Terriero Negroamaro Puglia 2006

A tiny tipple to accompany spring lamb with minted roast veg.

This is delicate and smells dry. Of baked earth and warmth. I'd refute the "masses of fruit' tag. There's red fruits and summer blackberry but they're lively flavours hemmed in by fresh acids which belies the slightly raisin-y colour. The tannins are round without being plump on the bramble berry palate and a hint of woody spice holds it all together. A fairly uncomplicated drop but not simplistic. It develops a malty, soy aspect in the nose as it sits and this carries through to the taste. a 2 glass wine.

It is one of the strange laws of ordering wine in restaurants that certain indicators will sway a client towards one particular wine despite their never having encountered that wine before.

The laws for Pinot Noir at Christmas functions seem to dictate that it must not exceed a $90 price tag, but neither must it fall below $80 either. This being some nominal indication of the right level of quality. They also appear to dictate that the wine must hail from Central Otago, this being the only place that any self respecting Aucklander will consider as the birthplace of PineNwah.

With this in mind, and having been blind-sided by a price hike of the wine that was serving in this particular catagory, I had to search out a Central Otago Pinot that would fit the bill. This is my least favourite part of wine-list-writing. It is wine as business and commodity and shuns the romance that I would prefer.

Two wines were called to attention. The right price, the right provenance.

The Nanny Goat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2006 is a strange beast. Untypical to say the least and displaying a sexy, feral mushroom and barnyard funk to the nose. A Pinot Noir of horse manure overlaying plummy red fruits. A little bit obscure but silky and structured nonetheless.

The Wild Earth Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 is upfront with a sweet caramel hint to the nose and plenty of muscular dark blackberry. Certainly less complex but a straightforward hit of fruit and flesh that will please whilst wearing a silly hat.

I sound cynical. I guess I am. I console myself with the fact that at least the Wild Earth doesn't display the sappy aspect that puts me off so many of his brothers.

And despite my preference for the Nany Goat's varietal charms a brief tasting with the crew confirms the Wild Earth as the more pleasing of the two. So Wild Earth it is.

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2006

Apparently this is the de riguer Pinot du jour at restaurant hot spots about town. It has a coterie of awards from all and sundry and and endorsement from Parker.

It smells like sap, stem and bramble. But mostly sap and has the ubiquitous Central Otago power in the nose. The palate is tart and grainy. Not my cup of tea. a 1 sip wine.

But this does rather fly in the face of other learned opinion.

So Hard to Know

Viognier is a tricksy grape. Sometimes it can be so heady as to be overwhelming and sometimes, like this time, it can be so evasive as to be unknowable. The Millton Clos de St. Anne Gisborne Viognier 2006 wasn't giving up much. Closed down and hiding and hinting. Dry and spicy on the nose with bay leaf and cinnamon and just a touch of caramel sweetness there was little in the way of floral perfume or ripeness. The palate had some good, glycerol weight backed up with apricot and lemon but after half a glass Rich gave up, put some cling film on the glass and went to bed. Frustrated.

Night two. Well sunny afternoon really and finally the wine fills out. The expected ripe fruits and flowers appearing like springtime. In some ways it's too little, too late and the mineral dryness of the palate just doesn't evoke the nose. Milton are masters of the varietal white but for me the 2006 Viognier is too shy. a 1 glass wine.

Carrick Pinot Noir 2006

This Central Otago wines smells lush without even a hint of the sappy note that dominates others of its ilk. It's earthy without being dirty or even slightly barnyard-y and the fruit tends wild and dark. Rich is drinking it and enjoying it although he's telling me tales of a super-premium from Carrick (everyone in Central is doing it, doncha know) that was magnificent. A serious wine. A crowd pleaser. A serious crowd pleaser and a 4 glass wine.

Matariki Wines and Chinese Food

An impromptu dinner organised by the effusive and charming 'King of Spain' saw Rich and I eating at Canton Cafe last night in the kitchen upstairs. Not only was I unaware that Canton Cafe had an upstairs but I certainly wouldn't have picked it as a place conducive to extensive wine tasting. However in our bolt hole away from the frantic pace of the main dining room and with winemaker Rod McDonald pouring from Matariki Wines extensive portfolio we had an informal and, at times, hilarious tasting.

My notes were hastily scrawled as the 'lazy suzy' whizzed plates (and sometimes glasses) around and as such are truncated at best. Rod also brought a few old world wines for the sake of compare and contrast.

