jumping at bargains

Just scored the Old Coach Road Sauvignon Blanc from Foodtown for $10.99 and thought that this would be perfect as a late night tipple. I've always kinda admired this Seifried supermarket label as it produces real quality from Nelson grapes at a quarter of the price but with just as much verve and zip.

The Old Coach Road Sauvignon Blanc 2007 is lovely and ripe and definitely more at the tropical end of the Sauvignon spectrum. A generous mouthful and although Sav wouldn't usually feature at this time of year; the lovely cold, clear afternoons can make a buxom Sav just the wine. This one is a full straw gold colour yet has a delicate nose. It jumps into a palate of pawpaw, mandarin citrus and a touch of classic gooseberry with a bit of wild mint in the background. Refreshing without being racy. Sound and agreeable.

Updating the list

It's that time of year when the Sommelier's mind turns to updating the wine list. Many of the new vintages are beginning to be released and there's natural attrition happening as popular varietals like Pinot Gris start to run out. Also, with the colder weather comes smaller numbers and a chance to breathe and take stock.

In order to shape the new list it's necessary to reflect on what has sold well and try and predict the trends to come.

Champagne is a tower of strength. The fact that French wine authorities are expanding the boundaries of what can legitimately be called Champagne indicates the huge worldwide thirst for this status, style and taste - New Zealand Methode's deliciousness notwithstanding. Not that local bubbles have a hard time selling.

Riesling continues to under-perform. Or rather, it continues to not sell as much as we'd like, despite a haphazard popularity. Sauvignon Blanc seems to have lost out with even it's die hard fans to the flossy, johnny-come-lately Pinot Gris (That is the ratio of middle-aged, striped suit wearing business men who order Sauvignon Blanc as the 'starter' at lunch is dipping). Viognier experienced a surge during the summer but seems to be back in a lull. And Chardonnay. Well Chardonnay is a funny one as there's a part of the public out there that wants it 'buttery' despite most winemakers giving up on the full MLF. (I had one gentleman who wanted "a white wine for red wine drinkers").

Pinot Noir sells itself, especially if it's from Central Otago (especially if it's from 3 year old vines on a slope of a hill in the valley and at the bargain price of $38 per bottle................ trade, or better yet if it's got a nice dark colour and a plummy flavour...............................a bit like Merlot.......................................).Syrah has firmly implanted itself in the public's mind and it's seldom that the Syrah/Shiraz question gets asked any more. If anything we could do with more Syrah on the list. Bordeaux style blends have spent far too long out in the cold and seem to be making a slow return to favour. And all the fun 'other red' varietals get a look in too as finally we start to see the breadth of wines here in New Zealand that other countries have enjoyed for years.

So that's the state of play.

What to do next?

Jacob's Creek Riesling 2007

Some time back, in these pages, I told myself off from being so dismissive of 'supermarket wine'. Some wineries (in that instance Villa Maria) manage to produce consistent, varietally correct wines at low prices which hit the mark when the budget is tight and/or it's just a mid-week dinner.

To be fair we only bought the Jacob's Creek Riesling to play a part as cooking wine in the Oxtail Stew that's featuring at tonight's dinner party. And I'm only drinking it now because I'm too greedy to wait for the Verdejo we're having as an aperitif to chill.....

So what is sub $10, mass-produced supermarket Riesling like?

Sugar wafts up on the nose dominating any fruit flavour that might be lurking underneath and after the initial shudder of introduced acid (?) fades the over-riding impression is of..... cooking apples. Lemons and scary not-for-eating cooking apples. It's a short and narrow wine, flat of structure and plain of song. Cooking apples. Is it.

Rich reckons it's redeeming feature is so confidently asserting the flavour he remembers of cooking apples. I think it's verging on undrinkable. But that can't be right as I'm drinking it. I'm not much surprised that Riesling is a poor cousin to other aromatic whites if this is most peoples introduction to it.

Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir 2001

Almost ancient by New Zealand standards, this Pinot Noir is yummy and exhbiting all the fun secondary characteristics that Nu Zillund Pinot seldom gets the chance to develop. How is it that Australia can hold on to its Pinot Noir whilst we slurp ours up in their infancy revelling in their "depth and weight" and completely ignoring the velvety, stinky nuanced creatures they may become?

Right, Rant over.

Orange-y red tending amber at the rim. The Stonier smells initially of stewed rhubarb and wild strawberries. But those forward red fruits give way to savoury, gamey characters of hay, dust and leather. The tannins are beautifully Pinot, all velvety, veloury, bathrobe-y comfortable. A delicate hug.

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").

Blind Tasting

I had a wonderful weekend of wine geek-dom facilitated by my friends at Kiwi Wine Fan Club which is better explained by Craig's description on the website of the same name. Suffice to say it was a marvellous conceit. Ten Chardonnays. Five Australian and five local tasted blind in an effort to rank and file.

I've not shown huge promise yet at blind tasting and this event was no exception. My tasting notes are lucid enough but my ability to separate the ten contenders into Australian vs Kiwi was, without exception, pitiful. I got one right, picking the Giaconda 2004 as an Australian wine (but not actually picking it as the Giaconda; opting instead for the Leeuwin 'Art Series' 2005).

We were called upon to pick our 'top five' and this exercise had a surprise in store for the wine I picked for first place was revealed to be a wine I have traditionally not had a lot of time for, labelling it "overpriced and over-hyped". The Penfolds 'Yattarna' Chardonnay 2005 is certainly expensive at $125 but it, to my mind, it more than held its own in rarefied company.

Brilliant greenish, pale gold. Huge presence on the nose with oyster shell and creme fraiche. The wine explodes in the mouth yet at the same time seems elegant. A seemless integration of citrus, floral and smokey bacon notes make this wine beguiling in more boisterous company. A wine that oozes class.

I have to confess that with 'Grange' in mind I was not expecting such multifaceted restraint from Penfolds flagship Chardonnay and it's certainly not what my taste memory told about it from the past vintages I'd tried. Accordingly I picked it blind as a Kiwi wine; the Kumeu 'Mates' Chardonnay 2006 (I also picked the Kumeu 'Mates' Chardonnay 2006 as the Giaconda Chardonnay 2004 so shows how much I know).

Perhaps, along with much of the New World, the winemakers at Penfolds are searching for subtlety. A refreshing change but a revelation that could cost me a lot of money.

My new favourite game

I'm not sure why but the wine adventurer voice in my head is getting more vociferous. Shopping for wine is always a pleasure but it's getting to be something of an extreme sport also... I can't go past the challenge of a bin end sale and I keep coming home with wine I know nothing about or wine, as in this case, that could be well past its prime. The Wirra Wirra Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2002 at only $21.00 could have been a disaster waiting to happen. Inexpensive Chardonnay from the New World doesn't have a great track record for aging well and the buttery monsters that Australia has been famous for producing tend to go flabby and 'old fridge' in no time flat; even acres of new oak can't keep all that butter from splitting. Still, the cool climate of the Adelaide hills region does produce some of the more elegant wine coming out of Australia.

Deep yellow gold with an aroma of marmalade on hot buttered toast. I felt like a hint of 'old fridge' was hiding underneath the orange zest but then it was gone and I haven't found it since. The palate is layered. Charred caramel and wholemeal. Ripe grapefruit and last of the summer nectarine. Tobacco flower and a leesy almost yoghurt like creaminess at the heart of the wine flowing around a wild funkiness (10% indigenous yeast). So grown up and definitely not overgrown it finishes with caraway spice. Mellow, ample, supple and distinct.

AND this got better and better the more I let it sit in the glass. It loved being room temperature and just kept giving. (Jeez I'm waxing lyrical I know but I'm falling in love with what I thought was a mistake, or perhaps I'm drinking too fast).