This month's Wine Blog Wednesday is hosted by Jens of Cincinnati Wine Garage who asks us to seek out the Pinot off the beaten Sideways path. No California. No Oregon. I didn't even want to go Washington State...So off to New Zealand for my choice:
2004 Mt. Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Noir, Central Otago
The look of this wine is that of a young New World Pinot, which, of course, it is. You don't get much newer than 2004! Light purple edges with no sign of age.
If I were in a blind test, I would say it's a Russian River Pinot. When I first opened it, it seemed a little closed but gave off faint aromas of violets and black pepper. After an hour open in the glass, suddenly it gives off a lovely perfume of cherries and generous black raspberries. It had a slightly green tang to it at first that eventually blew off.
It has a good balance --it's made to drink right now and it would be perfect with some gently treated lamb tenderloins with a light sauce, instead of a heavier fare. It was lovely with my grilled loin lamb chops, but would have held its own better with something lighter.
In 2004, Central Otago had a late frost that hampered production, but not as badly as the terrible 2003 frosts. Mt. Difficulty seemed to fare well though, and this wine is plenty ripe.
Mt. Difficulty sounds like some kind of reference to the mating rituals of porcupines, but it is a mountain in Central Otago, NZ. From the Mt. Difficulty site: "Mt Difficulty was named after the mountain over-looking Felton Road (look out for Felton Road Pinots, Block 5 in particular-CD) and the southern Cromwell basin. This mountain is a very important part of the Bannockburn microclimate providing shelter from the cool winds of the Wakatipu Basin and Gibbston."
The Mt. Difficulty brand started in 1998, releasing chardonnay and pinot and very soon won the Pinot won the coveted (all the NZ wineries seem to talk about it) Air New Zealand Wine Awards Gold Medal. This is the less expensive Pinot, and I suspect that their regular Pinot is more age-worthy.
Repeat buy? Yes --but first I'll head to the Jug Shop and see if I can find one of the regular Pinots.
Keep checking with the Corkdork blog for more NZ treats in the coming months...I'm gearing up for something big!
Thanks Jens for hosting!