Matariki Sauvignon Blanc Hawke's Bay 2007
Shy, creamy nose of banana and guava and an enveloping palate displaying lemons, minerals and a herbal tinge. a 3 glass wine

Domaine Vacheron 'Les Romains' Sancerre 2006
Creamy lemon, delicate with soft acids and a leafy aspect. a 3 glass wine

Matariki Chardonnay Hawke's Bay 2005
Showing great bottle development this leads with grilled nuts and grapefruit and the palate rounds out to ripe nectarine with only a background of 'old fridge' starting to come in to play. The citrus and stonefruit characters are quite forward still with a biscuity, buttery weight in the mid palate. a 4 glass wine

From this point my notes are nothing more than a few words and may take a little help from Rich to piece together. More later

The Italian Connection in Clevedon

Vin Alto Pinot Grigio Clevedon 2006

(Heaving a sigh of relief..)

Finally. A dry Gris. A food friendly Gris. A Gris made with eyes firmly on Italy hence the Grigio in the title. But it's more than that. This is a refreshing wine to enjoy with lunch. Unashamedly fresh.

Greeny straw in the glass and green apple on the nose. A palate of peach skin and nashi, pineapple and hay make this simple without being simplistic. There's some lovely underlying minerality and crisp acidity which is gentle yet fresh. Approachable, defined and varietal.
a 3 glass wine.

(and might I add that my resident Pinot Gris detestee rather likes this).

Untypical Pinot Gris and Classic Chardonnay

The TW Gisborne Pinot Gris 2007 is remarkable for many reasons.... Mainly though it is remarkable for being quaffed with so much verve by Rich, who professes to hate Gris. The TW is also an oak aged Pinot Gris and as such has more of a Chardonnay-Viognier swing about it...

Brilliant gold and spun sugar. Honey, orange flower and apricots in the air with fullness and vanilla on the creamy palate. Very full without being typically oily from low acid and residual sugar. There's a baking spice element to the finish but whether that originates in the barrel influence or from the variety itself isn't obvious. It's a good food style of Gris for all the un-typicity and went very well with an octopus salad.
a 2 glass wine (but that was all I was allowed as Rich scoffed the rest).

Fiddlers Green Waipara Chardonnay 2006 deserves mention for its out and out yuminess, which doesn't in the least bit compete with its almost quaint old world/old school style.

Green flecked gold tells the story of a youthful Chardonnay just about to hit its straps. The fig and quince nose overlays a lovely cashew and meal character which itself overlays a sexy, pongy clay minerality. The palate is classic and refined with fine green olive acidity and tangelo. Balanced and elaborate.
a 3 glass wine (but only because...)

Awa Valley Chardonnay 2006

Greenish gold and smelling of fresh figs, geen apples and pandan leaf this is a pleasant, sunny Chardonnay hailing from Kumeu.

With vinyards so close to the lauded Kumeu River Chardonnay it isn't surprising that this is so eminently drinkable. There'e a whiff of oyster shell about the nose and something in the palate that puts me in mind of Macon. A hint of smokey minerality entwined with grapefruit and and beautifully integrated oak. Piquant, developing and subtle with just enough finesse.
A 3 glass wine.

3 Pinots in a Row

We started with the Koura Bay Blue Duck Awatere Pinot Noir 2005 as I'm about to list this beautiful, silky wine and wanted the troops to try it. It's not the current release but Sal from Co-Pilot had found some cases of the 2005 stashed away and it seemed criminal not to snap them up.
Composed, dignified and self-assured but with a spicy twist the Blue Duck is revelling in its time in the bottle. Dark fruits, dried flowers, a little gamey flutter and a lovely allspice kick make this a delicious mouthfull. All balanced and in accord with no flavours trying to steal the show.
a 5 glass wine.

The Mudhouse Swan Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 is another newbie on the list and is settling into my entry-level glasspour slot.
Fairly opaque and rich in the glass with an intriguing nose of damp earth and minty pennyroyal this doesn't play the usual Central Otago cards of chesty, fruit-forward style. Black cherry, musk and tree moss balanced against strains of dark chocolate keep things interesting. I have a feeling that this wine isn't one to age and there's a definite lack of structure at the back but for brooding flavours now this gets a big tick.
a 2 glass wine.

