Mainly Pinots Dinner with Peter Rosback

Peter Rosback of Sineann was in New Zealand for his 41st vintage. His vintage in Central Otago and Marlborough went very well and Peter had time to pop over to Wellington for a BYO dinner. I loosely coordinated this around Peter's desire for the wines to be mainly Pinots.

We ended up with an interesting tasting contrasting top NZ Pinots and Burgundies and some other great wines. All wines served double blind, unless indicated.

• 2003 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  From Magnum. Drunk from Riesling glass. Deep gold. Fine bead. A toasty autolic bouquet of apple pie, mandarin, red berries and autumn leaves. On palate, just beginning to tip secondary and oxidative. Rich and full. Flavours of almond brioche, mandarin, baked apples with Pinot complexity. Almost a savoury, autumnal cut hay element. Drink now or hold for more interesting development.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1983 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Vendanges Tardives

  France, Alsace

  Both wines deeply coloured, showing their age. A whiff of kerosene, with aromas of toffee apple, citrus and rock melon. Complex and secondary. On palate, I was thinking this wine was from the 1990s. Amazingly fresh and vibrant. Seemingly lower in acids. Very clean. Glycerol and palate coating. Serious structure but seamless and beautifully poised. Finer than the Hugel. Some people's WOTN. Excellent and still years to go!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Hugel Riesling Vendange Tardive

  France, Alsace

  More kero sets on the nose here, but again, to me, suggesting a 15, not a 27 year old, Riesling. Less expressive fruit aromas on the bouquet, more citrus and minerality. Again, glycerol, with plenty of volume and mid palate weight. More phenolics than the Trimbach. Also apparently lower acidity. Not far behind the Trimbach in quality. Very good and still a wine you could hold.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Deep gold. A lovely wine with a nose of lemons, toffee, grapefruit and a touch of Epoisses-like development. Also, some evolution and appropriate oxidation on palate. Still with some sulphur apparent with chalky, citric and mineral flavours. Also showing a bit of sweatiness. Grand Cru architecture and mid palate weight. Quite long. A lovely Chablis, developing nicely.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Pale gold. A breezy, fresh attractive bouquet with gentle florals, chalky minerals, lemons and pear. A hit of acidity on entry had me picking this wine as a 2008 Chablis. I was surprised it was a 2009, as it was quite precise and refreshing. I was less surprised about the vintage when I knew the quality of the house. It was quite dense, taut and a little closed. Rocky, mineral and lemon flavours dominate now. Ideally, give the wine 3-5+ years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Light gold. An attractive nose of light florals, lemon zest and yellow apples. A mineral backbone and traces of vanillin oak. With a sweetness on entry to the palate that made me think first of a New World Chardonnay, then of a Chassagne. Open textured and accessible. Powerful with excellent dry extract. Sufficient acidity and some oak yet to integrate but the oak was not overdone. Rich with citric, orchard fruit and mineral flavours. It should improve and become more complex over 3-5+ years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2014 Sineann Pinot Noir Yates Conwill Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  This was an interesting comparison. The two wines were only six months apart in age, each from 11 year old Pommard/Clone 5 vines and made in exactly the same way with the same type and age of barrels. However, they were totally different wines, expressing their very different Oregon and Central Otago terroirs ... Glass closure. A nose of dark berries with highlights of bright raspberries. On palate, suave, silky tannins. Savoury and seemingly more serious than the Pisa Terrace. More potential for complexity here, I thought.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2015 Sineann Pinot Noir Pisa Terrace

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  Under Stelvin closure. A more luxuriant, dark fruited nose. Very Central Otago. A hit of fruit sweetness on entry. Very primary with good volume and structure. Dark cherry, blackberry and cocoa. Suggestions of cola. At around $US30, a real bargain. You'd easily pay twice that in NZ for this quality. Peter makes 300-400 cases of this wine each vintage.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir Pipeclay Terrace

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  My magnum was sealed under cork and wax. New oak 36%, whole bunch 20%. I didn't have great hopes for this wine and it did not look good when I double decanted it five hours early. It needed that as by dinner it had begun to open quite nicely. The bramble, black fruit and damp peaty earth aromas had most people thinking of Martinborough, not Central Otago Pinot. Similar flavours on palate with lots of black fruit, bracken, dark earth and liquorice. Pretty much there now for drinking. Rauno somehow picked the wine as an '04. Widely considered the wine of the flight. The rest of the bottle drank well the next day, just beginning to soften, with a hint of dark plums. Perhaps, being in magnum, this matured more slowly than a typical 750?

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Corked. However, it seemed to have good underlying fruit.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Nicolas Potel Charmes-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Replacement bottle for the Bachelet. A lovely, fragrant, Gevrey bouquet. However, the palate failed to deliver on the promise of the nose. Seemingly lower acidity and a little over sweet. Not Grand Cru fruit weight or structure. Not for me.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Rippon Pinot Noir

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Lake Wanaka

  A bright cherry, breezy nose, suggesting Central with suggestions of sour raspberry and even cranberry. Shy slightly sweet fruit on the front palate. Clearly a NZ acid profile. A little too dilute, with insufficient volume on the mid palate to carry all of those nervous acids. Ultimately, too acid driven and lean. Lacking physiological ripeness, I thought. A difficult vintage for Rippon, I understand. Drink soon.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir Reserve

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  A racy, earthy, slightly herbal bouquet. Damp brushwood and blackberries. On palate, earthy, dark berried and sous bois. Also, slightly minty, with prominent, but not off-putting, acids. Good structure, volume and length. Fine grained tannins well integrated and resolved. The wine is secondary, but not as yet tertiary. Very good, apparently a favourable vintage in Central Otago's Gibbston Valley. However, drink soon.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1999 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  The two 1996s were very much a pair and separated by this wine which had quite a different profile. A good, but very young seeming wine. Bright red colour. A bouquet of red and dark berries and cherries. Young assertive and driven. Dark cherries, hung meats and earth. I thought this wine was a Burgundy from the late noughties. This Volnay needs a minimum of 10 more years in the cellar.

