Topsy turvy twins
23/12/2009 8:29:00 a.m.
NEARLY 30 years ago, Andrew and Cyndy Hendry bought land at Huapai west of Auckland, planted grapes there and founded Coopers Creek winery.
Now they have vineyards dotted all over Aotearoa.
Chief winemaker Simon Nunns creates one of the most diverse wine portfolios in the country from these sites, including award-winning Chardonnays, popular reds and the less well-known “Little Rascal” Arneis, itself wowing judges at shows this year. Coopers Creek wines are always innovative.
We compared their two single vineyard Pinot Noir, expecting the Marlborough specimen to be lighter and brighter than its cousin from further south. But the result was the opposite.
Coopers Creek 2008 SV Marlborough Pinot Noir “Gibsons Run” ($24) is an enigmatic wine. It has Marlborough’s purity of flavour, with no savoury notes to confuse the fruit, yet with the depth of an Otago Pinot. It’s smooth dark cherry and chocolate, with a candied finish, and hint of spice like a Syrah. We had it with mixed iskender from our favourite Courtney Place kebab shop. Recommended.
We expected the Coopers Creek 2008 SV Central Otago Pinot Noir “Razorback” ($27) to be the richer of the two given its provenance. But it was brighter, with red cherry characters, like a heavy rosé. The palate is lighter, like sucking on licorice root. Perfect with tapas.
Wine of the week:
Lindauer Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc ($8.99). This ubiquitous sparkler is a fun early evening tipple. The little bubbles transport the distinctive sav tropical fruit flavours all round your mouth. During this tasting we discovered a delicious new dessert: Lavinia’s Lindauer “Spider”. Drop a scoop of ice-cream into a glass of Lindauer Sparkling Sav and, hey presto, a delicious passionfruit flavoured frosty sensation. Make sure you use a glass bigger than a champagne flute or it’ll froth over.
Now they have vineyards dotted all over Aotearoa.
Chief winemaker Simon Nunns creates one of the most diverse wine portfolios in the country from these sites, including award-winning Chardonnays, popular reds and the less well-known “Little Rascal” Arneis, itself wowing judges at shows this year. Coopers Creek wines are always innovative.
We compared their two single vineyard Pinot Noir, expecting the Marlborough specimen to be lighter and brighter than its cousin from further south. But the result was the opposite.
Coopers Creek 2008 SV Marlborough Pinot Noir “Gibsons Run” ($24) is an enigmatic wine. It has Marlborough’s purity of flavour, with no savoury notes to confuse the fruit, yet with the depth of an Otago Pinot. It’s smooth dark cherry and chocolate, with a candied finish, and hint of spice like a Syrah. We had it with mixed iskender from our favourite Courtney Place kebab shop. Recommended.
We expected the Coopers Creek 2008 SV Central Otago Pinot Noir “Razorback” ($27) to be the richer of the two given its provenance. But it was brighter, with red cherry characters, like a heavy rosé. The palate is lighter, like sucking on licorice root. Perfect with tapas.
Wine of the week:
Lindauer Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc ($8.99). This ubiquitous sparkler is a fun early evening tipple. The little bubbles transport the distinctive sav tropical fruit flavours all round your mouth. During this tasting we discovered a delicious new dessert: Lavinia’s Lindauer “Spider”. Drop a scoop of ice-cream into a glass of Lindauer Sparkling Sav and, hey presto, a delicious passionfruit flavoured frosty sensation. Make sure you use a glass bigger than a champagne flute or it’ll froth over.
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