Millton Clos de St. Anne Naboth's Vinyard Gisborne Pinot Noir 2006 is so different from the other two Pinots they barely seem like relations and yet all are good, varietally correct examples of type.
A delicate perfumed nose and a haze of unfiltered purism in the glass speak to a Pinot Noir made with an eye to Chambolle-Musigny. Garnet red and softly see-through with a lightness of rasberry fruit and lavender escaping the Clos de St. Anne is gentle. There's no grip and certainly no swagger just supple finesse.
a 4 glass wine.

Vynfields

I was lucky enough to have wines from this delightful little winery put in front of me the other day. It's a wonderful thing when you're introduced to an established winery that you've managed to miss until the liquid in the glass turns your head.... as Vynfields does

Vynfields Pinot Noir 2006
Blueberry, Christmas plum and fragrant violets. More grip in the mouth but still so youthful with enough slip in the tannins to give a suggestion of silk.
A 5 glass wine

Vynfields Reserve Pinot Noir 2005
Wet leather. Tauter and with more sinew than the 2006 this is dry and spicy and although obviously related to its younger sibling is less perfumed and more savoury.
A 4 glass wine.

Terres Fumees Petit Manseng Cotes de Gascogne 2006

This smells like the sea or a deserted beach and it's salty and tangy and a lot like daisies. Whilst the nose is ephemeral and playful; the palate is all clean minerality. Tangelo and sparkly silica. And for all that, the (high) acid isn't mean in the mouth but somehow manages to be rich. This is beautiful in its simplicity but unavoidably short and it almost seems a crime to drink it at this time of year. A 2 glass wine (I'd be trying to pick up that green thing that keeps skating in and out of the glass).

Surrendering to the thrill of the new

(n.b. I stole the title and some phrases for this post from here)

In a drinking culture that eagerly awaits the next vintage of Cloudy Bay, Dry River, Palliser Estate or whatever, there's something equally bracing about surrendering to the thrill of the new: the sense of occasion elicited when chancing on a wine you've never heard of before, especially when that wine, after the first whiff, displays attention grabbing aromas and promises a distinctive palate.

Add to that the frisson that comes with finding said wine far from the salubrious surrounds of an upmarket wine emporium, but rather hiding away in a late night convenience store.

Anchorage Sauvignon Blanc Nelson 2006
The straw yellow colour is speaking to the age of the wine and extra time in the bottle gives this an initial whiff of sweat, hay and green capsicum. This seems grown up and harmonious, without Sauvignon Blanc's usual adolescent overtures.There's also a definite trace of gunflint. It tastes of grapefruit, green bean and honey and the palate is broad ending with a peach skin texture although when colder it develops a Camembert aroma and a similar creamy texture in the mouth.A 4 glass wine.

I love the fact that screw-cap closures are extending the life of our normally short-lived Nu Zillund savvy. At 2 years bottle age and with the 2008 vintage Sauvignon Blanc almost on the shelves this is delightful, different and definitely showing well. Maybe we shouldn't be so hasty to offload the older aromatic whites...

Big, bold and desirable

Despite a considerable absence of 'buttery' Chardonnays being made there is still (at least in my experiences and going on requests in the restaurant) a good portion of the drinking public that loves this style of wine.

It's hard for me to see the appeal as often they tend to sacrifice balance in the name of swaggering, unctuous texture. Still, there's room in a considered list for lots of alternatives and, in New Zealand at least, Chardonnay made from Gisborne fruit usually delivers these bold flavours.

TW (Tietjen Witters) Chardonnay Gisborne 2006
A very golden glassful with a heavyweight, savoury nose of grilled nuts, weet-bix and super-ripe, squishy apricots. On the palate the concentrated style takes on a syrupy grapefruit character. It's mealy, voluminous and bold with not so much 'butter' as vanilla icecream. For all this it's only 13% and a good example of an ample wine that doesn't go too far.

Possible Pinot

Kaituna Vineyard Canterbury Pinot Noir 2006
Clean, lifted nose of bright red fruits. Bit tight. Slight minerality underlayed by something slate-y and medicinal. Dried herbs and iodine. Bit alcohol heavy.

Kaituna Valley Bone Hill Pinot Noir 2006
A more generous approach than its brother. The nose is more forward and giving. Red cherry and coffee tinges and the palate is weightier without being rich. Still firm with smoky oak curling around the edges.

Murdoch James Estate Pinot Noir 2007
Soft red fruits and sweet briar fill up the nose over the classic 'stinky' aromas common to the Martinborough style of Pinot. The tannins are still grippy at this stage but promise silky things in this developing wine. A perfumed style but masculine, aftershave scents of cedar. Refreshing.

