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Mount Difficulty Single Vineyard Pipeclay Terrace Pinot Noir 2002

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Mount Difficulty Single Vineyard Pipeclay Terrace Pinot Noir 2002

Not sure where this bottle came from. Hopefully I wasn’t cellaring it for someone else. Still a good red colour. A ripe nose, plums more than cherries, Christmas spices, old dried meat, some spirit and a bit of acetone. An acid driven palate, some lighter fruit, cherries and cranberries, dry woody spices, some alcohol warmth, and a chemically bite on the finish. A bit lumpy with quite simple flavours (compared to the aromatics); more of a dry red style. Cannot see this going anywhere good. Drink now. Sealed under screwcap. 14.5% abv. 85 points.

Posted in $50 to $100, New Zealand, Notes, Otago, Pinot Noir, Price, Varietal/Style | 1 Comment »

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2009

I don’t drink a lot of white wines, but when I saw some positive reviews of this wine I asked for a sample bottle. From the Awatere Valley in Marlborough, and a winner of a Blue-Gold Award at the Sydney International Wine Competition in addition to being one of the top 100 wines at the show.

An interesting nose, with white asparagus, lemons, sherbet and a touch of tropical fruits too. The palate showed some herbaceousness, with lemons, limes, grapefruit and a touch of minerals and herbs. Citrus acids drive the palate and there is a pleasant fruit concentration. Sealed under screwcap. 13.0% abv. Winery sample. RRP $16.99. Drink 2010-2012. 88 points.

Posted in Marlborough, New Zealand, Notes, Price, Sauvignon Blanc, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | No Comments »

Fromm Clayvin Vineyard Pinot Noir 2001

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

Fromm Clayvin Vineyard Pinot Noir 2001

A release direct from the cellar door. And at, as you can see, quite a remarkable price. A complex nose, stewed strawberries, beetroot, red cherries, undergrowth and brown spices, a touch of butter and a bit of varnish. A mellow palate, red cherries, beetrooty earthiness with rounded brown fruits and a pleasant shake of spice. Pretty good length, but the fruit is a bit dull and loose. I think I would have preferred it a couple of years ago. Drink now.

Rated : 88 Points
Tasted : Dec09
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $42
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2011
Source : The Wine Emporium
Website : Fromm

Posted in $20 to $50, Marlborough, New Zealand, Notes, Pinot Noir, Price, Varietal/Style | No Comments »

Alluviale Anobli 2008

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Alluviale Anobli 2008

100% Sauvignon Blanc from Mangatahi in Hawkes Bay. The grapes were harvested in the middle of May at 52 Brix. A golden colour. A gorgeous nose: fig, citrus fruits, glacé pineapple with a touch of honey, golden syrup and crème brulee. The palate is intense and generous, honeysuckle, peach essence, pears and spice. There is a staggering 270g/L of residual sugar in the wine, but this is held in check by a considerable amount of acid. Intensely flavoured and concentrated, but balanced and extremely enjoyable, all the way from the delicious florals to the mouth coating finish.

Rated : 94 Points
Tasted : Oct09
Alcohol : 11%
Price : $40
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2009-2014
Source : Eurocentric Wine
Website : Alluviale

Posted in $20 to $50, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Notes, Price, Sauvignon Blanc | No Comments »

Dada 1 2007

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Dada 1 2007

A complex nose – so much happening here. If you see other reviews of this wine I bet there will be a whole swag of different descriptors. For me, there were aromas of gooseberries, meal and some lees, lemons and bitter herbs. The palate showed no specific fruit character, but does have sour lemons, citrus fruits and a touch of herbs. But the thing that impressed me was the freshness and lovely texture, rounded and focused, lightness with power and persistence, and most excellent length. Tremendous stuff. Well worth the bucks.

Rated : 92 Points
Tasted : Sep09
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $60
Closure : Diam
Drink : 2009-2013
Source : Eurocentric Wine
Website : Dada

Posted in $50 to $100, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Notes, Price, Sauvignon Blanc, Varietal/Style | 2 Comments »

Craggy Range “Sophia” 2002

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Craggy Range Sophia 2002

A Cheval Blancesque blend of 63% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Still a black/heavy red in colour. The nose is big. Jimmy Durante. Plums, cinnamon, five spice, menthol, smoky tobacco leaf and black currants. The palate showed black fruits, plums and currants, spice, gravel with a finish that was dusty and drying and perhaps a little hot too. The fruit does seem to be receding and the wine is drying out. Drink up.

