| Wine NZ 2009 |
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| Written by Craig Thomson | |
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Wine NZ 2009
Ok people, the usual disclaimers here. This is a quick slurp and spit show and although we do our best to balance quantity with quality really you are on a hiding to nothing in this sort of format. It is however a necessary evil and an economical way to fill in a few gaps caused by our day jobs in an afternoon. Below notes could be better described as impressions fleshed out and are compiled by Mark and Craig. We only wrote notes on the notable and the agreeable. I had a talk to the Board of Directors and they are fine with that. Syrah
2007 Passage Rock Reserve Syrah. This was our “Champion Wine of the Year” last year. Every time you re-taste such a wine there is always a niggling question; “Did we get it right” or did we adorn the wrong wine with the world’s greatest wine accolade. If anything this wine is better now than a year ago. It is gorgeously sophisticated and multi dimensional with deep textured red fruits, spice and touches of white pepper. It is a drinking wine, one that offers something a bit different with every sip. It is gorgeous Syrah, classy, elegant and complete. 98/109 2007 Elephant Hill Syrah. Next to the 2008 vintage of the same wine the strength of the 2007 vintage (or the otherwise of the 2008) was clearly on show. The 2007 is a concentrated wine with floral and stonefruit influence from the small amount of Viognier blended. Fine tannins with an elegant searching mouth feel. Chewy raspberry/ boysenberry jellies swim through the palate. 97/109
2006 Hatton Estate “The Doctors” Syrah. This is a finely boned Syrah with a plush texture and plenty of fragrance. My notes a sparse, but it certainly was my type of wine; elegant with plenty of finesse and a long finish wrapped around dusty tannins. 95/109 2008 Passage Rock Syrah. Although we were not privy to a sneak peek of the 2008 Reserve, this certainly gives away the flavour of the new vintage. There is plenty of breezy, fresh black fruits; boysenberry and black plum. Still needs a bit of integration but the Passage rock lineage should be well held up by the 2008 vintage. 94+/109 2007 Esk Valley Syrah. Sounds like 2007 was a bit more difficult for Syrah for Esk Valley compared to the blockbuster 2006 offerings. This is a reasonably simple silky blackberry and boysenberry wine. It is fresh with touches of spice rounding out an elegant wine. 93/109 Riesling Riesling certainly suffered as a variety with the absence from the show of superstars such as Fromm La Strada and Pegasus Bay. However there were some exciting highlights 2008 Le Fou Riesling. From the expressionist series released by Gibbston Valley. The 2007 version of this was our Runner Up Wine of the Year last year so we owed it to ourselves not to miss the new vintage. The 2008 in all truth is an identical twin to the 2007. Perhaps if my memory serves me correctly the 2008 version is perhaps a little more dainty and detailed. At this point in its life it is nearly as see through as a glass of water. The nose leaps out at you with mandarin, icing sugar and sweet citrus. The palate is fresh and light footed with ripe lime, mandarin and sweet lemon. The mid palate is restrained carrying a reserved detail on to a long finish. Refreshing and compelling. It’s on my shopping list 97+/109 2008 Mt Difficulty Target Gully Riesling. This isn’t the first time I have tried this wine. It is still as impressive as ever. Nose of citrus and zest. The palate too is riddled with fresh tangelo, limes and lemons with a tartness to the edge which reminds me of acid drop lollies. It finishes with thoughts of lemon meringue pie. Mouth-watering, vibrant and alive. This is great summer fare 97/109 2009 The Doctors Riesling. Made by John Forrest, this is his ‘entry level’ Riesling. It has ‘summer house white’ written all over it for me. It sells for under $20 and introduces you to just how exciting New Zealand Spatlese styled Riesling is becoming. It demonstrates stunning balance, ravishing citrus and white peach flavours and a silky mouth coating texture. Simply a masterful and compelling wine. I’m gonna have to be buying some of these!! 96/109 2006 John Forrest Collection Riesling. Its probably a function of its price but I am surprised this collection of wines, as rare as they are still on the market. This Riesling is serious and minerally with masses of depth and interest. An intellectual wine which is complex and involved threading minerality with red grapefruit like fruit, pith an apricot. It all finishes dry, clean and taut. It is beginning now to develop. 