We're a bit short of Pinot Noir on the list and there's a definite desire to list some lesser known examples. Of this line up the 'Bone Hill' impressed with a kind of suave depth despite being very youthful. The Murdoch James is a definite as it has flair and comes in at a price that few Pinot Noirs can match without sacrificing style and typicity.

A good day at the 'coal face'.

And so it begins...

We're writing a new wine list and I'm tasting every day. Wine reps and distributors are bringing wines and I'm furiously taking notes and asking opinions of my colleagues and well.... I guess... passing judgement.

It's a funny situation when I think about it as wines promoted to the high end of the market are likely to have been made carefully and with not a little love. And so none of these producers would have set out to make an 'average' wine. And yet some wines sing and others don't despite the care and attention lavished on all.

But wine notes in these situations tend to be blunt, less given to lists of fruit and flowers and more concerned with stating the personality of the wine and its aptitude to line up.

William Thomas Marlborough Chardonnay 2005
16 months old French oak. Winemaker - Will Hoare, assistant at La Strada. Quite sweet citrus nose. Orange peel, floral, savoury cashew. Grainy palate. Mendoza clone. Refreshing, persistent, clean finish. Pretty yet refined.

Domaine Jaquairy Pinot Noir Central Otago 2003
11 months French oak. Clear garnet red (not over extracted!). Forest floor and white truffle. Spicy, feminine style

Lindis River Pinot Noir Central Otago 2005
Beguiling nose. Red fruits and high acidity. Refreshing. Red liquorice. Quite linear.

Lindis River Pinot Noir Central Otago 2006
Warmer smelling than the 2005. Fruits tending darker and better mouthfeel. Spicy and rich but oak still prominent. Needs time to integrate. Coffee background.

Hewitson 'Lulu' Viognier 2006

Funky, savoury, almost ham-like nose totally belies the floral perfumed palate. This is a wine of contradictions. At around 2 years bottle age I'd expect less freshness and more unctuous weight. But, despite a golden colour in the glass, this viognier has a zesty, lemon youthfulness mingling with the rose and acacia perfume on the tongue. Contradictory indeed.

Pyramid Valley Hille Semillon 2006

Pale gold flecked with green and an exotic nose of figs and lemongrass. The layers of this wine recall the complexity and fragrance of Thai food and the palate is alive with flavours of the east. Lemongrass and coriander dominate the front of the palate which is rounded out by green coffee bean and pandan ( the vanilla of the east). The savoury aspect from the pandan is further fattened with tonka bean in the persistent length of the wine, giving it a breadth that the nose doesn't suggest. Multifaceted and more than a bit elusive.

An exotic Asian dish of a wine (in more than one meaning of "dish").

Sexy German Riesling

What on earth do you do with a tasting note that reads:-

sexy, spicy, lemony ?

That's all I have written down for the Markus Molitor Riesling Kabinett 2006. That, and a big tick in the margin, by which I know that this was one of my stand out wines from the European Wine Experience.

This brings home to me the futility of trying to taste so many wines and have any sense of how they were; apart from fleeting impressions and 'big ticks' to indicate desire to try again. Other, better, more organised souls may have developed a system to attack such events and emerge with notes intact but I, quite clearly, have not.

So lets extrapolate....

I know that the vines that produce this wine grow on very steep slate slopes in the middle Mosel and that the elevage of the wine was managed with lots of care and hands on attention including a long period on fine lees. I remember the smell of the wine evoked the sexy reaction with the balance of sugar and acidity pushing aromas out of the glass and that the palate gave me warmth and spicy tingles with an over-riding sensation of Meyer lemon.

A nose of apricot, lemon and pear, a palate of ginger, fennel and lime zest underlayed with slate. Sweet but sexy with it. Balanced, layered, racy and very fine.

Stealing

There's such an interesting texture about the Jules Taylor Pinot Gris 2006 but I feel like I'm stealing wine notes because that's exactly what it says on the back of the bottle. Let's plough ahead anyway....

Deep straw gold with a hint of 'onion skin' brown. Interesting texture. The wine starts off suggesting oiliness but then rearranges itself in the mouth as the palate finishes long and clean with shiny citrus underpinned by incense smoke. The ubiquitous pear flavour of Pinot Gris is still apparent with a suggestion of savoury straw. A bit like 'pandan' (the vanilla of the east), which is a savoury aromatic flax, combining with guava and tingling a spiced mandarin finish. REALLY interesting texture.