Rubik's Cube winemaking at Blue Mountain

 Photo: Blue Mountain winemaker Matt Mavety

At Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars, winemaker Matt Mavety goes to great lengths to make complex wines.

The winery has just released three 2018 whites – Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. Some producers would ferment these varieties in stainless steel and bottle them as fresh and fruity whites with screw cap closures. Such wines are perfectly valid, ideal for wine by the glass on a warm summer’s afternoon.

Blue Mountain wines, which are best with food, are all finished with corks. That complements the traditional winegrowing here, as though the winery had been transplanted here from Burgundy or the Loire.

Like a good French winery, Blue Mountain has mature vineyards. The Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris vines are about 30 years old while the Sauvignon Blanc vines are about 12 years old. Wines from older vines tend to have more flavour.

Matt trained in New Zealand but his winemaking style is more French than Kiwi. These wines, and almost all the other Blue Mountain wines, are fermented with native yeasts.  “Native yeast is present in the vineyard and cellar and allows for a stronger expression of terroir,” the winery explains.

These whites were all fermented in a collection of vessels. For example, the Pinot Gris was fermented 15% in stainless steel, 40% in an oak foudre, 25% in 500 litre oak barrels; and the remaining 20% was fermented in French oak barrels ranging from new to four years old.

When I consider how hard it must be to manage such cellar logistics, I would guess Matt also is pretty good at solving the Rubik’s Cube.

When fermentation is finished, most of the wine is aged sur lie in the fermentation vessels (for five months). Then the lots are blended before being bottled.

This may be Rubik’s Cube winemaking but it makes for complex wines.

Here are my notes.

Blue Mountain Pinot Gris 2018 ($24.90). The wine begins with aromas of orange and orange peel mingled with very subtle oak. On the palate, there are flavours of orange and lemon with notes of pear and apple. The texture is rich while the finish is crisp and tangy. 91.

Blue Mountain Pinot Blanc 2018 ($24.90). The wine begins with aromas of apple mingled with very subtle oak. Time on the lees has given the wine good texture. In the mouth, there are flavours of stone fruits and apples around a spine of minerality. The finish is crisp, with lingering fruit flavours. 91.

Blue Mountain Sauvignon Blanc 2018 ($24.90). The wine begins with aromas of lime and white peach mingled with herbs. On the palate, the wine has bright citrus flavours mingled with minerality. The savoury finish and the broad texture place this wine solidly in the Sancerre camp, not the New Zealand style. 92.