95/109 2009 Martinborough Vineyard Manu Riesling. This well off dry wine is quite different in style to the examples we tried from further south. While the other Rieslings tended to play a melody in your mouth this wine is the full symphony with layers of different flavours and flavour notes melded and playing along together. It is rich and serious. Way better than the 2008 version. Certainly up there 94/109 2009 Framingham Classic Riesling. Sadly this is an old NZ icon which seems to have lost its way, or has been passed by a myriad of new labels. We only had a quick slosh as we left, but it did seem lacking in the context of some of the modern superstars of this style. 91/109 Pinot Noir Top recognised producers were very thin on the ground this year but we were in line for a few treats! 2006 Martinborough Vineyard Marie Zelie Pinot Noir. November 2009 release. This ultra luxury and rare bottling from Martinborough Vineyards has taken the place of the legendary Reserve bottling which was last seen from the 1998 vintage. Only about 700 bottles are made and at $180 I felt it was very unlikely that I would ever taste it. I was very lucky for this to be pulled from under the stand and for us to sample it. It has a big fragrant nose with gobs of red plum and spice wafting skyward. The palate is chocka with red plum, fruit currant buns, currant and Christmas cake mix. The texture is creamy, elegant and impressive with a long finish. As with the Reserve’s of old it has tons of weight and presence. It is a very impressive wine. 101/109 2008 Mineur de Orient Pinot Noir. This is a new bottling under the Expressionist Series range from Gibbston Valley. It is a more chunky and obvious wine compared to the Reserve, but it is very attractive and compelling. Dark Cherry fruit with hints of fire smoke and baking spice. Idling. 96/109
2006 Gibbston Valley Reserve Pinot Noir. I think I liked this more two years ago when I first tried it. Back then it seemed more black cherry and velvet. It seems to have lightened up. It still has a slippery creamy texture, and integrated cherry fruit but just didn’t see the $100 price tag in the glass today 95/109 2009 Rockburn Pinot Noir. Seems a change in direction for these guys. This wine is very light and delicate and hardly a wine that is fit to be judged in a show environment. Definitely true Pinot Noir with delicate red cherry and blood orange. A great wine to pair with delicate white meats in a formal setting 95/109 2007 Martinborough Vineyards Pinot Noir. Martinborough Vineyards signature wine is all about detail and Pinot. It isn’t about being flashy or showy. Elegant and well proportioned drinking with integration, depth and savouriness. You have to search in the glass for the attractions in this wine with its red plum and yellow tamarillo fruit. Multidimensional. Although not a wow wine it still is pretty tidy. 94/109 2008 Wither Hills Pinot Noir. The new stylistic direction of Wither Hills Pinot Noir continues and is all the better for it. To cap it off, the price has also dropped back to a more affordable place in the $30’s. This was a genuine surprise, I really liked this wine. In many ways it was reasonably straight forward, but the dark brooding fresh and brezzy fruit combined with chalky tannins and underlying quality dark conserve like base notes all came together brilliantly. 94/109 2008 Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir. This new release is pretty shy and not that impressive at the moment. Reasonably straight forward cherry and spice flavours. After a really good Roaring Meg experience a few weeks ago I expected more even given the slurp, spit and run format of this tasting. 92/109 Bordeaux Blends I feel I hardly gave any of these wines due analysis so treat them as barely accurate impressions. Plenty here id love to drink over an evening. it is clear the NZ style is modernising further every year with a number of makers with noticable shifts in style. 2007 Esk Valley Reserve Merlot Cabernet Malbec. Not only a new set of slightly confusing labels (you definitely can’t tell from 10 feet which wine is a Reserve and which isn’t) but also the style seems to be evolving away from the very flamboyant and showy wines of the late nineties and early noughties. The nose is crammed full of cedar, sweet ground spice and hints of cocoa. The palate is refined with lovely definition. Powdery tannins frame some juicy red fruits with just the faintest dry leaf undercurrent. This is a stylish wine but has it lost what set it apart from most other Hawkes Bay reds and made it individual? Outstanding 98+/109 2006 Esk Valley Terraces. Its not too often we get the chance to try these wines. They are a treasure. The 2006 is a dense deep colour, no doubt the hue supercharged by a good whack of Malbec. The nose is very primary with deep dark berry fruit. The palate almost has a blueberry deep toned richness with blackcurrant and other dark berries. It is freah and vital with good acids and vitality and big long fine tannins. This wine still needs time. Gordon says it is still no rush to drink the 1995. This will require patience too. 98+/109
