Page 74 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)
P. 74

F IN E W IN E  WHAT’S IN THE GLASS?
               Since the alpine desert of Central Otago is infamous
               for its low rainfall, the grapes are small but they

               have a high concentration of flavour. Owing to these
               factors, 76 per cent of the wine produced in Central
               Otago is Pinot Noir.
                  In Mt Difficulty Wines, what begun with

               a handshake among the Gang of Four soon
               expanded to procure neighbouring vineyards like
               Gibbston Valley. Even though Pinot Noir remains
               special at this winery, they have not shied away
               from experimenting with Chardonnay, Riesling,
               Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and even Chenin Blanc.

                  Roaring Meg and Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir are the                                      Mel answered my query with a laugh.
               blended wines at this winery. While Roaring Meg is a      At The Winery                 “In New Zealand, we don’t have an
                                                                         Restaurant, all main
               mix of berries from Bannockburn farms and Wanaka          meal options come             overtly good relationship with ageing

               Valley, Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir focusses on blending      with suggested wine           wines. About 90 per cent of wine sold
               from within the Bannockburn vineyards.                    pairings.                     is drunk within 48 hours.” This bottle of
                  “Roaring Meg was our second label—in response          Mt Difficulty bottles         Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir 2010 was, hence,

               to people wanting affordable Pinot Noir,” revealed        about 30,000 cases            a treasure of sorts.
                                                                         of Roaring Meg

               Mel, as we walked into Mt Difficulty Cellar Door to        and 10,000 of                    The conversation turned towards

               taste some reds. Mt Difficulty bottles about 30,000        Mt Difficulty Pinot           the production of wine from single
               cases of Roaring Meg annually, as opposed to 10,000       Noir every year.              vineyards. These are carefully grown
               of Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir, their premium range.                                        and picked, studied for consistency over

                  I noticed that only one bottle had been preserved                                    a period of time, and then, if qualified,

               for nine years. Most others were younger wines.                                         are labelled as single vineyards.








































                                                                                                                                                       COURTESY OF MT. DIFFICULTY (2)


















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