Whangarry Game of Rhones

My house
Tasted Thursday, September 28, 2017 by ThomasE with 265 views

Introduction

Blind tasting with food, Rhone grape varietals, with a New World (particularly NZ) predominance

Flight 1 - Aperitif (2 Notes)

Supermarket Viognier, The floral aromas of the Yalumba made an excellent start to the evening

  • 2016 Yalumba Viognier The Y Series 88 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    Pale, Tremendous vibrant floral, perfume aromas, white peach, persimmon, on the palate, lacks depth but so rich on the nose, made a lovely aperitif and would suit shellfish

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  • 2014 Falconhead Viognier 86 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    Yellow, floral, citrus and stone fruit on the nose, more peach, nectarine, touch of pear and ginger on the palate, well balanced, easy drinking on its own or with food

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Flight 2 - Caramelised onion and gruyere tart with rocket, pear and walnut salad (2 Notes)

Both wines suited the food really well, although the Viognier from Aperitif also worked. La Nerthe was great displaying a rich variety of flavours, totally outshone the Preston White Rhone

Flight 3 - Moroccan spiced leg of lamb with kumara cous-cous (5 Notes)

Fantastic flight, with a great variety of different wines; The classic Cotes du Rhone was simple and well executed, Grove was clearly the Aussie but still show some elegance and spice without the domineering aspects of the typical Australian Shiraz. An interesting local battle between two big Hawkes Bay names, Craggy was a little disappointing, obviously a different price point but even still considering how the good the Old Block 14 used to be, this was disappointing, all th best fruit perhaps went into the Le Sol. The Hyperion was the star of the flight and the night, well integrated, drinking well now with room for bottle development

  • 2013 Craggy Range Syrah Gimblett Gravels Vineyard 88 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels

    Deep red, touch of purple, spice, dark fruit, bramble on the nose, nice array of flavours with boysenberry, plum, hint of liquorice and some interesting earthy, wild mushroom aspects. Finish flat and short, Enjoyable wine but nothing special, particularly given the vintage. Not sure it will show much more in the bottle

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  • 2014 Delas Frères Côtes du Rhône Saint-Esprit 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

    Red, spice, bramble and touch of plum. Good fruity backbone on the palate, opened up about 2 hours in to show good poise, touch of spice and generous but humble fruit. Would suit simple food

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  • 2015 Grove Estate Shiraz Viognier The Cellar Block 86 Points

    Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Hilltops

    Deep purple, elegant spice and dark bruit on the nose, spicy and young but approachable palate, liqourice, blackberry, clove. Elegant enough Good length. Would do well for 2-3 years to calm down and will show a lot more I suspect

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  • 2014 Hyperion Syrah Asteria 94 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Matakana

    Deep red, purple, rich spice, liquorice, dark fruit, touch of vanilla. Palate fantastic balance of bramble, fruit cake, cinnamon with a pleasant medium-long finish. Impressive wine

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  • 2013 Mission Estate Winery Syrah Huchet 92 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels

    Deep red/purple, Dense fruit and spice on the nose, liquorice with stewed plums, boysenberry, cinnamon. Closed to begin with but opened up over a few hours, so much time left in this wine, will improve in time

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Flight 4 - Sticky Date with Caramel (2 Notes)

Both wines did the trick, the Brown Brothers in particular worked well, even if it is cheap lolly water to a certain extent

Closing

Great evening, some fabulous wines, time to Explore Syrah from the NZ Regions perhaps

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