Many years ago when God was a boy and dinosaurs roamed the earth I tried Quartz Reef Pinot Noir at Majestic HQ for our first training day. It was a good day. When I discovered that they made a sparkling wine it was time to bring out the happy dance.
For those who don't know Duke Carvell's in Wellington it's a lovely little bistro situated just off Cuba Street with a fairly awesome wine list and a friendly team. Slightly more importantly they have a comfortable amount of interesting wines by the glass including the Quartz Reef.
A blend of 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Chardonnay with the fruit sourced from Bendigo in Central Otago this sparkling is made in the traditional method with the second fermentation taking place in bottle.
Pale lemon with tiny, fast moving bubbles the nose is a delicious mix of apples, bread, yeast, honey, citrus and wild strawberry. At this point I knew I was in for a treat and the palate didn't disappoint. Ripe apples, biscuit, grapefruit and honeyed pineapple add to the flavours present on the nose making a really classy and elegant glass of bubbles.
This is the first New Zealand sparkler I have tasted from Central Otago and it is good to know that alongside all that world renowned Pinot is some seriously good sparkling. I'm not sure if much of this leaves the country but if you happen to stumble across the Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle wherever you may be don't let this gem pass you by. Bring on the happy dancing!
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