| |
Muirkirk Wine
 The 20th April 2012 edition of "Asia Sentinal" carried an article authored by Curtis Marsh and entitled "Must have wines 'Best of the Lunar Drinking Year'".
The article focussed on wines produced under the Mount Edward brand, a wine producer in New Zealand. Following are brief excerts from the article:-
The Mount Edward's home vineyard in the Gibbston Valley produces a single vineyard riesling called Drumlin, Celtic for small rounded hill of glacial origin. It was planted to a mixture of old riesling clones by Brady in 1995 on the small, steep, north-facing slope next to the winery. They are their oldest vines, echoing the mineral and glacial nature of this Drumlin.
Also in Gibbston, is the Stevens Vineyard, owned by Susan and Terry Stevens and a source of pinot noir; a small half-hectare vineyard only 200 meters away from the Mount Edward winery on a north facing slope with medium to heavy loess soils, high mineral content over schist-based alluvial gravels. So unique were the wines from this plot, it was the first single vineyard wine released by Mount Edward.
More recently, Mount Edward acquired a plot in the revered Felton Road, Bannockburn region, neighbouring Felton Road and Mount Difficulty. John Buchanan has been instrumental in the development of this site, an old cherry orchard called Muirkirk, to which they have kept the name and retained 2 hectares of cherry trees, planting a further 6 hectares to pinot noir.
The soils here are a dense clay loam over gravels varying across the site with seams of calcium carbonate that run across the vineyard, the amount of clay that overrides this seam and the gravels beneath varying and consistent with the reputation of pinot noir in the Bannockburn, the wines powerful and deep-fruited.
The author's notes read:
 Mount Edward Pinot Noir Muirkirk Vineyard 2009 - Bannockburn
Hedonistic, deep-seated and concentrated perfume of black cherry and blueberry with an extra lift of juniper berry and smoky spiciness - black pepper and cardamom in a hot wok - the sweetness of fruit rising as it breathes and yet juxtaposed by tangy nuances dried tomato, balsamic, smoky roast beetroot nuance, and a bit of briar patch, down on the farm complexity amongst herbal, fresh thyme and oils with lurking baked clay and warm slate (schist) minerality. The palate is saturated in deep, black cherry, dark plum and blueberry compote, rich and supremely plush, silky, creamy-layered, this is about as textually opulent as pinot noir gets, incredibly smooth and slippery tannins barely noticeable until the back palate then a charge of tantalizing acidity that perfectly balances the plushness of the wine, with a warm glow of spiciness and lingering sweet-n-sour balsamic and black cherry. No question, this is a well-endowed pinot noir that will be irresistible in its youth, but really should but put in the cellar for a minimum of 5 years.
The Muirkirk Pinot Noir wine was first produced in 2008 and first release in 2009. The approximate average price for a bottle of 2009 Muirkirk Pinot Noir was around £38 (see http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-146783-2009-mount-edward-muirkirk-pinot-noir-central-otago-new-zealand )
We can't guarantee the availability of the Muirkirk Pinot Noir, but (in 2012) Mount Edwards wines are listed as being available in the following locations in Scotland-
RESTAURANTS
All Malmaison Hotels
Martin Wishart Edinburgh
Andrew Fairlie Gleneagles
Braidwood's Glasgow Castle
Venlaw Peebles
Halcyon Peebles
The Witchery by the Castle Edinburgh
Champany Inn Linlithgow
RETAIL
Villeneuve Wines Peebles
Villeneuve Wines Edinburgh
DISTRIBUTORS
Alliance Wine
7 Beechfield Road,
Willowyard Estate,
Beith, Ayrshire, KA15 1LN
Tel: 01505 506060
sales@alliancewine.co.uk
Muirkirk Pinot Noir wine takes its name from the Muirkirk Cherry Orchard in which it is grown. But who took the Muirkirk name out to this part of New Zealand? That's a story waiting to be unearthed.
|
