From the ends of the earth
New year, big new signing
I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. But if I was, I’d have already crossed a biggie off my list.
That’s because I’ve just signed up one of the very best producers in New Zealand. And from a region that you’ve been asking me to get for years.
From the ends of the earth...
Central Otago is about as far south as you’ll find vineyards in the world. Situated between Queenstown and Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island, it’s warmer and drier here than Marlborough, which is further north and closer to the coast.
Mother Nature has blessed it with pristine growing conditions to make world-class Pinot Noir:
- Long days and intense sunlight give the grapes great flavour and perfume
- Cool nights right up until harvest ensures slow ripening, building complexity and balance
- The Southern Alps shelter the vineyards from sea winds, keeping the skins thin and wines elegant
- And because it’s so dry, growers are rarely under pressure to pick early - they can wait for absolutely perfect ripeness.
The result is the holy grail - Pinot Noir with real depth and intensity, but also an elegance and consistency that puts it right up there with Burgundy and the great Pinot regions.
Enter Phil Handford - farmer/financier turned wine producer
Phil comes from a background in agriculture and finance - so he’s a proper farmer at heart. In the early 2000s, just as word was getting out that Central Otago was capable of great things, Phil started looking for the perfect site to make the best possible Pinot Noir.
He spent 18 months doing painstaking research and talking to locals, before buying an old apricot orchard near Alexandra in 2003. He loved the character of the place - the shape, the contour and the soils - as well as the practical stuff like drainage and water supply.
That vineyard is called Earnscleugh - and is now widely recognised as one of Central Otago’s Grand Cru equivalent sites.
Do one thing, and do it well
Phil makes one wine and focuses everything on making it world-class. Their very first vintage in 2006 was rated 92 points by Robert Parker, who noted that it reminded him of a Romanée-Saint-Vivant. Not bad for a first effort!
Four years later Grasshopper Rock’s reputation really took off - it won Champion Pinot Noir and Champion Wine of Show at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, the biggest honour for a Kiwi producer. It was around this time that I came across it during my time at Naked Wines, and we started importing the wine into the UK.
Which led to what I can only assume is Phil’s greatest professional honour - his wine being served at the 2015 wedding of Eamon and Ruth in Kilshane House, Co. Tipperary.
This is your chance to try it
This is the best part of my job - introducing you to brand new wines that I know you’re going to love. Grasshopper Rock Pinot Noir is one of those wines.
2022 was a classic vintage in Central Otago - just slightly warmer than usual. The grapes were hand-picked and fermentation was started naturally to build texture and complexity. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, 25% of which are new. It’s a simple approach that lets Phil’s amazing fruit shine. The nose is vivid and perfumed with red fruit, wild herbs and sweet spices. The palate is silky, gentle and balanced, with a long and smooth finish cushioned by some lovely oak.
And don’t just take my word for it… Decanter gave it 94 points and Robert Parker gave it 95 - both outstanding scores for wines from around here.
A big deal for you, and for WineSpark
Landing Grasshopper Rock for Ireland and the UK is a real coup for the business.
If you paid €45 for this wine in Ireland it would be a snip - Felton Road and Burn Cottage, which achieve similar critic scores, will cost you at least €65. But thanks to your membership, you’re getting access at €26.24 per bottle.
And that’s exactly what I want WineSpark to deliver - access and value that simply don’t exist anywhere else.