Our Wines

New Zealand

Producers & Wines, New-Zealand

TerraVin, Marlborough :

This estate was set up in 1999 by Mike and Jo Eaton. Mike has lived and worked in the region most of his life, but also spent time travelling and working in France, Some of the vineyards are owned, and others are leased.  The total estate now covers 39 hectares.

Sauvignon is the crucial wine for any Marlborough producer, and the TerraVin style is ripe and juicy in a classic but serious Marlborough way.  The wine has length, palate weight and some complexity. Something different is the estate's other Sauvignon "Te Ahu". This means "new beginning" or "new pathway" in Maori, and demonstrates just what Sauvignon can do when one dares to challenge the accepted Marlborough Sauvignon recipe. Yields are low, the grapes are picked at full ripeness and the wine fermented with natural yeasts in 500 litre barrels. But this company exists well beyond Sauvignon. Its email address: pinot@terravin.nz, shows where the heart really lies. Mike believes firmly that hillside vineyards in Marlborough provide a great location for some great Pinots of the future. It's early days for his top vineyards such as the Eaton Family Vineyard (EFV) which was planted in 1999, but there is energy and determination here to make world-class Pinot in a natural, balanced and unforced way.

We were introduced to these wines by our friend and former sommelier customer Jean-Marie Pratt and Jean-Marie will be working with us to develop the distribution through the London on-trade and further afield.

---

Neudorf Vineyards, Upper Moutere :

Tim and Judy Finn completed last year their 30^th vintage at Neudorf and came to London to host a small celebration for their customers and importers. They collect accolades and prizes each year for different wines in their range with an inspiring modesty, but with a self- confidence which shows clearly that they know exactly where they are. They planted their vines in 1978 - REAL pioneers - and the development since then has been steady and consistent. Tim says "Great wines have a basis of fruit concentration, length and sense of place - characters which can be formed only in the vineyard" and that about sums it up, except that all their wines are very much more composed, complex and European in style than those of so many other New Zealand neighbours. Chardonnay and Pinot and especially Chardonnay are their real stars, but perhaps their Sauvignon expresses the winemaking approach most dramatically. It has all the aromatic vibrancy associated with New Zealand's unique "calling card" but Neudorf Sauvignon is created as a food wine, where palate texture, length, and even complexity far outstrip the levels most frequently found in this often one-dimensional grape.

Felton Road, Central Otago :

Owner Nigel Greening is now, we hear, fully acclimatised to life in NZ, having moved there full time a couple of years ago. And why not? The job of introducing these fine wines to the UK is complete, and the wines now sell themselves, mostly on allocation. His daughter Nicola holds the UK-based ambassadorial post, and continues to support her various importers.

The estate was planted in 1992 by the first owner and pioneer in the area, Steward Elms. The vineyards are free draining, and well on the way towards a formal Organic (Demeter) and Biodynamic certification, a process begun in 2002. There are three main vineyards, Elms, Calvert and Cornish Point, the latter two now giving their name to two single vineyard Pinots. Pinot production is the main focus here, though Chardonnay and especially Riesling show off this incomparable terroir and climate. Gentle fruit handling, natural yeast fermentations, hands-off philosophy, top quality oak (only 30% new) and modest yields - the whole operation here oozes class and competence. A reference point for New Zealand, indeed for Pinot Noir worldwide. The appealing sweet fruit notes which seem to typify Central Otago Pinot Noir are present here in abundance. But behind this, the wines have abundant depth and complexity. A recent 10 year vertical showed just how much development potential the wines have, even though 90% are consumed young.

---

Kumeu River, Kumeu, Auckland :

The estate was founded in 1944 and is now in the hands of the third generation of Brajkovitchs: Michael as winemaker, Milan in the vineyards and Paul looking after sales and all three under the aegis of their mother. Chardonnay was first planted here in 1979 at about the same time that the Finns planted their first vineyard at Neudorf. Other grapes and wines are now proving popular and successful, but it is the Chardonnay which put Kumeu River on the map. All the Chardonnay fruit comes from the village of Kumeu, just NW of Auckland, and is either estate-owned or estate-managed. This is a cool area, despite being at the top of New Zealand, and their vineyards are surrounded on three sides by cooling ocean. The style is as lively, crisp and cool as anything from the New world, and we have seen a great surge of interest for these wines in the last 12 months. "Minerality" is a grossly overused descriptor which we avoid as much as possible. But if we allow it for one producer in our list, perhaps it should be Kumeu River!

In This Section

• Home
• News
• Our Wines
• About
• Press
• Contact

• T: 020 8832 7470
  
• F: 020 8832 7471
  
• E: sales@cfwines.co.uk