Tuesday, February 4, 2025One of New Zealand's most prominent wine producers, Babich Wines is also one of the country's oldest family-owned wineries. It was founded in 1916 by Josip Babich, a Dalmatian immigrant (now part of modern day Croatia) after he immigrated to New Zealand at 14 years old to join his brothers in the far north of the country. People thought he was crazy planting vines in remote New Zealand.
Today, Babich Wines has over 100 years of experience across three generations of innovation, achievement, and winemaking excellence, making them New Zealand's most experienced family-owned winery. Their aim is to have vineyards on superior sites in the right regions, and ensure that the right varieties are planted on those superior sites. Furthermore, they aim to sustainably grow and craft wines that are stylish, refined, and have an easy drinking appeal. With a long history of looking ahead, the Babich family loves their craft, doing things by hand, and caring for their land. Babich has been patiently making wine the difficult way with vision, thoughtfulness, ingenuity, and true craft, along with a hard-working spirit that still runs deep in the family's veins today.
Babich Wines is led today by cousins David and André Babich, the third generation of the Babich family. David is the son of Peter, while André is the son of Joe. Brothers Peter and Joe are sons of founder Josip Babich. The main winery and cellar door is still based in northern New Zealand, in the Henderson Valley, West Auckland, just a short drive from the city of Auckland. In addition to the vineyard surrounding the winery in Henderson Valley, Babich also has a winery and 7 estate-owned vineyards in Marlborough, as well as an additional 5 vineyards in Hawke's Bay. Babich Wines has garnered numerous accolades over the years for its wines and continues to innovate and evolve, ensuring that it continues to be a leader in New Zealand wine.
Like the excellent 2023 Babich Black Label Marlborough Pinot Gris that landed in LCBO VINTAGES on the weekend, this Pinot Noir is also from Babich's Black Label range. Each wine in the Black Label range is crafted using fruit from their own estate vineyards and sustainably crafted to be enjoyed with food in a rich, complex, and textural style that is suitable for any dining occasion. First crafted in the 2012 vintage, this Pinot Noir was grown in the Waihopai and Wairau Valleys, and after machine harvesting the grapes, they were de-stemmed, but not crushed, with a small percentage undergoing carbonic maceration. It was fermented in open-top vats using both wild and inoculated yeasts, followed by malolactic fermentation. The wine was matured for 6 months in oak, fined using egg whites, and then bottled.
The 2021 growing season in Marlborough began with a chilly spring and some nasty frosts. The weather was mostly dry. However, intermittent rains during flowering disrupted some of the vine growth, which reduced yields. Late spring featured unusually hot and dry weather, conditions which continued into summer. Drought conditions reduced yields, which also meant that both disease and rot were kept at bay. Even though 2021 is a lower-yield vintage, the quality is superb across the board, with Marlborough wines exhibiting characteristics described as fresh, fruit-forward, aromatic, and complex with sophisticated structure. The lower yields also led to more concentrated fruit. Let's see how this 2021 Pinot Noir from Marlborough is tasting tonight...
Tasting Note:
BABICH BLACK LABEL PINOT NOIR 2021 - Sustainable, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#465963) (XD) -Screw cap. Complex, medium-high intensity aromas of dark fruited, savoury wood spice, black cherry, black raspberry, and mushroom accented with savoury earth and clove notes, plus touches of dried herbs. Some lovely black tea notes emerge with time in the glass. It's medium+ to medium-full bodied, impressively concentrated, and dry, with delicious ripe dark fruit, dark sour cherry, and black raspberry flavours weaving through savoury earth, mushroom, and oak spice notes. It has crisp, juicy acidity, along with a relatively firm mouthfeel with slightly chalky textured and mildly grippy tannins. Savoury, earthy, and smoky notes with hints of tea leaf linger on the long, well-structured, and youthful finish. Should drink nicely over at least the next 4-5 years and is a highly recommended buy, if you can find it! Score: 91 pts
Other lovely wines by Babich can be found at the LCBO, or ordered through their Agent - Dionysus Wines & Spirits.
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