Babich Black Label Marlborough Pinot Gris 2023 (New Zealand) - Wine Review

Tonight's white wine review is an excellent, sustainably crafted, and dry Pinot Gris from New Zealand. It is a brand-new arrival at the LCBO that is landing on shelves across Ontario as part of the upcoming February 1st LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.

Like the excellent 2017 Babich Winemakers' Reserve Syrah I enjoyed last spring, this wine is produced by Babich Wines, one of New Zealand's most prominent and oldest family-owned wineries. 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. Josip's son, Peter, joined the family wine business in 1949, and was followed by his other son, Joe, in 1958. Today, Babich Wines is now led by cousins David and André Babich, sons of Peter and Joe, respectively. Babich Wines is based in Henderson Valley, West Auckland, just a short drive from the city of Auckland, and has estate vineyards located in both Marlborough and Hawke's Bay.

With over 100 years of innovation, achievement and winemaking excellence, the aim of Babich Wines today is to passionately craft sustainable wines that are stylish, refined, and have an easy drinking appeal. For three generations, the Babich family has gently worked in harmony with the land, ecosystem, and seasons to produce wines of outstanding quality, while also making sure that their vineyards and processes get better with each passing vintage. At Babich, there are four important areas of focus to ensure a sustainable future - being careful with water, organic farming and processes, wild fermentation, and waste reduction and elimination.

From Babich's Black Label range, this 100% Pinot Gris was first crafted in the 2009 vintage. The Black Label range consists of three wines using fruit from their estate-owned vineyards and are sustainably crafted to be enjoyed with food in a rich, complex, and textural style suitable for any dining occasion. The grapes were grown in their Echelon (Waihopai), Selmes Road (Wairau) and Cowslip Valley (Waihopai) vineyards. The Echelon Vineyard is an elevated site with deep silt loam "Jordan" soils over underlying clay, while the Selmes Road Vineyard has a slightly heavier soil and is perfect for blending with fruit grown on lighter, gravelly soils. The Cowslip Valley Vineyard has a glacial outwash with free-draining clay loam soils perfect for aromatic varieties. After machine-harvesting the grapes over 6 days at the beginning of April, the grapes were crushed, pressed, and underwent an inoculated fermentation using selected yeasts, mostly in tanks with 40% barrel fermented in older oak barrels. The wine was matured on its lees for 5 months, fined using pea protein, filtered, and then bottled.

The 2023 growing season in Marlborough was wetter than usual due to the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. The rain resulted in a shaky budburst and flowering, while yields were also cut. However, the fruit that pulled through grew in relatively loose bunches, which meant less disease vulnerability. Meanwhile, while the cold nights kept botrytis at bay and helped maintain acidity. Exceptional weather in March and April led to grapes with intense flavours and good acidity levels. Overall, it is considered to be an excellent vintage for Marlborough wines. Let's see how this 2023 Marlborough Pinot Gris is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

BABICH BLACK LABEL MARLBOROUGH PINOT GRIS 2023 - Sustainable, Estate grown, South Island, New Zealand (#36906) (XD) - $20.95
Screw cap. Pours a fairly deep gold colour. The concentrated, medium-high intensity nose offers lovely, rich, and honeyed aromas of ripe orchard and stone fruit, apple, nectarine, lemon zest, citrus, peach, honeysuckle, candied ginger, and spice. The medium+ to medium-full bodied palate is richly concentrated and dry with honeyed, ripe stone and orchard fruit, apple-pear, nectarine, peach, ginger spice, and honeysuckle flavours underpinned by leesy minerality. It has a fine, zesty, acidic backbone, along with a fine, richly textured mouthfeel. Nicely balanced throughout with leesy mineral notes lingering on the savoury, textured, and exceptionally long finish. Enjoy on its own, with seafood or vegetarian fare. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91 pts

In addition to their 2020 Organic Single Vineyard Pinot Noir that is also arriving in this release, there are a number fine wines by Babich that are available at the LCBO and through their Agent - Dionysus Wines & Spirits.

