Argyle Black partners with Nockies Palette Wines

Argyle Black have partnered with Nockies Palette Wines to provide customers with a selection of wines that have been expertly chosen to be paired with our beef cuts and seafood.

Nockies Palette Wines was created with a vision to combine Michael Nock’s love of good wine with his passion for Art. He believes that just as great works of art are created by the “artist” so great wines could be crafted by combining the “artisan winemaker” with the best “terroir” in the Australasian region.

His vision was to combine great winemakers with the best regions to grow specific grape varieties. So, in 2009 he formed a relationship with legendary wine maker John Duval who for two decades was the chief wine maker at Penfolds making some of the world’s top red wines.

The first wine they produced together was a full bodied, elegant Shiraz from the Barossa Valley. If the fruit in a particular vintage was not up to the high standards they required then Nockies Palette Wines would forgo a vintage, which is why there is no 2011 or 2014 Shiraz.

The idea was to build a “palette” of wines through the discerning use of “palate”.

The labeling of the wine would have an “Art” theme by incorporating artworks from some of Australasian’s leading artists such as Euan Macleod, Reg Mombassa and John Peart. He will continue to expand the compilation of artists and artworks for wine labels as the “wine palette” offering expands.

In 2015, Michael bought a home in Central Otago, a region that is renowned for growing some of the new worlds best Pinot Noir and white wines. Based in the South Island of New Zealand, Central Otago is quickly gaining a reputation as an important wine region globally. There he met a pioneer of the Central Otago wine industry, Greg Hay, who had developed many of the earliest vineyards in the region.

Greg’s advice was to look at the terroir of Hawkes Bay in the North Island of New Zealand, where he argued the climate was better suited to Burgundy style white wine. He further suggested that one of the best people to make the wine would be Tim Turvey who owned the award winning Clearview Estate Winery. In 2016 the first new colour, a rich and buttery Chardonnay, was added to the palette.

The quality and reception of the Shiraz and Chardonnay offering convinced Michael that he should move beyond the role of Negociant and secure his own “piece of dirt”. A wise friend had advised that it would be important to also own “terroir” if one was to be serious with regard a long term program of producing grand cru style boutique wine, and so two years ago Michael acquired a vineyard in Central Otago called Georgetown.

Georgetown is a small vineyard situated next to the picturesque Kawarau River. It was planted in 2003 in a Burgundian Style, with low densely planted vines, in an area famous for its premium Pinot Noir grapes and cherries. The additional colours to the palette now included Pinot Noir and the world class Pinto Rose. To assist with the winemaking Michael chose one of the regions top winemakers, Pete Bartel, winner of numerous international wine awards.