I first tried the Monowai Estate wines at Wine NZ last year and, despite being a little, relatively unknown voice in a shouting crowd of heavyweights, they impressed with a Chardonnay exhibiting all the balance that you look for but so seldom find.
On top of this, they were being realistic about their pricing and so this yummy Chardonnay was good value.
Back at the restaurant and looking for budget friendly wines to entice the clientele, Monowai sprang to mind. It didn't move as fast as I would have liked due to its lack of profile but it didn't stop it from being a great drop, punching well above its weight.
At the wine shop for a dinner party drop to go with lamb, Monowai showed up and I thought the Merlot should get an invitation to the party. It took Rich some convincing to leave the Trinity Hill Syrah on the shelf in favour of what I was sure would be another tasteful, judicious wine from this stable.
Monowai Estate Merlot 2006 is from Hawke's Bay but the vineyards are in Crownethorpe, higher up into the hills than most and on opening the wine smelt cool and assured. It's reminiscent of dark cherry fruits and a little bittersweet chocolate. With only 12.5% it holds a lovely poise on the palate. Neither brash nor insipid the Monowai Merlot is a congenial wine. That's to say it's a lovely quaffer with an underlying sense of class that lifts it above the ordinary. a 3-4 glass wine.
Showing posts with label Hawke's Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawke's Bay. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, September 19, 2008
Search Out Stonecroft
Sometimes affection for a wine is predictated by a love for the place it is grown and the philosophy of the winemaker.
Mostly I try and divorce myself from these fuzzy emotions and concentrate on what is in the bottle as my guests at the restaurant won't have the advantage of tasting the wine through rose (or golden or garnet or violet) tinted goggles.
Luckily for me, although I was hopelessly, romantically swayed by the rustic, boutique cellar door manned by the family itself (well their son) in the first instance I am sure that the wines deserve affection for themselves. In particular the Stonecroft Old Vine Gewurztraminer 2007 which was just as intoxicating as it should be. Weighty, oily, soft and full with the lightness of rose petals and honeysuckle and dappled light on a gravel driveway. The winery remarks " moody and multifaceted" and I agree.
It's not widely available but search it out. Good Gewurztraminer is such a joy.
A 4 glass wine.
Mostly I try and divorce myself from these fuzzy emotions and concentrate on what is in the bottle as my guests at the restaurant won't have the advantage of tasting the wine through rose (or golden or garnet or violet) tinted goggles.
Luckily for me, although I was hopelessly, romantically swayed by the rustic, boutique cellar door manned by the family itself (well their son) in the first instance I am sure that the wines deserve affection for themselves. In particular the Stonecroft Old Vine Gewurztraminer 2007 which was just as intoxicating as it should be. Weighty, oily, soft and full with the lightness of rose petals and honeysuckle and dappled light on a gravel driveway. The winery remarks " moody and multifaceted" and I agree.
It's not widely available but search it out. Good Gewurztraminer is such a joy.
A 4 glass wine.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Church Road Cuve Series Chardonnay Hawke's Bay 2004
Sometimes you have to back yourself even when those around you are very unsure.
I can understand the reservations that stemmed from the peculiar smell that wafted off this Chardonnay. It put me in mind of the smell of wet clay which is, well, poo-ey. But the palate was enough to convince me that the Cuve Chardonnay was misunderstood rather than off. The palate was seamless and fine, long and elegant and then that smell would flutter out. It put me in mind of a tastefully dressed beauty letting off gas which is a fitting human image for a wine that is less than ice-queen-like in its poise and grace.
Tasted today, 5 days after opening, the wine has lost none of its grace but the stinky nuances are diminished to a background mineral complexity.
A roasted hazlenut and clay mineral character on the nose and an attractive straw colour suggest the Cuve Series Chardonnay is still developing despite 4 years in the bottle. The palate is sophisticated, mixing sourdough, lanolin, lemon and grapefruit together in a seamless fashion with a background of smoke, sawdust and just a hint of vanilla. Seriously classy with enough humanity to prevent it from feeling rarified. Just like a lady 'delicately' blowing off....
A 5 glass wine (after some serious decanting)
I can understand the reservations that stemmed from the peculiar smell that wafted off this Chardonnay. It put me in mind of the smell of wet clay which is, well, poo-ey. But the palate was enough to convince me that the Cuve Chardonnay was misunderstood rather than off. The palate was seamless and fine, long and elegant and then that smell would flutter out. It put me in mind of a tastefully dressed beauty letting off gas which is a fitting human image for a wine that is less than ice-queen-like in its poise and grace.
Tasted today, 5 days after opening, the wine has lost none of its grace but the stinky nuances are diminished to a background mineral complexity.
A roasted hazlenut and clay mineral character on the nose and an attractive straw colour suggest the Cuve Series Chardonnay is still developing despite 4 years in the bottle. The palate is sophisticated, mixing sourdough, lanolin, lemon and grapefruit together in a seamless fashion with a background of smoke, sawdust and just a hint of vanilla. Seriously classy with enough humanity to prevent it from feeling rarified. Just like a lady 'delicately' blowing off....
