Fromm Winery is the undisputed leader in single-vineyard and terroir-expressive Pinot Noir in Marlborough. Since the beginnings in 1992 with Georg and Ruth Fromm, Hatsch Kalberer has had an unswerving vision to craft some of the region’s finest wines. Fromm now produces the ‘La Strada’ and ‘Cuvee H’ Pinot Noirs, these being of blended origins, the latter wine the company’s flagship. These are supplemented by ‘The Quarters’, ‘Churton’, ‘Clayvin’ and ‘’Fromm’ single vineyard Pinot Noir bottlings.
However it is imperative to note that Fromm Winery has arguably been just as successful with other varieties. The Riesling wines are delicious, but then there are the burgundy-inspired Chardonnays which show great clarity without any reductive characters, and distinctly cool-climate interpretations of Syrah which have received high international acclaim, plus intriguingly the Malbec. Fromm has the oldest single vineyard plantings of Malbec in the country, a variety which is deemed prone to "eccentricity and misbehaviour”. It has taken intensive viticulture and careful winemaking to bring quality bottlings of these wines, particularly the reds. Here, I review the 2016 vintage ‘Clayvin’ Chardonnay, the ‘La Strada’ and ‘Fromm’ Syrahs, and ‘Fromm’ Malbec. www.frommwinery.co.nz
