New Zealand organic wines to try

Run by the ninth and tenth generations of the Bourgeois dynasty of Sancerre fame, this estate is situated in the southern foothills of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley, its 110ha incorporating loess-covered clay and heavier blue-grey clay sections alongside a terrace of free-draining Greywacke river stone. High-density planting and dry farming ensures vine vigour is controlled and the vines send their roots deep into the soil. Fermented 85% in stainless steel and 15% in old French oak, aged eight months with lees stirring, this is unusual, in a statuesque style. An opulent, baked lemon nose is followed by a full, rounded palate with citrus and white peach, touches of flinty mineral, a little buttery richness in the body. Food needed: seafood pasta, white or cheesy sauces. Drinking now but will undoubtedly benefit from a couple of years in the cellar.

From a single parcel within Dog Point’s vineyards, located at the confluence of the Brancott and Omaka valleys, the vines planted in 1992 on free-draining, silty clay-loam alluvial soils. A warm spring and late summer were followed by cool but good conditions into the autumn, with harvest concluded rapidly to beat heavy rains in mid-April 2017. The wine was fermented and aged in used French oak barrels for 18 months, and bottled without fining. Toasty wood to the fore on the nose, but there’s key lime pie richness and herbal notes of marjoram and bay. Ripe lemon and lime citrus with lightly tropical passion fruit and pineapple, though the fruit is underscored by a distinctly earthy/mushroom creamy character enhancing complexity on mid-palate and finish, which has great length. Best with food such as meaty fish, tuna steak or chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce.

The name Toru means ‘three’ in Maori, reflecting the blend of 75% Gewürztraminer, 16% Riesling and 9% Pinot Gris, which are co-fermented with some extended skin contact and ‘considerable time on lees after ferment’. The fruit is from selected parcels in Te Whare Ra’s Home Block in Renwick, where Anna and Jason Flowerday own 11ha in total, home to plantings dating back to 1979. A warm, dry growing season assured good flavour development despite some challenging wet and windy Pacific weather arriving in the run-up to the 2018 harvest, and clean fruit was picked early, finishing in the first week of April. The blend is well judged, dry with 7g/l residual sugar, with a lovely poise of flavours, herbal and lightly spicy on the nose with intriguing orange marmalade and floral mango notes, then more orange with peach, tropical notes and a little lemon tart on the palate. Layers and personality, constantly changing, good value too.

Kim Crawford and his wife Erica created their own family estate in Lower Dashwood: 72ha in all, on the hills overlooking the Awatere Valley. The northerly aspect gives ideal sun exposure, while strong winds keep disease at bay and encourage slow vine growth and small berries with high aromatic concentration. From the Woolshed vineyard, planted in 2003 at the bottom of the hill, on soils of silt over stones with clay providing essential water retention in fairly harsh conditions. Fragrant, open nose, very inviting leafy green freshness, dry with 7.1g/l residual sugar. Juicy fruit palate, subtle pear and peach fruit with a note of green peas and garden herbs, all fresh and invigorating. Not complex perhaps, but this is well made and nicely balanced to leave you wanting more, on its own or with light starters. Vegan-friendly.

From the Woolshed vineyard, planted in 2003 at the bottom of the hill, on soils of silt over stones with clay providing essential water retention in fairly harsh conditions. The northerly aspect gives ideal sun exposure, while strong winds keep disease at bay and encourage slow vine growth and small berries with high aromatic concentration. An ideal flowering and growing season meant grapes were picked – 30% by hand, 70% by machine – in perfect condition in March 2018. The wine was batch-produced according to soil type, with a small portion of the juice fermented in old French oak and a quarter of the tanks undergoing full malolactic fermentation to bring down the acidity. This is one for the Sauv-Blanc purists, with a joyous noseful of freshly squeezed peapods and green fruits. Has loads of vibrancy and verve on the palate, but the fruit is more tempered, tropical and leafy than the nose might suggest. Lunchtime-friendly on the alcohol too. No need to wait, drink now to 2021.

Bought by Bruce and Jill Chapman in 1999, this family-run estate north of Christchurch is home to 2,000 olive trees as well as 12ha of grapevines – a number of varieties are planted across a range of different soil types, and full organic status was achieved in 2014. A generally good growing season saw some issues with humidity at the end of January 2018, but a good summer with record hot and dry weather before harvest in March. The fruit for this wine was left longer on the vine to develop, and was made using a small percentage of botrytis-affected grapes to intensify flavours. Stainless steel-fermented, in an off-dry style, it has a wonderful nose, classic for a New World Riesling, more tropical than lime fruit but fresh with a low emphasis on the petrol tones, and light honey. On the palate it’s big, juicy, and eminently drinkable, with low-ish acidity and an open and enveloping style. Not challenging, but it gives a lot and will easily make plenty of friends.

From two organic vineyards in the Wairau Valley, one in the Rapaura region, unirrigated, and the other towards the upper Wairau. Fermentation in separate parcels included about 10% of the blend fermented with wild natural yeasts in old French oak, and all of the components were kept on their yeast lees for as long as possible to enhance the character of the final blend. Clean gooseberry aromas with exotic notes of mandarin and papaya, though a slightly cooked fruit aspect beneath. Full, with a subtle but distinctive savoury edge of forest floor earthiness, which will make it a good partner for food. Good length, lightly honeyed on the back of the finish, creamy texture too. A good, moreish style.

From a 1.26ha block that produces Churton’s most intensely flavoured Sauvignon Blanc, the vines planted at 185m on a north-facing slope of eroded loess soils. Following a long, relatively cool growing season, fruit was harvested two weeks later than normal on 15 April, with yields restricted to 33hl/ha. The wine was made with minimal intervention: 500-litre French oak puncheons, 20% new, and about 50% naturally fermented; aged on lees for 12 months then rested for four months in tank before bottling without filtration or fining. Green and leafy on the nose, lightly oaky but it’s more about the lime marmalade and lemon curd fruit. Mid-weight, juicy and full of fruit, subtle herbal aspects and oak in support, with a refreshing grassy finish.

From the Rippon vineyard on the stunningly scenic southern shores of Lake Wanaka, on land held by the Mills family since 1912, sited on an ancient volcanic ejection cone of schist gravels. Handpicked, sorted and gently crushed by foot, then whole-bunch pressed the following day and allowed to settle for 12 hours before being racked, retaining the fine lees, into a horizontal stainless steel fermentation tank, where it was fermented over 12 days using the natural wild yeasts. Low-toned for a Riesling, with aromas of baked lemon and tropical fruit more prominent above light petrol notes, though there’s a complexity here that’s enlivened by a touch of white smoke mineral. On the palate it’s nicely rounded too, revealing pleasantly peachy citrus fruit and tropical touches with a dash of mandarin on the finish. A highly drinkable, fruit-focused style that would work well on its own as an aperitif, or with hard cheeses or sheep’s cheese as a palate-lifter at the end of a meal.

From husband and wife team Tom and Fiona Hutchison, produced in their converted fruit packing house; fruit is hand-harvested, picked according to the biodynamic calendar, hand-sorted and fermented using natural yeasts where possible and minimal sulphur dioxide treatments. The Pinot Blanc juice is lightly settled then mostly fermented in stainless steel, though 12% goes into 3-year-old puncheons in order to add texture and dimension rather than woody flavours. There are lemon-lime and pear juice aromas along with a welcome contrast of savoury cheese-rind character. It’s rounded and fleshy on the palate with creamy lemon meringue notes supported by a buttery depth of flavour mid-palate. Good for food, a versatile option for white meats or light pasta dishes.