Leading the natural wine movement, Kemp Wine Merchants champion boutique vineyards and the best quality organic and biodynamic wines in New Zealand and the world.
Leading the natural wine movement, Kemp Wine Merchants champion boutique vineyards and the best quality organic and biodynamic wines in New Zealand and the world. Here are some of our top picks of the moment:
01 Supernatural Green Glow Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Skin-fermented for two weeks and bottled unfined with minimal filtration, Supernatural Wine Company’s approach to sauvignon blanc is a million miles away from the textbook Marlborough style. With its characteristic crown cap and a label that glows in the dark, this is winemaking at its most daring. It’s complex citrus and stone fruit aromas with a hint of freshly baled hay on the nose. A gorgeous creamy texture in the mouth. It has a balanced acidity with hints of orange peel and grapefruit pith phenolics.
02 Cellers Can ‘Blau’ Montsant Red Blend 2015 Gil Family Estates brings 10 small, artisanal producers from different regions of Spain together under one house. One of those is Cellers Can, located in Montsant, a mountain valley just west of Barcelona with slate, clay and limestone soil types all bearing the fruit that composes this unique red blend. A blend of syrah, cariñera and garnacha, this crowd-pleaser delivers a big mouthful of fruit with notes of mineral, lavender, blueberry and plum. Forward and balanced. Drink over the next three to four years.
03 Pyramid Valley Earth Smoke Waipara Pinot Noir 2009 Pyramid Valley’s home block wines come from a minuscule micro block in the Waipara Valley that has been biodynamically farmed since its inception. Following cues from his time in Burgundy, winemaker Mike Weersing grows only chardonnay and pinot noir on this tiny site. The fruit is hand-sorted and hand-destemmed to ensure only the best makes it to fermentation. 2009 Earth Smoke comes from one of the warmest vintages on record for Pyramid Valley, and still has several years of ageing ahead of it. Delicate and medium-bodied, it has great concentration of fruit and depth.
04 Château Le Puy ‘Emilien’ St. Émilion 2012 Château Le Puy is one of the few producers in the Bordeaux region that has remained an artisan, crafting wines using traditional and low-energy techniques, including plowing their vineyards with horses. Not only are its wines certified organic and demeter, but it produces this Emilien cuvée with zero added sulphur. 85% merlot, 14% cab sav and 1% carménère, Emilien is matured in oak barrels and casks for 24 months. The nose is fruity, accented with almond notes; the palate well-rounded, full-bodied and precise, with velvety tannins.
Brought to you by our new wine columnist Daniel Kemp of greatlittlevineyards.com