  Read 3 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  A beautiful bouquet with umami, leafy and floral elements. Black and some blue fruit on the nose. It paired beautifully with my lamb dish. Sparkling '96 acidity, but the acids are now well integrated. Dark fruits, soy and earthy nuances. Good structure and lovely texture. Close to its drinking window I would think but ideally give it a few more years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2002 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  An attractive, aromatic bouquet of dark spices, red cherries and raspberries. Very Volnay. In the mouth, dense and heavily structured. Serious matière and architecture. The tannins and racy acids come to the fore on the long finish. I guessed the wine as 2006 and thought it really needed another 10 years to fully integrate. Very good.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1997 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  On the reveal, a surprise WOTN for many, including for Peter. An evolved, savoury bouquet of dark berries, smokey bacon, old leather, dirt and leaves on the ground. Similar on palate, detailed and interesting. Multi-layered and fully resolved. Compared with the more heralded 1998, I didn't think that this was such a highly thought of wine. Certainly 1997 was a leaner year in Martinborough than in 1998, but this wine showed really well on the night ...

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2011 Ostler Pinot Noir Caroline's Waitaki Valley

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Waitaki Valley

  A bouquet showing gobs of bright, black fruit. Sweet seeming. On palate, a young wine with that sweetish profile. Plenty of fruit on palate but a sense that this is not uniformly and fully physiologically ripe. From a vineyard in Canterbury, on limestone soil.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Again, served double blind. Decanted six hours before serving.

• 2001 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 5

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  From (then) seven year old vines. New French oak 30%, whole bunch 24%. Under Stelvin cap (appropriately evolved). Voted wine of the flight by most at the dinner, including Peter. One of the WoTN. A savoury, dry nose of underbrush, tobacco, dry clay and dried herbs. "Rich, sweet, beautiful fruit with appropriate sourness from the acidity" said Peter. Savoury, tobacco leaf and mature red fruit flavours. The next day a gorgeous, still more autumnal nose. Fallen leaves and preserved red fruits. A little spice. Lovely evolved flavours. An early wine from this site showing the excellence of the Block 5 terroir.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  A bright, primary colour, very distinct from the other two wines. A bouquet of black cherries and lifted dark florals (heaps of VA). Similar in the mouth. Very dark fruited and taut. Extremely primary. Seriously structured and pretty closed. Serious but svelte, fine grained tannins. The next day the wine had not moved an inch. Still drinking very primary. Cellar for 5 or ideally 10 years. The wine needs time.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

  Surprisingly only WOTN for John and me. A bouquet of dark berries, black spices, dark earth, with a bit of funk and animale. A top note of gentle violets. Beautiful. Crystalline with lovely acidity. Only medium weight but elegant and detailed. Lots of rusty, red fruit. The next evening the Bonnes Mares had fallen over. Ready to go now.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Château Guiraud

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  An attractive bouquet of lemons, ginger and spices. Creamy crème brûlée on palate, some orange peel, toffee and Manuka honey. Sweet and rich. Good structure and depth. Viscous and creamy. However, on the night (as compared to when I last tasted it blind), seeming a little lacking in acid cut. Good but not great, due to that. I'm sure it'd reward cellaring though.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

The 2016 summer in Martinborough has been the second driest since 1924. Martinborough Vineyards was right in the middle of harvest but Paul Mason, the Head Winemaker, was kind enough to make time for a visit and wine tasting for Peter and me. Fifteen minutes before picking, we tasted Pinot noir grapes off the 30 year old home block. They seemed perfectly ripe with brown seeds and real length of flavour . Very promising ... The highlights of our tasting were:

• 2003 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  Popped and poured. A funky, underbrush, mushrooms nose, with underlying raspberries and red cherries. Dense and powerful with some nice development. Red cherries and raspberries with sous bois, sweaty saddle and funky nuances. Earthy with quite prominent acids. Interesting. To drink in the next 5 years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir Marie Zelie Reserve

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  Popped and poured. The 2010 equivalent of Martinborough Vineyards' previous Reserve Pinots. A top quality NZ Pinot. A fragrant bouquet of raspberries, herbs, smoke and gentle florals. On the palate, good weight and power. Showing elegance, finesse and complexity. "It reflects the cooler vintage" said Paul. Good acidity, balance and length. Ideally this wine needs time to develop greater detail. Give it 5+ years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

This is a great restaurant to visit if you're ever in the Wairarapa. Rachel Priestley makes all of her meals from her own ingredients including her hand reared pigs and kitchen garden. With an excellent lunch we had ...

• 2000 Antinori Tignanello

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Once the must blew off a pungent umami bouquet of beef and mushroom broth and fallen plums. Savoury and appealing. The perfect accompaniment to Rachel's charcuterie and wild mushroom ravioli. Mellow and savoury on palate. Just now turning nicely secondary. Leather saddle, tobacco leaf and casserole. Mature and preserved plums and Porcini mushrooms. No hurry needed of course.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue