KEY POINTS:
Obscurity can keep you fashionable - just ask Bob Dylan, if you can ever find him.
In a celebrity-obsessed age, style beats content but it has a habit of shining brightly briefly, then crashing and burning.
Being too accessible, too transparent, too successful, too commercial is usually an
indication of a short shelf life. Longevity requires two things: substance and elusiveness. They ensure cult status.
This goes for wine, too. That and the fact such a wine is almost impossible to find - and if you do, you can't afford it.
Screaming Eagle is the cult wine of North America. In a good vintage only 800 to 1000 cases are produced. This predominantly cabernet sauvignon wine has crossed my path on two occasions, one of them at a Singapore restaurant a few years back.
"Brilliant wine list," said my host, Eric. "Food's superb too."
With a flourish, I was presented with a wine list the size of the Auckland telephone directory. A confident, mildly supercilious sommelier asked what we would like.
Matching his smugness without opening the list, I said, "The Screaming Eagle. Anything else would be churlish."
"A good choice," he said. "On page 176 you'll find eight vintages. Any particular year?"
Given the cheapest vintage was $4780, we eventually passed, but somewhat pathetically had our photo taken holding a bottle before it was returned to the cellar.
Last year, passing through Honolulu, I spied a bottle at a fine wine shop for US$2000 ($2480). I suspect it's still there.
Is there a New Zealand cult wine? Despite our young wine culture, yes there is. Does it meet our criteria of excellence and obscurity? Certainly. Both reds and whites are consistently outstanding, with an attention to detail that is frightening.
But there is a waiting list before you're eligible to join the exclusive mailing list and even then there is a quota system.
I phoned Dr Neil McCallum, the Father Superior of Dry River wines in Martinborough, for a comment.
No reply. Perfect. As it should be.
RECOMMENDED
2006 Dry River Pinot Noir
Floral blackberry nose. Gamey, Christmas fruitcake flavour with lingering after-taste. Elegant, flash, elusive.
Price: $82
2006 Omaha Bay Cabernet Franc/Malbec/Petit Verdot
New Matakana vineyard. Full bodied dry red wine with multi-layered fruit flavours and a long finish.
Price: $30
