Awesome Aromatics from New Zealand
LIWSF, London
Tasted Wednesday, May 17, 2006 by andrewstevenson.com with 660 views
Flight 1 (11 Notes)
Closing
A number of small dishes, prepared by chefs from the Asia de Cuba restaurant in St Martin’s Lane in London, were offered to match the wines.
A scallop ceviche with mango was proposed as a match for the Neudorf Brightwater riesling. This worked very well. By comparison, both the Coopers Creek and Pegasus Bay rieslings were a bit rich for the scallop dish.
A tuna tartare with almonds, chillies, ginger juice, lime juice and a soy sauce dressing had no particularly striking matches.
A pineapple and avocado salad (some might call it a salsa, if it were served with something rather than on its own) was matched with the Esk Valley pinot gris, and worked fairly well.
Some confit duck, blended with plum sauce and served on crispy vegetables worked well with the Mount Difficulty pinot gris.
The Spy Valley gewurztraminer was a superb match with some watermelon curry, both the watermelon and the wine bringing something extra out in each other.
A Five-spice and coconut rum foie gras terrine on a lotus crisp worked well with the gewurztraminers, but especially with the Vinoptima Ormond gewurztraminer.
2005 Neudorf Riesling Brightwater 89 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Waimea Plains
12%
The fruit for this wine comes from the Elmside Vineyard at Brightwater. This has a light fresh nose with a certain chalkiness. On the palate it’s fresh, but with a certain weight. It feels to have a touch of residual sugar on the finish. Very Good Indeed.
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2004 Coopers Creek Riesling 90 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
12.5%
This is based on fruit from a new vineyard in Spring Creek on the Wairau Plains. Quite a rich oily nose – quite fat and rich. This is more citrussy than the Neudorf Brightwater, fresher and distinctly dry. Very Good Indeed.
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2005 Pegasus Bay Riesling 89 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury, Waipara
This has much more peachy, lime zest notes on the nose. There’s more weight on the palate. Quite a rich body on the palate with a nice style. Very Good Indeed.
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2002 Forrest Estate Riesling 92 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
13%
An appley, creamy, petrol nose. Nice balance on the palate, with very clean flavours. Very pure and well-structured. Very Good Indeed.
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2005 Mt. Difficulty Pinot Gris Central Otago 89 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago
4%
The grapes for this come from four vineyards in Bannockburn: Templars Hill, Long Gully, Bannockburn Bay and Ferris. This has a gently spicy nose with strong mango fruit and a hint of thyme. Apparently thyme – more specifically wild thyme – is a distinguishing feature of Otago pinot gris, so I was pleased to spot it. The palate is rich, but very well balanced with a lovely spicy finish. Very Good Indeed.
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2005 Fairhall Downs Pinot Gris 87 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough, Brancott Valley
14%
This has a much more musky nose with more indistinct tropical fruit in comparison to the Mount Difficulty pinot gris. It has riper, richer flavours, with a touch more minerality. This is a nice wine, though it could possibly do with a bit more complexity. Very, very spicy on the finish. Very Good.
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2005 Esk Valley Pinot Gris Black Label 88 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay
14%
This is a single vineyard wine from Laurie and Margaret Kaye’s vineyard in Eskdale in the north of Hawke’s Bay. The nose is dry, musky and fairly minerally with some pear confectionery notes. Lovely palate, with lots of depth, though possibly not the complexity to go with that. Really rather rich and a bit oily-textured. Noticeably heavy in the mouth. Very Good.
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2005 Villa Maria Pinot Gris Single Vineyard Seddon 90 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
14%
The wine has a light gentle, elegant nose with pear drops and quite floral. Very rich attack, apparently with some residual sugar. Very full on the palate, with some sweetness and lots of spice on the finish. As it warms up and breathes a bit, it loses some of the finishing spices. Flaunts itself a bit, but still Very Good Indeed.
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2005 Spy Valley Gewürztraminer 88 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
14%
From the Johnson Estate vineyard. A very attractive nose, laden with musky lychees. Very restrained attack. It then fills out nicely and it’s quite wide and broad on the palate, though possibly a bit simple. Very Good.
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2005 Montana Gewürztraminer Reserve 94 Points
New Zealand, North Island, East Coast
A very lovely integrated nose with a lovely richness and ripe tropical fruit with a musky veil. Gorgeous attack: there’s ripe rich fruit with a lovely balance. Really good on the palate, nicely broad and very clean. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
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2003 Vinoptima Gewürztraminer Reserve 93 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Gisborne, Ormond
13.5%
Vinoptima is a single variety, 8 hectare vineyard estate created by owner and winemaker Nick Nobilo in Ormond, near Gisborne on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. 2003 was the first vintage. This is modelled on an old world style with use of wood and ageing in bottle. Rather curious nose with melon and honey, but on the palate it’s very much more of a classic style. Very attractive mouthfeel with lovely balance, especially once it’s warmed up a little, having been served too cold initially. It feels very Alsatian in style. Very Good Indeed.
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