Julicher Pinot Noir 2011 Martinborough, New Zealand

Julicher Estate's vineyards are situated in Te Muna Valley. (Image: Julicher.)

Wine review

4 of 5 stars

A very good wine

Fitting for Pinot Noir, the colour is ruby red and medium, or even pale, in intensity. Although this wine is still quite young, there is a slight garnet tint on the rim. Delightful multiple layers of aromas open up on the nose: floral, perfumatic aromas as well as dried plums accompany red and black cherries. Subtle nuances of conserved cherries and cherry jam are detectable. New French oak has been used for 25% of the wine for 11 months, which gives clear yet elegant accent of vanilla, coffee and chocolate to this wine. After some aeriation time in the glass layers of attractive, developed tones appear: leather, mushrooms, even truffles. The conserved and jammy fruit elements could refer to a warm growth period. On the other hand, floral aromas are still beautifully detectable. 

Julicher Pinot Noir 2011 has a beautiful colour.

High in acidity, this wine is very “Pinot Noirish” on the first strike. Further, the tannins are light, velvety and fine-grained. The story of multifaceted aromatic elegance continues on the palate: now there are flowers, chocolate and earthy minerality on the foreground. However, the medium-bodied mouthfeel appears somewhat heavy and wide due to relatively high alcohol. Although high alcohol slightly challenges the balance, nuanced aromas and fruitiness are just enough to keep up with it, while the crisp acidity keeps the wine’s head held high structurally. Ending with an aromatic and long finish, Julicher Pinot Noir 2011 exits with elegance.

Intriguing and complex, this wine is a high quality example of a new world Pinot Noir.  

A glass of deliciousness was poured at Bar Latva, Helsinki.

 

Info in a nutshell

Price examples:

EUR 9,90 per glass, EUR 58 per bottle, Bar Latva, Helsinki, Finland

EUR 199,20 per 6 bottles (EUR 33 per bottle) wine and liquor store Alko, Finland

NZD 45,99 (EUR 28,59) finewinedelivery.co.nz, New Zealand

SGD 55 (EUR 36,70) wineexchangeasia.com, Singapore

Country and region: New Zealand, Martinborough

Grape: Pinot Noir 100%

Alc vol: 13,5%

Producer: Julicher Estate

Julicher's winemaker Outi Jakovirta is from Finland. (Image: Julicher.)

Background

New Zealands most praised Pinot Noirs come from Martinborough area on the southern tip of the North Island. The terroir of this area resembles Burgundy with its long growth season, cool nights and warm, dry days. As a variety, Pinot Noir is demanding and brutally honest in reflecting the growth conditions. Many new world winemakers are challenged with heat when it comes to Pinot Noir since this variety tends to lose its subtle, complex, floral and fruity characteristics and produce jammy wines when exposed to too much warmth. However, in Martinborough the vineyards have an advantage of high altitude, which creates a cooling effect. In addition, Julicher’s vineyards’ soil consists of free-draining alluvial gravel, which - combined with the low rainfall of the area – create superb conditions for growing Pinot Noir grapes rich in aromatic compounds.

Finnish born Outi Jakovirta is the head winemaker of Julicher Estate. She has studied oenology in the Lincoln University in New Zealand and worked in France, Germany, Australia and California. Her excellent winemaking skills are widely recognized and awarded. Amongst her many achievements is Best in Show awarded to Julicher Pinot Noir 2010 by Sommelier Wine Awards last year.

Julicher Estate is a small producer committed to sustainable wine production. Being an accredited sustainable winegrowing vineyard means using organic fertilizers and disease and pest sprays made from natural ingredients. 

Pinot Noir made by Outi has been awarded many times. (Image: Julicher)

Borgogno No Name 2011, Piemonte, Italy

Borgogno No Name 2011.

Wine review

4 of 5 stars

Very good wine

As typical of Nebbiolo, the colour of this wine has started to turn lighter already. Now the clear ruby colour has medium intensity with a transparent rim. Expressiveness of this wine is evident on the medium intensity nose - there is an abundance of roses, liquorice and red cherries. After a while layers of smokiness and leather appear. 

On the palate, the first strike is dominated by astringent tannin. However, plentiful fruit and acidity balance the tannins to a great extent. The aromas on the nose cand be tasted – especially the roses, cherries and liquorice reoccur in the mid palate. A long and pleasant after taste is full of cherries. The tannins leave dryness in the mouth. On the whole, this is an interesting, very high quality wine, that is quite well in balance still drifting slightly to the tannic side.

Being admittedly a great friend of Barolos and other pronouncedly tannic wines, I have to say that this Nebbiolo of 2011 is still very young at this stage. To be fully appreciated it would definitely benefit from some more years of bottle age. Possessing the fruitiness, complex aromas and acid structure required for successful aging – why not?

Info in a nutshell

Price examples:

EUR 23,90  per bottle at Weinseller.de webshop

DKK 125 (EUR 15) per glass at wine bar Falernum, Copenhagen, Denmark

CAD 36,50 per bottle at SAQ outlets in Canada

Country and region: Italia, Piemonte

Grape: Nebbiolo 100%

Alc vol: 15%

Producer: Borgogno

Background

Borgogno winery stands in the middle of Barolo in Piemonte. They have produced wine since 1761, and nowadays make appreciated Barolo DOCG classified wines. Borgogno harvests No Name’s Nebbiolo grapes from vineyards of Cannubi, Liste and Fossatti that lie in Barolo’s Barolo and La Morra. How come it is called ”No Name” and has no Barolo DOCG stamped on the label? The story I was told was originally heard from the Danish importer and goes along these lines. Borgogno’s owner had these small patches of vineyard growing Nebbiolo grapes that were only used to make wine for their family and the villagers. They realised, however, that these grapes made even better ”barolo” than those used to make DOCG Barolo. Yet, getting the classification proved to be a challenge (I was not informed of the details, so don’t ask). As a quiet protest, Borgogno decided to give up altogether and call this wine ”No Name”. It receives reviews of 90 points and beyond vintage after vintage. Not surprisingly, Borgogno also produces wines called ”Maybe”, ”Le Theorie” (vino da meditazione - wine for meditation) and ”Resistenza”.