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Babich Winemakers' Reserve Syrah 2017 (Hawke's Bay) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is an excellent Hawke's Bay Syrah that arrived at the LCBO last month as an Online & Flagship Exclusive in the March 2nd LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection - with bottles now available at quite a few stores across Ontario.

It is produced by Babich Wines, one of New Zealand's most prominent and oldest family-owned wineries. It was founded in 1916 by Josip Babich, an immigrant from Dalmatia (which is now part of modern day Croatia), who immigrated to NZ at 14 years old in 1910 to join his three brothers and sell Kauri gum in New Zealand's far north. In 1911, the Babich brothers put a deposit on a plot of land in Henderson Valley (West Auckland), which later became the family homestead, winery, and company headquarters. In 1912, Josip planted his first vineyard on a terrace above the Kaikino Swamp gum field, and in 1916 he made his first New Zealand wine and sold it in casks and bottles under the Babich Brothers label.

In 1929, Josip married Mara Grgic, and together they had 5 children over the following years. In 1949, Josip's son, Peter, joins him in the family vineyard. The 1950s brought further expansion of the property in West Auckland, while in 1958, Josip's son, Joseph, joined Babich Wines. Further expansion ensued during the 1960s, with a growing emphasis on table wine production. In 1980, the first Babich wines were exported to Europe, an achievement that is the highlight of Josip's winemaking career.

By 1984, Babich Wines began producing their first wines from the Gimblett Gravels region in Hawke's Bay, and by the end of the decade, they increased their presence in the region by establishing a second 36 hectare vineyard on Gimblett Rd. The family company's success led to more growth and expansion, including several acquisitions and partnerships, and in 2001, David Babich, son of Peter Babich, became the third generation of the family to join the business. In 2013, Babich completed construction of their new winery in Marlborough, while acquiring the 9.7 hectare St. John Vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle - where this wine is from. In 2016, Babich Wines celebrated 100 years of innovation, achievement and winemaking excellence, while in 2018, André Babich, son of Joe Babich, joined the family business.

Today, the aim of Babich Wines is to craft sustainable wines that are stylish, refined, and have an easy drinking appeal. To support this, their goal is to have vineyards in the right regions on superior sites, and getting the right varieties on those superior sites. With more than 100 years of winemaking experience across three generations and three outstanding wine regions, wine is the family's life. The Babich family has a long history of looking ahead as they love their craft, love doing things by hand, and caring for the land. Their hard-working spirit still runs deep within their veins, while their vision is to simply share their passion through patience, experience, and good old-fashioned wisdom, as well as leading the style and evolution of sustainably grown and crafted New Zealand wine.

I had the pleasure of first tasting this exact same vintage at their winery in Auckland back in March 2020 when I was visiting New Zealand. It is crafted with 100% Syrah using grapes that were grown in the St. Johns Vineyard, which is located in the Bridge Pa sub-region of Hawke's Bay. This is also a single clone Syrah - using only the 470 clone, a late-ripening clonal variety with open clusters that discourages fungal disease, while producing aromatic, full-bodied wines with high acidity, deep colour, and good tannins structure. The 470 Syrah clone is extremely popular in France and is the most widely-planted in Hermitage. The grapes were machine harvested and de-stemmed in the field from April 2nd to 3rd. The berries were lightly crushed, fermented in stainless steel vats, and also underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine was matured for 8 months in French oak barrels (25% new), and was fined using egg whites, with minimal filtration.

The 2017 growing season in New Zealand was generally cooler than average and dry. However, in Hawke's Bay it was searingly hot at times. In Autumn, there were some heavy rains right before harvest, which disturbed picking and reduced yields. Despite some difficulties, the quality of what was picked is high. After tasting this same, exact wine 4 years ago, let's see how this 2017 Hawke's Bay Syrah is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

BABICH WINEMAKERS' RESERVE SYRAH 2017 - Single Vineyard, Estate Grown & Bottled, Hawke's Bay, North Island, New Zealand (#32412) (XD) - $36.95
Screw cap. From Bridge Pa Triangle, the highly aromatic nose is fragrant and open, offering complex aromas of wet earth, black pepper spice, dark fruit, blackberry, and stony mineral, with hints of mushroom, floral, and meaty notes. The elegant, medium+ bodied palate has lovely dark berry, blackberry, black pepper spice, meaty, savoury wet earth, plum, and cocoa flavours that are supported by fresh, succulent acidity. It's nicely balanced throughout with smooth, fine-grained tannins and good structure. Savoury mineral, earth, and cocoa notes linger on the long finish. A Syrah lover's Syrah to enjoy over the next 5-6 years and a highly recommended buy! Score: 92+ pts

