Introduction

Introduction by Geoff Kelly:

In August 2016 I had the great pleasure of presenting two Library Tastings in the Board Room of the Villa Maria winery, Montgomerie Rd, Mangere. This came about thanks to the kindness of Export Manager Ian Clark, and owner Sir George Fistonich. The other tasting, 1998 Southern Rhone Valley wines, has been reported on here. As planning for this 1986 tasting proceeded, one further pleasure was to have several younger tasters confide to me that this would be their first serious opportunity to assess a Bordeaux First Growth. By 'serious' they meant blind, among other relevant wines. Such moments are very special, to people who love wine.

The tasting turned out to be a great thrill for most participants. The two First Growths were in sparkling form, Gruaud-Larose lived up to its reputation for the vintage, and New Zealand's 1987 Stonyridge Larose from Waiheke Island was clearly and dramatically among the top four wines of the tasting. We used the 1987 vintage for all the New Zealand reds, because the year was much better than 1986, so the local wines had a better chance of competing. The Stonyridge has from the outset been a sensational wine, illustrating for all those with the experience to appreciate it, that New Zealand could indeed make world-class cabernet / merlot reds. At the other end of the scale, another 'famous' Auckland district wine, The Antipodean (which is rarely if ever assessed blind) showed how easy it is to fool New Zealanders in wine matters. As always, the wine rankings were taken while all bottles were still blind, decanted into 12 identical bottles, and presented in numbered bags.

Flight 1 (12 notes)

Closing

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