Overall it was good...although I think a lot of the wineries from last year that I really enjoyed were not here...Specifically Surveyor Thomson, Pasquale, Auntsfield and Bridge Pa....But even with their absence, there were many interesting things going on.
One thing I saw from last year and taken one step further this year was that everyone was trying to make a different Sav Blanc. They were all very much NZ Sav Blanc but with different selections of fruit and use of oak. There is no doubt people are trying to differentiate themselves from the oceans of Sav Blan coming out of NZ. What I mean by that is you can take 10 different NZ Sav Blanc from 15-25 dollars and they all taste very similar..no distinguishing terroir, not even a difference in style...yes, one might have more passion fruit...one might have more gooseberry..but are they really any different? Not really..
The one thing that annoys me when I look at this show is the pricing of NZ wines...They are actually higher in pure numbers in AUD than in NZD. To give you an example..
A wine that might be 38 NZD is 44 AUD. Yes there is WET and a bunch of other worthless junk that goes into it... So 38NZD is about 30AUD...so somewhere in there is another 50% of taxes and shipping? Keep in mind NZ producers get WET back as well so the number is way out of wack..I don't understand it...
Akarua
www.akarua.com
Akarua Brut Sparkling (NV)
Akarua Rose Brut Sparkling (NV)
Both of these were just ok. Very much like an Aussie sparkling which means they weren't very good.
Akarua Pinot Noir 2011.
Good Acidity, bright fruit, good complexity, solid showing but a bit on the expensive side (48 AUD RRP). Overall a pretty good wine.
Akarua Rua Pinot Noir 2012.
Good Acidity, fruit was ok. Pretty bland overall but solid. On the expensive side for what you get (32 AUD RRP).
Allan Scott Family Winemakers
www.allanscott.com
Allan Scott Blanc de Blancs Sparkling (NV)
Allan Scott Cecelia Sparkling (NV)
Allan Scott Les Joues Rouge Sparkling (NV)
I'm considering not mentioning any of the Sparkling, they just were not that good. There is a typical lack of depth with AU/NZ Sparkling wine...I'm not saying it is terrible...they're just not very good..
Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Very typical NZ SB. I have nothing against SB, I think it is fine...but this tastes like every other sub 20 dollar NZ SB.
Allan Scott Pinot Noir 2011 - Marlborough
A solid effort out of Marlborough. Good acidity, bright fruit, maybe too much..but solid performer at 22 AUD RPP.
Scott Base is their Central Otago line.
Scott Base Riesling 2009 Central Otago
I didn't enjoy this. Not enough acidity, it was very flat.
Scott Base Chardonnay 2010.
A bit over oaked, some fruit, not sure where this is headed.
Scott Base Pinot Noir 2011
Good acidity, some good complexity, bright fruit. Reasonable for its price of 30AUD RRP.
Bespoke Wine Company
Bespoke has their own label (this is new from last year) called Fifth Bridge. Through their interactions with other businesses they are able to acquire fruit from different places and when they find suitable quality, at the right price, they make their own wine.
Fifth Bridge Pinot Gris 2009 - Central Otago
Not a good start. Not too impressed with this Pinot Gris..
Fifth Bridge Pinot Noir 2010 - Central Otago..
Well made, good acidity, good use of oak. Solid fruit. RRP of 25 AUD makes this a pretty good buy.
Charcoal Gully Estate Sallys Pinch Gewerztraminer 2011
Just very blah...some lychee..but not much...This is just blah..
Charcoal Gully Estate Sallys Pinch Pinot Noir 2011
Good acidity, solid fruit. Nothing really standing out here. Nothing bad, nothing great...
Ceres Composition Pinot Noir 2009
Really good acidity followed by solid fruit coming in from behind the acidity..quite nice actually. I think they've had some balance issues when they first release their wine but I've been pretty impressed. Price a bit too high for a relative unknown but still very solid at 44 RRP.
Folding Hill Pinot Noir 2009 - Bendigo Central Otago.
Really nice acidity follow with nice red fruits, good complexity, good balance. Very nice wine. This was my favorite from them last year as well. On the more expensive side at 48 RRP but a pretty good buy considering the quality.
Craggy Range
I think most people are familiar with Craggy Range..they're one of the biggest producers out of NZ and they export all over the world. They have a huge range of products for many different grape varieties....
Avery Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2012.
I was expecting a typical SB but this one was actually quite nice. Good acidity but really nice depth and complexity which I don't normally see from NZ SB. Some good minerality coming through...nice SB...a bit expensive for SB at 32 RRP but quite good.
Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Immediately you can tell this has spent some time in oak. The sharpness of NZ SB is dulled a bit against the oak...I don't believe this has any new oak but it has still imparted really nice depth and complexity and mouthfeel to this SB. As far as which is drinking better now, the Avery is...but I'd like to see this in a year or two.... 32 RRP for an oaked SB isn't too bad..
Te Muna Riesling 2012.
This might've been my favorite wine of the show. Razer sharp acidity, really nice depth, a bit of residual sugar...I really like this. I'm not sure what it is giving it its extra depth when I'm tasting it but I take a quick look...Oak barrels...Most riesling does not ferment in oak barrels but this one did (no new oak) and I think it really added another layer of depth to the whole thing. With its 9+g of acid, sub 3 ph and 9.x grams of residual sugar, this is a fantastic blend of basically everything I like in a riesling...and at 34 RRP this is quite good....It isn't widely available yet..but should be soon.
Kidnappers Vineyard Charddonay 2011
Out of Hawkes pay, this was actually a bit of a disappointment compared to the Riesling and SB...Nothing really wrong with it...Maybe my expectations were too high...I'd like to try this again and see...
Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2011 - Marlborough
Good acidity, fruit was nice but really nothing special here. A very ordinary effort..nothing wrong with it..but for 55RRP, way overpriced.
Craggy Range Calvert Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 - Central Otago
A much better effort...really good acidity...deep red fruits...good depth and complexity....a bit more structure to this.....I'm shocked at the price though..80 RRP is nuts...Is it a good Pinot? Yes...Is it worth 80 dollars? Nope...
Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard Merlot 2010
This was another just very ordinary effort. Capable, nothing wrong...but at 43 RRP..just no way.
Craggy Range Te Kahu Merlot Cabernet Franc 2010
A fairly popular low/mid ranged Bordeaux blend that is relatively popular on the export market as well as Australia...Relatively good structure, dark fruit, herbs...but something is not quite catching my attention on this one. Capable and reasonable at 34 RRP.
Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard Syrah 2010
Nice medium body, decent acidity, smoothish tannins....You can definitely see the effort here to separate themselves from the Australian market...Reasonable buy at 43RRP
Craggy Range Sophia Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2010.
This is one of their flagship wines which also gets a lot of coverage overseas. They really should've decanted this as it was just a monster of a wine. HUGE tannins...I'm not sure I can feel my teeth. You can see it has really good structure and somewhere in there is some fruit...some mocha coming through...a hint of herbs..but really the tannins are too big it is hard to get too much from this wine. Having had previous vintages, this should be very good. In Australia it is quite reasonable at 85 RRP...but it generally sells for around 50 elsewhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment