Geisenheim University Viticulture and Oenology graduates Kai Schubert and Marion Deimling came to New Zealand from Germany in 1998 to make world class wine, buying a small established vineyard, at just under 2 ha, named the ‘Home Block’, in Martinborough, and 40 ha of bare land in East Taratahi, near Gladstone, planting it over 1999 and 2000. The latter, named ‘Marion’s Vineyard’ has 12.5 ha of vines, 80% devoted to red varieties, mainly Pinot Noir with 8 clones planted. While a diverse range of wines is made, totalling 6,000 to 8,000 cases annually, it is the Pinot Noirs that have made the name for Kai and Marion.
The first Pinot Noir was made in 2001, but the first ‘official’ wines were from the 2003 vintage. Three Pinot Noirs are made, an ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir, along with the limited bottlings of clonal-based ‘Marion’s Vineyard’ and ‘Block B’ Pinot Noir, of which there are around 500 cases of each made. The ‘Marion’s Vineyard’ wine is based on clones 5, Abel and 10/5, while the ‘Block B’ is a blend of Dijon clones, mainly 115, with 667, 777, 114 and 113, specifically grown on ‘Block B’ of the vineyard. Winemaking is essentially the same, and the consistent differences, the ‘Marion’s Vineyard’ more elegant, and the ‘Block B’ more powerful, are based on clonal selection, making them fascinating to compare. Here, I review the 2016 releases of the Schubert ‘Marion’s Vineyard’ and ‘Block B’ Pinot Noirs. www.schubert.co.nz
