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| Steve Smith of Craggy Range |
‘We are happy with our wines. We are not the best
yet but we are getting there,’ says Steve Smith over a glass of
Te Muna Road Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from Martinborough. The wine
is nicely chilled, bringing out its limy and herbal flavours with the
aromas exploding into the nose, like a typical ‘borough Sauvignon
Blanc from New Zealand which rules the palates throughout the world.
‘Our vineyards will need to age more before their
real character is revealed. Some will become stars while the others will
become quiet achievers,’ he admits. What a contrast from the Indian
wine producers some of whom start claiming their vineyards are at the
peak within the first year or two of their existence!
Steve joined hands with a businessman, Terry Peabody
in 1997 to make single vineyard wines. ‘This was a year after I
had finished my Master of Wine and I wanted to make wines that would be
the true expressions of the vineyard’s terroir.’ Steve who
cleared the MW exams in the very first attempt has spent 25 years in the
vineyards and is also the viticulturist for Craggy Road Winery.
‘We are unique in the world in that we produce
only single vineyard wines. This helps us showcase the terroir of our
vineyards, both Gimblett Gravels Vineyard at Hawkes Bay and Te Muna Road
Vineyard in Martinborough,’ he tells me. They grow Bordeaux red
varietals, Shiraz and Chardonnay in the former whereas the Pinot, Sauvignon
are the specialties at Te Muna which also has some Chardonnay.
‘Winemaking is also a specialty, we believe. A
Riesling winemaker may not be good for Shiraz,’ says Steve who also
heads the winemaking team and looks after Sauvignon Blanc. Adrian Baker
and Rod Easthope are two winemakers who assist him, Adrian looking after
Riesling and Pinot while Rod looking after the Bordeaux varietals, primarily.
New Zealand may be known in the world for Sauvignon Blanc
and Pinot Noir, but it has been producing some excellent Bordeaux blends,
especially in the Hawke’s Bay area. ‘Our expressions come
a lot from France which we take as our international benchmark,’
he admits frankly. The So-phia range is modelled more after the Right
Bank style, with a proportion of 62% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 4%
Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2005 vintage I tasted was a fine example of a
Bordeaux blend, though it would not race ahead of a good St.- Emilion
in elegance or complexity. Meant to last over 15-20 years, it will get
better in another couple of years.
‘We are not there yet. But we are getting better
and better,’ says the unassuming and affable Smith. While talking
about the last wine of the evening, Le Sol (literally the sun as the vineyard
gets plenty of it) he says, ‘we prefer to call it Syrah, as it is
based more on the French style.’ 18 months in oak has made this
dry wine quite complex in character, with peppery aromas and full-bodied
flavours that would make it the favourite of many wine lovers in India.
Elaborating on the company philosophy, concludes Steve,
‘we are a New World vigneron with an Old World philosophy. Technology
is an integral part of the highly tuned and precise farming systems, but
we don’t let it become in-charge.’
‘The people who look after the vines are the real
heroes of our vineyards,’ adding, ‘It is the simple philosophy
of ‘footsteps in the vineyard’ that drives our company.
Well, this kiwi from the Craggy Range did leave his footprints
during his visit to India.
Subhash Arora
February 27, 2008
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