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Therese and Hans Herzog produce a stunning range of natural wines from their Marlborough vineyard.
COLUMN: I have tried many natural wines in recent years and have written a little about this style of winemaking in previous columns.
I am generally quite disappointed in many of those I have tried, but the glaring exception are the wines made by Hans Herzog in Marlborough, whose natural wines are exceptionally good.
Last week, Hans and Therese Herzog were in Nelson to host a trade tasting and natural wines masterclass at Hopgood’s & Co, so I went along to find out just why Hans can make such beautiful natural wines while others struggle.
I have known Hans and Therese for many years and buy their wines quite regularly. I have seen the effort Hans puts in to managing their vineyards, the care and thoughtfulness that goes into making their wines and the passion for selling only the very best wines they can.
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Hans uses the same traditional and holistic approach to winemaking that his ancestors did.
The term ‘natural wine’ has been interpreted by winemakers in many ways, but when you get to the absolute basic principle it is winemaking with minimal winemaker intervention, so the grape variety can express its true character.
The issue I have with many natural wines is that, to me, they are just unpleasant to drink.
There is no doubt there is a market for funky, different and some would say, interesting natural wines, however, these wines aren’t to everyone’s taste.
Hans Herzog wines are in a different league, a league where quality and enjoyability go hand-in-hand.
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The couple bring a more than 500-year winemaking heritage to the table.
To taste a Hans Herzog wine you wouldn’t know it is a natural wine, they are simply beautiful wines with lots of character and finesse. To me, this speaks a lot about the passion of the people who make the wine and the 500 years of family winemaking heritage they bring to their business.
They care about actually making great wines that naturally express the qualities of their vineyard rather than talking about how cool funky wines are.
Winemakers have learned a huge amount over the centuries and have been striving to make better, more enjoyable wines so why turn the clock back and make wines that aren’t enjoyable to drink? Personally, I think if you are going to make a natural wine them make it a quality wine, not a trendy wine.
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From hand-pruning to hand-picking, tasks are tied-in according to the astrological calendar, says Therese.
At the natural wine masterclass with Hans and Therese we tasted a small range of wines made in slightly different ways.
Therese talked about their vineyards and their philosophy to making wine and how that philosophy is influenced by their heritage.
“Hans lives and breathes the vineyard, despite a Master’s degree in Oenology he sees himself as a vigneron (viticulturist) rather than a winemaker,” says Therese. “He loves to spend his time amongst the vines and works the land and tends the vines with immaculate detail using the same traditional and holistic approach of his ancestors.
“From hand-pruning to hand-picking and all the hard yards in between, tasks are tied-in according to the astrological calendar.
“Together with extremely low yields we aim for concentrated, healthy and vibrant fruit that will result in age-worthy wines that express the unique terroir and climate of our vineyard land.
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Pouring the wine into a glass is proof of all the hard work that has gone into getting it to this stage.
With reference to natural wines, Hans says the real key to making good natural wines is the work done in the vineyard. If you have poor quality fruit then you can’t make good wines, let alone good natural wines, because the faults in the fruit will carry through and can even be amplified in the final wine.
“This means we have to do a lot of manual work in the vineyard, we need to control under-vine growth and the land is so stony we can’t mow the grass with a tractor mower so our under-vine growth and the grass between rows is maintained with weed-eaters,” Therese adds.
An example of the commitment to making the finest wines they can, natural or not, are the 28 grape varieties the couple grow on their 11.5 Ha vineyard, many of these are small trail plantings to identify varieties that will perform well in their micro-climate.
STACY SQUIRES
International wine judge Jim Harre sent Canterbury winemaker Jess Mavromatis a message saying her wine was disgusting and she should go find another hobby.
Varieties like Nebbiolo, Lagrein, Saperavi, St Laurent, Barbera and Rousanne are very rarely planted in New Zealand but are performing well in the Hans Herzog vineyard.
“We want to make great wines, there’s nothing wrong with more conventional, industrial style wineries, there is a place for every wine style and winery size,” says Therese.
“If you compared us to this style of winery it would be like comparing Hopgood’s to McDonalds, we are a tiny boutique producers versus a mass-market product. We make a lot less money because we have very low crop yields and have a focus on small volume premium quality wines rather than making a cashflow wine.”
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Focusing on what matters most has seen Herzog wines grow in popularity with consumers.
Hans told the small group that they are open to anything.
“We have to be open-minded because we want to make the best wine we can, so we will try different things, but we never use additives other than an absolute minimal amount of sulphur to stabilise the wine.”
Herzog wines are aged before being released, time is taken in the vineyard and winery to make the best wines they can from their little piece if paradise and if you want to try some of these hand-crafted wines with beautiful food Hopgood’s & Co are hosting a Hans Herzog Estate winemaker’s dinner on the 14th April where several courses will be matched with outstanding natural wines.
Check out Hopgood’s Facebook page or email manager.hopgoods@gmail.com to reserve your place at the table.
Wine Pick
Blackenbrook 2019 Family Reserve Nelson Pinot Noir RRP $43 – 5 stars
I first tasted this wine several months ago not long after it was bottled and thought it was an exceptional wine at the time, with extra time in the bottle my opinion hasn’t changed. While Pinot Noir can be light and floral this example is a delicious, powerful wine with lots of character and intrigue. From the initial intense fruit to the layers of smoky oak and juicy acidity this is a determined wine, it has presence and character.
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