Without a doubt, Pinot Noir has reigned supreme in Martinborough since early beginnings. For most of its relatively recent history this has been an Estate wine story with the ubiquitous Abel clone inevitably in the final blend. With the primary exception of the Escarpment tetralogy: Kupe, Kiwa, Pahi and Te Rehua, specific terroir expressions have been a more recent development. Atarangi launched their McCrone SV Pinot Noir from 2013 ff, and now have the McCrone, Kotinga and Masters trilogy. Nga Waka had the Lease Block since 1998 but and made the Lease Block SV Pinot from 2019 but only in 2022 did Home Block and Pirinoa SVs arrive on the scene.
These SV expressions are exciting, but is a long-term challenger to Pinor Noir waiting in the wings? Sometimes called Pinot Noir on steroids, Syrah may have a bright future in the region according to many. If you read my interview with Paul Mason, winemaker at Nga Waka, in an earlier blog, you will recall he certainly sees a strong future for Syrah albeit in a cool-climate version. In that same interview I mused on my attendance at a Geoff Kelly vertical tasting of old Dry River Pinot Noir and Syrah, my recollection being that while all the wines had stood the test of time, the Syrahs were better!
Currently Syrah plantings are small in the region – in 2019 just 10 ha in the entire Wairarapa. It doesn’t ripen until a week or two after Pinot Noir which can be problematic in the years we don’t enjoy an “Indian summer”.
Cool climate Syrah does mean a whack of rotundone. What that means is a distinctive peppery spice that comes from the skins of the grape – in warm climates it shows up like black cracked pepper, in hot climates it can be quite subtle, but in cool climates, for those who are sensitive, it is more like white pepper. An estimated 25% (give or take) of the population can’t smell rotundone at all, while for those who can it has a very low sensory threshold. For some, like me, it be a little confronting and not necessarily as pleasant as pepper on the poached eggs! When establishing my cellar I purchased a six pack of Atarangi Juliet Syrah, solely based on reviews, not actually tasted. I opened the first in 2017 and really didn’t enjoy the hit of white pepper, although the floral aromas of dianthus/carnation were attractive. But I had the last bottle recently and that pepperiness seemed so much softer and more complex, it was quite beautiful. Yet, while I expect to wait at least ten years for my Bordeaux to come around, ten years for NZ Syrah? Hmmn. Well, yes it was worth the wait, and I wish I hadn’t drunk the other bottles earlier, but not everyone has a temperature controlled cellar!
Back to Dry River, Rebecca Gibb MW, after attending a tasting of Dry River wines in London with Neil McCallum and Wilco Lam published an article for Jancis in 2019, quoting Neil, that Syrah, not Pinot is NZ’s Best Red, “particularly for Hawkes Bay and Martinborough” . The article did also mention the struggle of Syrah to ripen in Martinborough, and the caveat “wines may be impressive…in a style heavy in rotundone”. So, it does seem difficult to challenge the proposition that Syrah could have a bigger future in Martinborough – but can the rotundone be tamed without losing the other attractive characters of cool-climate Syrah such as the sweet floral aromas? What are the options?
Well first, clone selection. Some Syrah clones have more peppery characteristics than others. The Stonecroft clone established in Dry River vineyards is reputedly the same as the Northern Rhone Serine but this has not yet been confirmed, nonetheless it has a distinct pepperiness. By contrast the MS clone, now well established on the Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels is decidedly less peppery with sweeter, fruitier skins. There are other clones available in NZ that have not yet been properly evaluated, particularly in Martinborough. Opinions here are divided. Wilco Lam is a stalwart supporter of Stonecroft/Serine, while Paul Mason leans towards MS and some of the newer clones like Baileys which has more plum and less pepper spice.
Second other viticultural practices. It seems that temperatures above 25C reduce rotundone levels but light exposure stimulates its production, so managing a canopy that shades the berries without excessive cooling might be the delicate balance. Oak aging can introduce other aromas and flavours that soften the pepper edges, with vanilla, cinnamon or cloves
Third, winemaking. Since the rotundone is found in the skins, longer macerations would seem likely to extract more pepper flavours. But one study found that when maceration was extended for 6 days after fermentation at 25C for 8 days there was a relative decrease in rotundone accumulation compared with the control ferment, and a 20% decrease for semi-carbonic maceration or fermentation with the yeast Saccharomyces uvarum. It should be noted however that the purpose of this study (which was unsuccessful) was to find ways to increase rotundone accumulation!
Then again, it may be that the majority of wine drinkers are quite happy with a good whack of rotundone in their cool-climate Syrah, and at least 20% won’t notice either way so perhaps what appears to me as an excess of white pepper is an issue solely for my imagination. Regardless, there are already some very good Syrah producers in Martinborough, among them Atarangi, Dry River, Schubert and Kusuda and I expect that we will see more in the future.
Add comment
Comments