fettle.
Here are our notes:
2007 Terrace Heights Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Appearance: medium green.
Nose: slight gooseberry, light guava nose, very pure fruit, slight minerality.
Palate: lovely acidity here, great fruit whose concentration comes out gradually, very good length.
Conclusion: this is what Marlborough Sauvignon is really about: purity of Sauvignon Blanc fruit, lively but not too zesty acidity, some mineral notes and cool concentration of flavours. Excellent. Drink now. Retail RMB230.
Rating: 18.5/20
2007 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Gris
Appearance: deepish yellow with green tints.
Nose: immediate pear fruit, slight spice (white pepper note), other savoury aromas.
Palate: lovely fruit, impressive acidity, well-balanced residual sugar here. Off-dry, integrated.
Conclusion: a good expression of the grape. Doesn’t quite have the finesse of the Sauvignon Blanc, but this is the first time Terrace Heights has released a Pinot Gris. At least the wine is well expressive of grape variety. Made in the traditional Alsace style really with not too high a level of residual sugar, but not as spicy on the nose as Alsatian examples. Good. Drink now. Retail RMB230.
Rating: 17/20
2006 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir
Appearance: dark purple-red.
Nose: attractive, perfumed nose featuring red and black cherry fruit (more cherry here than raspberry or strawberry notes), backed by lovely oak and some spicy aromas (largely traceable to the oak).
Palate: excellent acidity, lovely intensity of fruit with soft, silky medium tannins and nice length.
Conclusion: very well put together Pinot Noir. New Zealand has, of course, shown its powers in managing this unyielding grape variety. Even if some will wonder whether Pinot in New Zealand can attain the heights of greatness occasionally possible in Burgundy, let’s not forget New Zealand has a better track record than France overall at producing reliable Pinot; and with innovations in many regions, including Central Otago, who knows what’s possible. This wine is very well-made. Drink now or up until 2011. Retail RMB430.
Rating: 18/20 [possible higher with time]
Two Older Vintages of the Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noirs: 2004 & 2003
2004 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir
Note: This wine was tasted on 6th July 2006. It should be even better now.
Appearance: deepish purple-red.
Nose: warm Pinot fruit nose, some floral notes though too. Good oak here.
Palate: high alcohol (actually 14.5% here). But what’s impressive is that the Pinot has not lost typicity: good fruit, nice acidity, medium slightly chewy tannins, good length.
Conclusion: it may be a higher alcohol Pinot than the below 2003, but it’s still well-made. Drink now until 2012.
Rating: 17.5/20
2003 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir
Note: This wine was tasted on 10th July 2006. It should be even better now.
Appearance: medium purple-red.
Nose: showing less alcohol than the 2004 vintage (this wine 13%, the other 14.5%), this has integrated, lush Pinot fruit and shows good use of French oak.
Palate: good fruit, decent structure with low-medium silky tannins and a slight bitterness on the finish (which would probably settle down with further ageing).
Conclusion: very impressive. Should age very well, up to 2012. Would probably go further than the 2004.
Rating: 18.5/20
Labels: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, Cellar Le Pinot, Marlborough, New Zealand, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, red, Ruby Red Fine Wines, Sauvignon Blanc, Terrace Heights Estate, white
posted by Wine Dragon
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