Heaviest bottle of the year so far, weighing 1005 grams.

Rated : 89 Points
Tasted : May09
Alcohol : 15%
Price : $65
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2010
Source : Cellar
Website : Craggy Range

Posted in $50 to $100, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Notes, Price | No Comments »

Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2002

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2002

Blackcurrants, dry stalks and a mulchy vegetative character. A full palate, ripe and juicy, dominated by blackcurrants and blackberries, with some tartness in the midpalate, and then tobacco, stalks and a burnt character on the finish. It is almost overpowering in its richness, with a wealth of blackcurrants and an odd stalkiness making it seem a bit disjoint. One-dimensional, sweet and quite boozy. This came highly recommended, but I don’t think it is a good style at all.

Rated : 83 Points
Tasted : Jan09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $45
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2009-2012
Source : Cellar
Website : Villa Maria
Buy Again? : Nope

Posted in $20 to $50, Cabernet Sauvignon, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Notes, Price, Varietal/Style | No Comments »

Escarpment “Kupe” Pinot Noir 2003

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir 2003

Scoring-wise, I am stuck in the 80s. I had hoped that this would be a 90+ point wine, but the finish let in down. Perhaps I am being too tough. A seriously crap cork – it just crumbled. Quite a reserved nose, vaguely in the light red fruits spectrum (cherries and strawberries), with some woody spices. Still quite young. The palate is texturely very pleasing, with a flush of dark cherry fruit and strawberries, minerals and earth, stalk and but unfortunately finishing with some bitter pippiness. I think I prefer sappy finishes. Nicely structured. Should go a few more years.

Rated : 89 Points
Tasted : Nov08
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $70
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2008-2013
Source : Cellar
Website : Escarpment

Posted in $50 to $100, Martinborough, New Zealand, Notes, Pinot Noir, Price, Varietal/Style | 1 Comment »

Puriri Hills Reserve 2005

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Puriri Hills Reserve 2005

Made from a 5 acre vineyard in Clevedon, about 40 minutes by car from Auckland, and blended to reflect the relative proportions of Merlot, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec in the vineyard.

A fascinating nose, showing red currants, tobacco leaf, not quite tomato leaf, dried herbs and faintly smoky stalks. There are also hints of blackcurrants, and some mulch and leaf. A glass swirler. A sensual and sensational palate, red currant, blackcurrant, blackberry, cedary dryness, herby and savoury, and some stalk on the finish (but it’s not green). Very tasty stuff, but it is the velvety tannins, the fantastic mouthfeel and the length that just goes on and on that makes this an outstanding wine. Well worth having a few in the cellar.

Rated : 95 Points
Tasted : Apr08
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $82
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2010 – 2018
Source : The Wine Emporium

Posted in New Zealand, Notes | No Comments »

Pyramid Valley Lebecca Vineyard Riesling 2005

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Pyramid Valley Lebecca Vineyard Riesling 2005

The Lebecca vineyard is in Wratts Road in Rapaura, and is on deep gravelly silts. And it certainly isn’t a cheap Riesling, but I don’t mind when it delivers. Lots of things on the nose, all at the same time, a collision of aromas, pretty florals, oranges, lemons, pear, pineapple, cumquats, minerals, bath salts and a little musky. Ripe fruits on the palate, with some sweetness though not like a dessert wine, lightly candied oranges and lemons, quite delicate and delicious, soft acid and finishing with pith and a bit of soap. Not especially intense, but the purity of the fruit has to be admired. A lovely wine. I am told that with 85g/L residual sugar that this sits somewhere between a Spatlese and an Auslese in style, though I am no expert on stuff like this.

Rated : 90 Points
Tasted : Sep07
Alcohol : 8.5%
Price : $37
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 – 2012+
Source : The Wine Emporium

Posted in Marlborough, New Zealand, Notes | 2 Comments »

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