High scores for Giesen's The August & The Fuder from Julia Harding MW
07 June 2016
Julia Harding MW has scored Giesen's The August, Fuder Clayvin Chardonnay and Fuder Matthews Lane Savignon Blanc highly for JancisRobinson.com. Following a visit to New Zealand for Sauvignon Blanc Day, she has noted:
Giesen The August 1888 Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Fermented in seasoned French oak.
Starting to show the slightly resinous aroma that I often find in mature, oak-aged wines made from more aromatic varieties. Ripe green and citrus fruit with an almost minty creamy character. Lots of spice, even a touch of coconut on the palate but still with piercing freshness. Bright, ripe-green flavours. Savoury complexity for the table. Power and length. Plenty of fruit sweetness though it finishes dry. Very long. (JH)
14% Drink 2014-2020
Fiesen The Fuder Matthews Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - 17/20
Asparagus and boxwood intensity on the nose but a much more creamy, mealy quality on the palate. Deep, rich and dry. Full bodied and long. Still seems very young. Impressive depth and persistence with Sauvignon Blanc character not hidden by the (big) oak. (JH)
13% Drink 2015-2022
Giesen The Fuder Chardonnay 2011 - 17.5/20
This Fuder Chardonnay comes from the Clayvin Vineyard in the upper Brancott Valley on the southern side of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. The vines are 20 years old and grown on a gently elevated vineyard on silt loams over clay. It is managed organically and farmed intensively with high density plantings of 5,000 vines per hectare. Two small sub-blocks were hand picked separately and the fruit whole-bunch pressed with the juice transferred to barrels with full solids. It was fermented with minimal temperature control by wild yeast in new German Fuders – 1,000-litre German oak barrels. The wine went through natural malolactic fermentation and matured on yeast lees with occasional stirring. It was taken out of barrel after approx 12.5 months and bottled without fining and a light filtration in late April 2012. pH 3.4, TA 6.92 g/l, RS 3.45.
Really smoky, toasty with a touch of char – more autolytic but also a touch of reduction so it is very complex - but with very fresh, cool elegance. So youthful and fresh – and I was not aware of the residual sugar. (JH)
Giesen The Fuder Clayvin Chardonnay 2013 - 17.5/20
Clayvin vineyard is in the southern Brancott Valley. Ambient yeasts and fermented in 1,000-litre oak Fuder from Germany, with 2-inch-thick staves. Full malo. Rich in mealy, creamy aromas, savoury and spiced, toasty but not overly dominated by the oak, which is subtle (more so than on the 2011) and finely integrated. Filled with pure lemon and orange citrus flavours and a note of tangy quince on the finish. (JH)
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