Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of brioche, citrus zest and toasted almonds. The palate is fresh and complex with bright acidity and a long, mineral-driven finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The NV Methode Traditionnelle Brut Pinot Noir / Chardonnay leads with a saline nose of green apple and brine, lemon pith and white tea. The wine in the mouth is plump and fresh, and the residual sugar (three to four grams per liter) sits comfortably in the mouth. A lovely wine that is supremely elegant and fine. Lingering and chalky, it spent 18 to 24 months on lees and saw no oak or malolactic fermentation. "All I want is clarity and pure freshness and awakening," says winemaker Rudi.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Well, I have tasted this bubbly several times now. First in the USA in early 2015, then in Otago in October 2015 and then again in the USA in November 2015 and each time the wine showed well! It does more than just tickle the nose, the Quartz Reef Methode Traditional stands at the top alongside the best from the USA, Spain, France (Champagne) and anywhere else fine sparkling wine is produced. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine a plate of freshly shucked oysters, a crisp morning and my significant other. Light straw color, fine and steady beads; brisk green apple aromas, with fine tension and a hint of creaminess; medium bodied, active on the palate, well structured; dry, bright acidity, well balanced; mineral, apple and light cream in the flavors; long, lively finish. (Tasted: November 24, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Toast and quince notes are elegant and refined, with a delicacy to the details of dried flowers, saline, yellow apple and Meyer lemon on the finish. Drink now. 6,000 cases made, 112 cases imported.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Home to the globe’s most southerly vineyards, which are cultivated below the 45th parallel, Central Otago is a true one-of-a-kind wine growing region, but not only because of its extreme location.
Central Otago is more dependent on one single variety than any other region in New Zealand—and it isn’t Sauvignon blanc. They don’t even make Sauvignon blanc there.
Pinot Noir claims nearly 75% of the region’s vineyards with Pinot Gris coming in a far second place and Riesling behind it. This is also New Zealand’s only wine region with a continental climate, giving it more diurnal and seasonal temperature shifts than any other.
The subregion of Bannockburn has enjoyed the most success historically but the area’s exceptional growth has moved to the promising regions of Cromwell/Bendigo and Alexandra districts. Central Otago is known for its fruity and full-bodied Pinot noir. With the freedom to experiment here, growers and winemakers are easily exhibiting the area’s great potential.