2005 Hatton Estate Reserve Cabernet Merlot. Wow this was impressive. Hatton seems to have the slickest of tannin structures; very, very fine. Another character is the salty iodine nose, quite unique and interesting. There is plenty of tightly packed fruit and dark chocolate with a seductive texture. Great stuff. 96/109 2007 Church Road Reserve Cabernet Merlot. This has become a bit of a darling range for us of late. The 2005 version of this wine really impressed. The 2007 has had great reviews so far. I was very keen to try it. It is a dark brooding wine in the glass with dark plum, cassis and mineral on the nose. The palate is plump and rounded with piles of fruit. It is obviously extremely ripe as the 14.5% alc reading would tend to indicate. A modern and quite exotic wine that is a bit more ‘cuddly’ than the 2005 version. The structure seems hidden beneath the fruit. We tried this a few seconds after the cork was popped so it probably needed a bit of air to settle but on the face of it the Syrah was a better wine. 95+/109 2007 Obsidian Cabernet Merlot. A massive step change in style over the older Obsidian wines. This is very modern, very much in the mould of the Te Whau wines with silky texture and integrated pure fruit. Softly spoken creamy and silky 95/109 2005 Forrest Cornerstone Cabernet Merlot. A big layered and bold wine with masses of plumy fruit. Not many notes unfortunately and really a wine that needs visiting over a slow evening. 95/109 2007 Clearview Old Olive Block. My notes are actually blank but I do remember discussing how this vintage was not quite the normal plum, rich offerings with the sandy tannins that I remember. More refined, more defined. 94-95/109
2007 Alluviale Merlot Cabernet Franc. This is a very dense and concentrated wine with waves of deep dark fruit. It is powerful, expansive and modern. To me though, unlike other critics, it just seems ‘a bit much’. I would like a bit more detail, precision and class. I can see though how some would enjoy this a lot more than I do 93/109 2000 St Jerome Matuka Cabernet Merlot. This Auckland red has been known for its ability to age with apparently the 1989 still going strong. It wouldn’t surprise me. How they can afford to have this wine on the books for 9 years is a marvel but anyway this is the latest release. Certainly it is a step up on the difficult 1999 vintage. It is cleaner and shows better definition. There is a mixture of sweet mulberry fruit, some leafiness and developed funkiness too. A creamy texture and powerful presence. Sandy tannins and very much in the 90’s Auckland style of chunky earthy reds. 93/109
Chardonnay 2008 Clearview Reserve Chardonnay. A wine that over the past few years I have had the feeling has been caught by the pack. The 2008 vintage though seems pretty damn good with flavours of red grapefruit and subtle hints of butterscotch and caramel. Deceptively powerful and seductively textured with clean fresh fruit. 97/109 2007 Church Road Reserve Chardonnay. I was very impressed with this wine last time I tried it. Today it seemed very oak dominant with lashings of caramel and nougat notes. Concentrated and powerful. This will impress those that like their chardonnay in the traditional new world mould. Not so exciting for me today unfortunately. 94/109 Sweet Wines 2005 John Forrest Collection Noble Riesling. This was our sweet wine of the year in 2007 and 2008. Again, I am surprised this wine is still on the market as it is a rare wine. John himself relayed to us how difficult it has been to sell, so much so that I am not sure this label has a future although he did say a 2007 has been made. No doubt its slow sell has a lot to do with the $50 price tag, but really in all honesty it deserves its lofty price. This is a wine I have bought quite a bit over the last two years and have out of stocked myself on quickly. Simply put I have not tried a better New Zealand sweet wine since first trying this. Its clarity, balance, detail, precision and texture are all text book. The wine is pure genius. This is our wine of the show. It is exquisite. I did not spit. A masterpiece. 103/109
