If there was any wine that shows the interwoven
relationships between wine, history, the land, culture and society, then the 1903
Lansdowne ‘Claret’ must be it. Wine writer
John Saker, Wairarapa identity Liz Pollock and the Beetham family organised a
tasting of the Lansdowne ‘Claret’ from the 1903 vintage, made by the Beetham
forebears, William and Hermance, for a number of New Zealand wine media and
international wine professionals. The tasting
was held in the dining room of ‘Brancepeth’ the historical Beetham family
homestead, situated some 20 km outside of Masterton in the Wairarapa. All those attending the tasting were struck
by the connections the wine had with life in the past and now.
John Saker - tasting organiser and wine writer
The 1903 Lansdowne ‘Claret’ lays claim to being the oldest
surviving wine in New Zealand, made from grapes grown by William and Hermance
Beetham from their ‘Lansdowne’ vineyard on the outskirts of what is modern day
Masterton. There are several dozen
bottles of the wine in the cellar at Brancepeth. Bottles have been opened by the Beetham
family previously, most notably just over 30 years ago in 1985, at a tasting
with Wellington wine writer Geoff Kelly, and John Comerford, wine judge at the
time. Geoff’s report can be seen by
clicking
here.
Liz Pollock - tasting organiser and Wairarapa supporter
Brancepeth Wine and the ‘Lansdowne’ Vineyard
The Beethams are reputed to have grown grapes near the
homestead on their Brancepeth Station property, but these vines did not last, however they gave the Beethams confidence to further their efforts with vines. They established a vineyard at ‘Lansdowne’
where they grew Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Syrah, cuttings probably sourced
from Mission in Hawke’s Bay, from 1890 to about 1908, the first vintage being
in 1895. William’s wife Hermance, a
Frenchwoman, is said to be the drive behind the growing and making of the wine. Although William Beetham was a steadfast
diary keeper, there are no surviving written records about the wine. Their wine growing and making ceased due to
prohibition and probably also to the effects of phylloxera.
There is today a winegrowing operation on the Masterton land
that the Beethams originally grew grapes.
Derek Hagar and his family established Lansdowne Estate in 2002 planting
Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The
2.4 ha of vines are approximately the same size as the Beetham plantings. It took 7 years for the Hagars to get a
commercial harvest, with their first release being the 2009 vintage. The wines are made by Karl Johner of Johner
Estate, nearby in Gladstone. The 2010
Pinot Noir won the Bouchard Finlayson Trophy at the 2014 IWSC. The question is often posed: Is there any
similarity between the Hagar wine of today and the Beetham wine of over a
century ago?
Brancepeth Homestead
Brancepeth Station and Homestead
The Brancepeth estate is truly a treasure, and the homestead
is a reminder of the success of the Beetham family who took up land in the
Wairarapa in 1856. The Beethams formed a
partnership with the Williams family in 1864 which enabled expansion. In its heyday the station was one of the
country’s largest sheep stations covering some 31,000 ha. It employed 300 people and had a permanent
population of over 100. The estate
started as a whare, built in 1856 and during its construction, a wild boar
emerged from the bush. ‘Brancepeth’ is the
name for ‘Brawns (boars) Path’. What is
the homestead nowadays was originally built in 1858 with gables added in 1886
and the first buildings demolished in 1905 to be rebuilt in its present form.
The homestead is a unique place to visit to obtain a glimpse
of pastoral life in New Zealand in the past.
The Beethams have retained as much of the originality of the homestead
and outbuildings as possible. The
buildings have the original fittings and equipment of the time and are full of artifacts,
relics and paraphernalia of a past and distant life. Brancepeth is a Listed Category 1 Historic
Place with Heritage New Zealand. Fourth
generation Ed Beetham is the custodian of the property, and fifth generation
William and Emily Beetham are fully active in its maintenance. The Beetham family take great pride in
recounting their history, and are seeking to fund further preservation and
restoration. For further information,
contact Emily Beetham at Tel: 06 372-2546 or Email:
emily@beethampastural.co.nz
Ed Beetham - 4th generation
The Tasting
The tasting was inspired by John Saker’s research for his
book ‘Pinot Noir: The New Zealand Story’.
The Wairarapa has been recognised as one of the earliest grapegrowing
regions in the county. Details of the
Brancepeth cellar have been known for some time, but John’s further
investigation led to the formulation of a tasting to follow that as reported by
Geoff Kelly. John considers the
Wairarapa as the start of Pinot Noir growing in New Zealand, and although the ‘Lansdowne’
wine is named ‘claret’, the varieties planted by the Beethams suggested to John
that the wine produced was in the Burgundian style, supporting Geoff Kelly’s
conclusions, thus reinforcing the Wairarapa’s position as this country’s Pinot Noir
pioneering district. The tasting would
give further evidence towards that, as well as providing a record of the
condition of New Zealand’s oldest known wine.
One dozen tasters took part in the formal tasting, these
including New Zealand and international wine professionals and Beetham
family
members. Two bottles of the 1903 Lansdowne
‘Claret’ were opened, and due to careful pouring, around 30 people in
total,
including media and local winemakers, were able to taste the wines. I
was privileged to be involved. I gave some thought in the days preceding
the
tasting as to what the wine might taste like.
