Today our Wine Director, David Allen MW, tastes a wine that a producer has very kindly sent us – Hans Herzog Family Estate’s ‘Spirit of Marlborough’ Merlot / Cabernet 2016. He asks if Hans really has achieved his goal of making a world class Bordeaux blend in Marlborough?
Hans Herzog Estate produces wine in Marlborough, New Zealand. Outside New Zealand and Australia their wines are labelled as Hans Family Estate due to trademark issues.
Hans Herzog’s 11.5 hectares (28.4 acres) of organically farmed vineyards are home to 28 different grape varieties. The portfolio of wines is also extensive.
The Marlborough mainstays are certainly present. Sauvignon Blanc “Sur Lie” is barrel fermented, while the Grand Duchesse cuvée comes from selected rows which are harvested slightly later. A conventional stainless steel “Marlborough Savvie” is not made, however.
There are two Pinot Gris wines, one of which, “Wild” is a natural, skin-contact bottling. The Chardonnay is barrel fermented iand ages in oak for 18 months. Riesling comes in a dry version and an occasional, sweet Botrytis bottling picked at tiny yields.
Spirit of Marlborough, meanwhile, is a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. However the extensive portfolio features a number of wines from varieties which are rare in New Zealand.
Varietal red wine from Montepulciano is a particular speciality (Hans Herzog planted it as early as 1994). In the 2012 vintage the “standard” bottling was joined by a single 117-liter half-barrique of Amarone-style wine.
Other Italian varieties are Nebbiolo, Barbera and Lagrein. From Austria comes Zweigelt and St Laurent. Tempranillo is also grown. A convincingly well-structured, yet brightly aromatic Saperavi is perhaps the most intriguing of all. Among the whites, varietal wines are also made from Gewurztraminer and Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. The range also includes Arneis, Verdelho and Grüner Veltliner. sparkling wines are also made, as are grappas that are distilled from Montepulciano, and from Gewurztraminer pommace.
All fruit is sourced from the estates 11.5-hectare single vineyard. This is located on sandy and gravel soils on the right bank of the Wairau River, terroir which reminded Hans of the Médoc.
Both this and the winery are certified organic by BioGro. Cropping levels are kept very low to maximize quality, and fruit is picked by hand. Vineyard operations are alligned to lunar phases.
Winemaking emphasizes minimal intervention, with wild yeasts and no additions of bacteria, acid, enzymes or tannin. Red wines typically undergo a slow three week alcoholic fermentation in open vats or temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation occurs in French oak barrels.Sulfur dioxide is used sparingly across the range. Wines are not cold stabilized or fined, and rarely filtered.
Hans and Therese Herzog owned a leading wine estate in the Zurich region of Switzerland, complete with Michelin-Starred restaurant. however Hans’ desire to work with Bordeaux varieties, and other varieties not viable in Switzerland led them, in 1994, to purchase a former apple orchard in Marlborough. Vines were planted in 1996, and the winery was completed in 1998 for the first vintage. Herzog’s restaurant followed in 2000.
Find this wine on Wine-Searcher by following the link below…
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