Yvonne Lorkin: Pinot gets a haircut and a real job

Nick Lane (second from left) is joined by chefs Vincent Wu, Adam Van Schravendyk and Mark Southon for the Cloudy Bay Pinot and Duck Trail.

Cloudy Bay's winemaker Nick Lane is racing around the country hosting the Cloudy Bay Pinot and Duck Trail, a series of events showcasing how pinot noir and duck dishes are matches made in heaven.

Today, he's at Auckland's Sapphire Room, where three of the best chefs in town are preparing duck-centric dishes to go with the winery's release of their 2013 pinot noir, a variety Cloudy Bay's had in the ground for 20 years. "About 85 per cent of our pinot noir comes from vineyards we own, the rest comes from growers - one of whom has vines around 25 years old," says Nick.

"If we looked at all the vines that contribute to our pinot, the average age is around 12. In pinot years, that's where they get a haircut and a proper job and start behaving themselves."

I wondered why pinot was put in the ground in the first place, by a company so focused on sauvignon blanc.

"I would have been around 10 at the time when Cloudy originally planted pinot back in the 1980s, so I don't really know; but one of the main reasons would have been for sparkling wine."

The first eight to 10 years of pinot noir at Cloudy Bay were about growing sparkling wine clones on the flat, free-draining soils of the Wairau Plains.

"They were great for sparkling, but not so great for traditional pinot."

As Marlborough gradually got its head around which soils worked best for classic pinot noir, plantings moved off the plains up into the Southern Valleys and into the nooks and crannies of the Awatere Valley as well. Pinot noir, it turns out, is extremely fussy.

"In my opinion the pinot noir vine is a complete wuss It doesn't like drought and it doesn't like stress, unlike other grapes such as syrah or cabernet, which thrive on a bit of tension. Pinot needs soils that carry some clay, which is good at water retention and nutrient delivery as well."

Pinot doesn't like wind very much either. "Wind beats it up," he reckons. "Pinot needs supreme comfort at all times."

But Nick's very happy with the 2013 vintage. "We had lots of sweet spice, cinnamon and cola characters, and I think that's very typical of Marlborough and of Cloudy Bay. Not sure if it's the winemaking or the vineyard, but it's got red and black fruits and it's very fresh and saturated. It reminds me of those chewy, pick and mix, red and black lollies we had as a kid."

Nick's pinot passion began during his training in the late 1990s in France, where he fell in love with the Burgundy region. The maps of that area (famed for pinot noir and chardonnay) intrigued him the most

"It's a fairytale place. I'd look at Burgundy in wine books and memorise all the names, the villages and the contour lines, etc. In terms of wine maps of France, it's the most interesting and aesthetically pleasing.

"I did an internship in Burgundy and I've done a few more over the years."

For Nick, it's mind-blowing how New Zealand's pinot industry has evolved in such a short time, and we're definitely on the international radar where pinot is concerned, he says. "In mature, sophisticated markets like the UK, Australia, Japan, they get it. In terms of quality and price-point, New Zealand always over-delivers. As the price of burgundy ceaselessly increases every year, our challenge is to capture those buyers so, when burgundy becomes too expensive for pinot lovers, we're right there to fill the gap."

Nick's favourite pinot dish? "I'm all over a good coq au vin. The trick is you need to get the ropiest, stringiest old chicken you can find and cook it for a seriously long time. But it's actually really hard to find chewy old chickens."

SIPS OF THE WEEK

Cloudy Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013, $47

The clay-based, alluvial gravels of Marlborough's southern valleys provide the fuel for the vines charged with producing this powerhouse pinot.

It bursts with black cherry, plum, black tea and smoky spices on the nose, followed by a saucy, fruit-soaked palate and a long, lingering finish.

It's youthful, vibrant and very precise, with a muscular spine designed to age gracefully.

Champagne de Castelnau Brut Reserve Edition 2015, $59.95

This sparkler, created by winemaker Elizabeth Sarcelet to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Tour de France, will appeal to those who like creamy, cashew and soft lemon notes in their champagne. Delicate biscuit characters combine with clean citrus and textural minerality to give generosity and complexity.

For stockists contact john@3winemen.com, ph 027 675 6999