Although I have experienced wines dating back to the late 19
th
Century, the majority have been fortified, with table red wine only figuring in
bottles. Would it actually be alive, and
not turned by oxidation or madeirised?
Or could it be beautifully ethereal but fragile, or more likely coarse,
rustic and decrepit? I offer my thoughts
here; scoring was irrelevant:
Lansdowne 'Claret' 1903 in the cellar
Lansdowne Wairarapa
Claret 1903 Bottle #1
Light orange colour with tawny hues and some depth. The bouquet
surprisingly full and voluminous
with an ethereal, faded and dried roses lift along with some volatility.
Some bottle stink too, but this dissipates. The nose has a considerably
concentrated core
of old, dried wood, the aromatics quite dense and deep. Earthy,
undergrowth, autumnal smells, and
with some more aeration the input of cork and wood growing to show some
rusticity and slight dirtiness. All
throughout the red floral nuances apparent.
Medium-full bodied, with a strong, vigorous presence in the mouth, with
a firm and concentrated core of faded red florals and red fruits melded
with
layers of earth, undergrowth and dried wood elements, and a suggestion
of
citrus. Past tertiary and into the ethereal
stage, and with distinctive pervasive essence of dried cork. Certainly
wood-related complexities and
layers, and remarkably clear of any dirtiness.
Tannin residue marks the mouthfeel, lending a moderately grippy, dried
textures, along with elevated and brisk, lacy, near-racy acidity. The
acidity gives the positive illusion of
fruit sweetness. This has plenty of life
in the mouthfilling structure, though the fruit has receded. The palate
has line and a long finish, more wood-flavoured,
but with light red floral nuances. This
is a complete wine in pleasing, fulsome proportions. If a good bottle,
it will remain in this
state for decades.
Lansdowne Wairarapa
Claret 1903 Bottle #2
Faded tawny colour with slight orange, very pale edged, but
with some depth. The nose very
powerfully concentrated with deep aromas of dried wood and decrepit cork
essence, dried herbs, earth, mushrooms and undergrowth. Very little fruit presence, the rustic earth
and wood dominating any rose floral or fruit lift. Verging on overly grubby on the nose. Medium-full bodied, and very tight and
elegant in presentation. Real depth and
intensity, but more slender in outlook.
The fruit is still showing, with restrained faded and dried roses. Dried wood flavours in proportion with the
fruit shyness, but the decrepit cork essence flavours more prominent and to the
fore. Very tight core and line, with
restraint in flavour and texture. The
tannins fine-grained, lending a smooth grip.
Essentially dry and crisp in mouthfeel from elevated acidity. This has textural precision, along with good
vigour and vitality. Had the cork
flavours, and possibly some taint elements played a strong role here? The tightness of the flavours suggests a scalping
action. The fruit is fragile and
beautiful, but allied to the distinctive and strong cork expression. There is still plenty of living with this
bottle.
Conclusions
What was truly
remarkable was that the wines were very much alive and had not
turned. There was no oxidation as such,
nor madeirisation. The fruit was still
evident, and had a beauty, though much drier than in young wines. The wines were very vigorous with acidity,
vitality and life. And tannins, though
dried, were not overbearing or dried out.
The two bottles opened were, indeed, still enjoyable. The extract of the wines and their residual strength
of structure suggests they were powerful in their youth, which is in accordance
with the winemaking practices of full extraction and maceration likely to have
been employed at the time of making.
How much longer could
they last? Old wines that survive to
this age tend to possess the ability to develop further at a very slow
pace. It is conceivable that another
half-century could be possible… Karl
Johner who has experienced burgundy wines of a comparable age and older
suggested that it was likely these would continue to keep, as the vines were
ungrafted; the accepted wisdom is that grafted vine wines do not have the same
longevity as those from own-rooted vines.
Same wine, but with
bottle variation. The similarity of
much of the expression of the two bottles in flavour, mouthfeel and acidity was
evidence that the two bottles were the same wine, but showing the effects of
bottle variation, exaggerated with time, and one bottle possibly faulted by
cork taint. Interestingly, there were
proponents for each bottle as their favourite.
I was in the camp favouring the first bottle, preferring its more
fulsome and complete expression, filling the bouquet and palate. There was balance between the fruit and
wood/cork character, though the textures were grainy and grippy. This wine appeared to get coarser with
aeration. The finer textures and
precision in mouthfeel and tighter, more elegant flavour expression were the
positive attributes for those who liked the second bottle more. These people generally felt the strong cork ‘taint’
character lessened in the glass.
Is there a site
character? Derek Hagar and Karl Johner offered as a comparison, a tasting
of the 2009 Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir, the first and best vintage
of this label to date. Was there any
similarity between the old wines at 113 years old, and the contemporary wine? The wines shared red fruit characters, with an
earthy dried herb savouriness. Relative
high acidity was another commonality.
The Wairarapa is
Pinot Noir country. Somewhat little
less tenuous as a question than terroir was the success of both old and modern
wines being made from burgundian varieties.
The Beetham wines were certainly Burgundy rather than claret in
style. John Saker and Geoff Kelly would
be pleased with the confirmation that the Wairarapa is especially suited to the
making of Burgundy-styled wines, and that this was first shown by William and
Hermance Beetham.