Bloomberg Wine Picks: New Zealand's Wondrous Whites Shine
Wine News Sat, 06 Feb 1999, 12:31am EST

New York, Feb. 4 (Bloomberg Lifestyles) -- It's been about a decade since the cognoscenti of the wine world woke up to the great wines of beautiful New Zealand.

 

No longer laboring in the shadow of Australia, New Zealand's vintners now enjoy international renown for their juicy, food- friendly, mouth-watering white wines made from several international grape varieties which thrive in its 10 main growing regions.

 

The maritime climate which prevails on the two islands that make up the country exposes the grapes to long hours of sunshine, sea breezes and cool nights.

The result is a unique profile of perfumed wines with crisp acidity and a wide range of luscious fruit accents. Although there have been recent successes in the cultivation of red wine varieties such as Pinot Noir and even Cabernet Sauvignon, it's on its great whites, particularly the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay that its reputation rests.

 

In general, the characteristically herbaceous notes evident in French wines of the Loire and Bordeaux made from the same variety tend to be muted in New Zealand's Sauvignon Blancs. Still wonderfully acidic, they're usually slightly rounder and more fruit-forward than versions made elsewhere in the world. In many ways the antithesis of their unctuous, often ponderous, flabby and overly oaked cousins from California and Australia, New Zealand Chardonnays are a revelation. Vinified to extract the maximum compatibility with food, most are fruity with lip-smacking acidity, wonderfully balanced and judiciously oaked, sometimes not at all.

 

Recommendations

Babich Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand; about $11): Also in the ``value'' category, the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is redolent of lemon with some quince- green apple overtones on the tongue, and a wonderful accompaniment to simply grilled crustaceans. In 1916, pioneer winemaker Josip (Joe) Babich, an emigrant from Croatia, made his first New World wine. Now, with second generation Joe Babich Jr. and Peter Babich at the reins, the small winery specializing in fortified wines has been transformed into a substantial modern operation. To fully extract their clean fruit aromas and flavor, most of Babich's whites are cold-fermented in stainless steel. Beyond that, the Chardonnays are rounded off by six months of aging in small French barrels (or barriques), to enhance complexity.

 

Besides its award winning white wines, Babich's 14-bottle product line includes seven reds. In addition to Marlborough on the South Island, the winery sources its fruit from many of New Zealand's leading North Island producing regions: Auckland, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne.

 

At about $12, Babich's Gisborne Chardonnay is an impressive mouthful of wine. It's brimming with fruit with an exquisite counterpoint of ripeness and crispness, all deftly balanced against a hint of oak.  New York's Morrell and Co., also on Madison Avenue, telephone (212) 688-9370, carries several of the Babich wines, including our two recommendations, the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at $9.95 and the Gisborne Chardonnay at $10.95.

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Visit: Babich Wines website

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