2007 Clearview Estate Sea Red. This is a pretty impressive fortified red wine. The first thing that strikes me is the balance of alcohol achieved. Many port and port styled wines seem almost assaulted by spirit. This although warm certainly allows the fruit to speak with some delicacy and poise. Elegant, linear and creamy. I can certainly appreciate why this wine has a quiet, loyal cult like following. 97/109 Gewurztraminer Certainly the few examples we tried were pretty tidy but we do know how to shorten the odds these days heading to the tried and true producers! 2009 Johaneshoff Gewurztraminer. This label certainly is revered at KWFC as one of the top of the tree Gewurztraminer labels. The 2009 version is rampantly perfumed with Turkish delight, lychee and spice. The palate is a master class in texture. It truly is heavenly with a between the sheets satin feel, so poised and other worldly. With a little more time in the bottle the flavours will fatten out a shade. This should be exquisite in a years time 97/109 2004 Vinoptima Gewurztraminer. This is a less perfumed wine which is elegant, textured with a structure. Fragrant and creamy. Not sure if I was so taken with it this time as other times I have tasted it and the flash Alsatian wines I tried straight afterward certainly put things in perspective. Even so a very tidy wine 93/109 |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 31 August 2009 ) |
This is our 10th year at this show. Although a decade hasn't been long enough for the organisers to learn to put together a competent registration and entry process, we breathed deep, went with the flow and eventually got inside. Im sure its easier to visit a prisoner in Maximum Security but hey.
2007 Church Road Reserve Syrah. Much has been already said about this wine. It is almost tiresome to repeat myself and indeed to underline the praise adorned from all quarters regarding this wine. It is just gorgeous. It demonstrates a seductive and rich black fruits, soft inviting texture. It is integrated, multi faceted and complete. Many winemakers today announced their respect when this wine was spoken of. It is “must have” Syrah. Hunt it down if you are one of the retards still not to have tried this wine!! 99/109
2007 Esk Valley Reserve Syrah. There is plenty going on in this wine. It certainly is complex. A sumptuous palate of warm silky black cherry, dark chocolate and cream. We even detected touches of blackcurrant. It is not the monster the 2006 is but seems to have interest and complexity off the bat. Noice. 95/109
2007 Mt Beautiful Pinot Noir. This is a beautifully textured and mouth caressing wine. Super rounded and compact structure wrapping its red cherry like fruit. Sophisticated and stylish. A great first effort 95/109
2005 Hatton Estate Tahi One. Big salty iodine nose. The palate shows big cabernet with blackcurrant and cassis dominating. Very pure with long fine tannins. Outstanding, I really like this wine. I spent more time enjoying it than writing notes 97/109
2005 Te Motu Cabernet Merlot. Up until recently this wine has been made in a very savoury, almost dirty bordeaux style and I have failed to see that attraction especially at the high price it demands. The 2005 seems a bit more modern but still appears very developed in the glass for such a young wine from a top Waiheke vintage. It is a savoury dinner claret styled wine with deep tannins, good complexity and a clean and tidy finish. Very good but not sure it’s really my cup of tea. The 2002 and 1999 vintages were also tasted but they were very strange wines and I didn’t like them much. For the 2005 94/109
2006 Trinity Hills Gimblett. Already adorned with praise from the high priestess of wine this was a must try. It is a fine intricate wine with detailed dusty tannins, and understated palate and juicy refined fruit. Pretty good but there are better Bordeaux blends about. 93/109
2008 Alluvaille Anobli. This Semillon Sauvignon Blanc truly Sauternes styled wine is hedonistically rich and sweet. It is multifaceted and very complex with lashings of citrus marmalade wave after wave of flavour crashes over the palate. It is an extremely impressive wine which no doubt would compete, and probably blend in given a line up of top rank Sauternes. I’m not sure it would be everyone’s cup of tea though. It is very full on, very sweet (200+ g/l), though not cloying and very rich. For those who like this style of wine 98/109| Next > |
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