John Forrest - Marlborough, New Zealand
John Forrest was a molecular biologist until beginning his wine business in 1988
and a keen interest in geology and soils has informed his vineyard buying in over
8 vineyard sites in Marlborough, where he is based, and other vineyards at Gimblett
Gravels in Hawkes Bay (where Syrah and Cabernet have real potential) and Bannockburn
in Central Otago (Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris)
Selection of sites are important. His first love as a wine is Syrah (rich fruit,
defining acidity, seductive texture) and he chose a portion of land at the hottest,
stoniest western end of Gimblett Gravels with a soil composed of river gravels for
his Syrah and Cabernet. In Marlborough he wanted his Riesling to have a mineral purity
which he gets from the Wairau River gravels but also an exotic richness which he
gets from the Renwick, Brancott Valley plot. This balancing act comes out strongly
in his blend of 7 varietals for The White - Viognier from the warm, strong Hawkes
Bay site, limestone for Otago Pinot Gris and the riverbed gravels for a mineral flavour
to Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay, Chenin and Gewurz. This white was one of the
first top quality blended whites from New Zealand, confirming pioneering wine-making.
Site-specific wines, lowish cropping 6-10 tonnes per hectare, good price/quality
rapport
At the Specialist Importers tasting in Manchester on 22nd February there were 9 of
his wines to try; the whole range is much bigger. The Drs. Riesling 2008 (£8.99)
was first made in 2006 as a Moselle look-a-like: low alcohol (8.5) and 40g residual
- fruity, crisp acidity, refreshing - the 2009 won the Air NZ trophy in the open
whites section. He makes ten styles of Riesling; the Dry Riesling 2007 (£9.99) has
considerable minerality and length. He has done a great job to rescue Marlborough
from an exclusive focus on Sauvignon; his own version of that is very sound with
some structure but of special interest is a low-alcohol Sauvignon Blanc (9.5) with
6 g residual: it comes from a small plot and has enough convincing varietal flavour
to justify the experiment. Tattyybogler Pinot Gris 2009 (£14.99) from Otago is not
low alcohol (14) and has the fantastic, rich creamy texture; the name is a local
word for a scarecrow. The grapes are taken over-night to Marlborough winery to conserve
freshness and fruit. The most expensive white is The White 2006 (£16.99), an unusual,
for NZ, blend of 7 varieties from North and South Islands with developed aromatics
and form structure; 2006 is only the second vintage and even better is reported of
2007. Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2007 (£16.99 and very good value for Otago) was true
in flavour with satisfying texture and fragrant finish (too many Otago Pinots seem
attenuated wines from very young vines). The Cornerstone Cab Merlot and Malbec blend
2005 from Hawkes Bay was smoky, pungent and dry with perhaps less charm. (£17.50).
Thoughtful, enterprising , well-focused winemaking and fairly priced.
Until very recently New Zealand`s sweet wines were barred from importation by the
European Union because of the issue of potential alcohol; it seemed strange as sweet
wines from other countries were granted exemption but not the Kiwis. As it is one
of the very first NZ sweet wines to be available on the UK market-it arrives in March-it
should be a herald of even more to come and at the Lords annual tasting in January
this one stood out well above the 20+others on taste. There aren’t that many kinds
of fine wine hitherto unknown on the UK market so this is an exciting possibility
for NZ`s cooler climate dessert wines to be appreciated here. The Brancott site 50
metres above the Wairau River is a cooler site with a longer ripening period. 8.4g
acidity and 220 g residual sugar; this has developed botrytis flavours with apricot,
honey and marmalade and the petrolly suggestion of mature Riesling on the nose with
a racy, fresh acidity
UK agents: Adnams (01502 727200-www.adnams.co.uk)
USA-The Australia-New Zealand Collection( +1 760 438 5714 www.anzwineconnection.com)
Wines
The Drs Riesling 2009 Marlborough
Dry Riesling 2007 Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc Low-Alcohol 2009 Marlborough
Tattybogler Pinot Gris 2009 Otago
The White Collection 2006
Pinot Noir Collection 2007 Otago
Pinot Noir 2008 Marlborough
Pinot Noir 2007 Waitaki