A 5 glass wine (after some serious decanting)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
A Pair at Dinner
Whilst we eat cheese and chat the Delta Marlborough Riesling 2005.
Deep lime gold. 13% and aged for four months on lees prior to bottling. The texture is quite rich and reminiscent of natural yogurt, lime and honey. I like the weight of the wine and it is aging gracefully as Riesling should.
Try as I might I can't find any reference to this wine apart from the fact it won a silver in the Air New Zealand show and I suspect it is made for the wine club to which my father belongs.
The wine served with my Dad's lovely cooking was the Mills Reef Reserve Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir 2006. This wine presented something of an anomaly as Pinot Noir from the Hawke's Bay tends to do.
Deep Garnet red fading to brick at the rim. Damson Plum, tinned rasberry, spice and ink on the nose preceed a juicy purple wine gum character on the palate supported by a cuddly, cushy texture. All this wrapped in taut acid. The acid aside I would have believed I was drinking a Grenache of the label didn't so clearly state otherwise.
I believe that this will be the last vintage Mills Reef make of the Pinot Noir and that may be for the best. I love to drink Pinot Noir and there's no reason why it shouldn't work in certain sites in the Hawke's Bay. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted in close proximaty in Burgundy but, apart from a couple of examples grown in the limestone hills behind the Bay, this delicate red grape doesn't seem to produce at its best in this part of the country. The Mills Reef Pinot provides a good arguement for typicity.
TypicityWikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This SourceTypicity is a term in wine tasting used to describe the degree to which a wine reflects its origins, and thus demonstrates the signature characteristics of the area where it was produced, its mode of production, or its parent grape, e.g. how much a merlot wine “tastes like a merlot”. It is used analogously for other foodstuffs, such as meat and dairy products.
Typicity derives from both historical precedent and a modern consensus on how a certain wine should “taste”. It is a straightforward concept but has controversial ramifications. For example, whether or not a particular area produces wines with typicity can be debatable, and especially controversial are the factors that may give rise to such typicity. The factors probably involve vineyard bedrock, soils and climate, together with the local viticultural and winemaking traditions, but their relative importance will vary and can be much argued. The extent to which such factors are encompassed by the term terroir is an especially charged issue. However, none of this detracts from the value of the term typicity as a starting point for discussion.
In some countries, such as Austria, typicity is used as part of a qualitative hierarchy that takes into consideration soil, climate and vintage. Austrian Qualitatswein (literally "quality wine") is tested for typicity, with the classification printed on the wine label. This can be considered a subjective and unreliable way to classify wine, opening the door to elitism with what has been criticized by some as viticultural racism.
French typicité, Italian tipicità
Deep lime gold. 13% and aged for four months on lees prior to bottling. The texture is quite rich and reminiscent of natural yogurt, lime and honey. I like the weight of the wine and it is aging gracefully as Riesling should.
Try as I might I can't find any reference to this wine apart from the fact it won a silver in the Air New Zealand show and I suspect it is made for the wine club to which my father belongs.
The wine served with my Dad's lovely cooking was the Mills Reef Reserve Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir 2006. This wine presented something of an anomaly as Pinot Noir from the Hawke's Bay tends to do.
Deep Garnet red fading to brick at the rim. Damson Plum, tinned rasberry, spice and ink on the nose preceed a juicy purple wine gum character on the palate supported by a cuddly, cushy texture. All this wrapped in taut acid. The acid aside I would have believed I was drinking a Grenache of the label didn't so clearly state otherwise.
I believe that this will be the last vintage Mills Reef make of the Pinot Noir and that may be for the best. I love to drink Pinot Noir and there's no reason why it shouldn't work in certain sites in the Hawke's Bay. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted in close proximaty in Burgundy but, apart from a couple of examples grown in the limestone hills behind the Bay, this delicate red grape doesn't seem to produce at its best in this part of the country. The Mills Reef Pinot provides a good arguement for typicity.
TypicityWikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This SourceTypicity is a term in wine tasting used to describe the degree to which a wine reflects its origins, and thus demonstrates the signature characteristics of the area where it was produced, its mode of production, or its parent grape, e.g. how much a merlot wine “tastes like a merlot”. It is used analogously for other foodstuffs, such as meat and dairy products.
Typicity derives from both historical precedent and a modern consensus on how a certain wine should “taste”. It is a straightforward concept but has controversial ramifications. For example, whether or not a particular area produces wines with typicity can be debatable, and especially controversial are the factors that may give rise to such typicity. The factors probably involve vineyard bedrock, soils and climate, together with the local viticultural and winemaking traditions, but their relative importance will vary and can be much argued. The extent to which such factors are encompassed by the term terroir is an especially charged issue. However, none of this detracts from the value of the term typicity as a starting point for discussion.
In some countries, such as Austria, typicity is used as part of a qualitative hierarchy that takes into consideration soil, climate and vintage. Austrian Qualitatswein (literally "quality wine") is tested for typicity, with the classification printed on the wine label. This can be considered a subjective and unreliable way to classify wine, opening the door to elitism with what has been criticized by some as viticultural racism.
French typicité, Italian tipicità
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