Tasting Note from March 2020:

From a single vineyard in Bridge Pa Triangle and a cool year, this offers a medium-high to highly aromatic nose of black plum, black pepper, and spice aromas, along with touches of floral, earthy, and meaty tones that add complexity. It has a nice, medium+ bodied palate with lovely, complex aroma replays on the flavour profile. It’s supported by fresh acidity and structured tannins on the back palate. More earthy and savoury on the long, satisfying finish. Will age gracefully over the next 6-8 years. Score: 91+ pts

A few lovely Babich Wines can be found at the LCBO, while the entire portfolio can be ordered through their Agent - Dionysus Wines & Spirits.

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Babich Pinot Noir 2018 (New Zealand) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a lovely, sustainably crafted Pinot Noir from New Zealand that landed at the LCBO over the weekend as part of the May 15, 2021 LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Babich Wines is New Zealand's most experienced family-owned winery as they have been making wine in NZ since 1916. With three generations of winemaking, the Babich family has achieved winemaking excellence with innovation across three winemaking regions - Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, and Auckland.

Josip Babich, who was originally from Dalmatia (now part of modern day Croatia) and emigrated to New Zealand to join his brothers in 1910 at the tender age of 14, began planting vines in remote New Zealand in 1912 in the difficult way - with vision, thoughtfulness, ingenuity, and true craft. In 1916, Josip makes his first New Zealand wines and bottles them under the name Babich Brothers. In 1919, the Babich brothers move to Henderson in West Auckland and planted Pinot Meunier vines. After marriage in 1929, Josip and his wife Mara Grgic have five children, with their son Peter joining the family vineyard 20 years later. Much success led to the extension of the Auckland vineyard and Josip's son, Joseph, joined the family business in 1958.

Babich Wines expanded further in 1984 with the production of wine from the Gimblett Gravels region in Hawke's Bay, followed by wine from Marlborough in 1991. In 1997, Babich lays claim to New Zealand's first sustainably registered vineyard. In 2001, David Babich, Peter's son, becomes the third generation of the Babich family to join the company. In 2013, Babich completed building their brand new Marlborough winery, processing more than 4,000 tonnes of grapes. Josip Babich's hard-working spirit has traversed generations, and with over 100 years of winemaking achievements, experience, and excellence, Babich Wines has 100 small and interesting stories on their website that are worth reading when you have some time.

Sustainability is also a core value at Babich. For three generations, the Babich family has gently worked in harmony and balance with the land and ecosystem, ensuring that the vineyards and processes improve every vintage. Some of these sustainability practices include being careful with water, expanding the use of organic viticulture, using wild fermentations, and reducing waste.

This red wine is part of Babich's classic range of wines that showcase each varietal's regional style with a classic flavour profile and a touch of everyday sophistication. This particular Pinot Noir was hand-crafted using fruit from their estate-owned vineyards in Marlborough, harvested at optimum ripeness, and fermented in open vats. It was aged in a combination of new and used oak barriques for 7 months, then blended to create to final wine. Let's see how this NZ Pinot Noir is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

BABICH PINOT NOIR 2018 - Sustainable, estate bottled, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#216) (XD) - $22.95
Screw cap. The fragrant nose delivers a lovely, complex mix of earthy, beetroot, and raspberry, cherry, and rhubarb flecked with tea leaf notes. It's light-to-mid weighted on the palate with sour black cherry, and raspberry flavours layered over savoury earthy, beetroot, and tea leaf notes, It has fresh acidity, while the light tannins are somewhat chalky textured. Smoky black cherries and tea leaf notes linger on the finish, with very good length. Very enjoyable! Score: 89 pts

Other lovely wines from Babich can be purchased at the LCBO, as well as through their Agent - Dionysus Wines & Spirits.

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