NobleRottersSydney - NZTrip - Hawkes Bay(1)

Tasted Thursday, September 11, 2008 by graemeg with 432 views

Introduction

Two wines with lunch at Te Muna Rd Vineyard, then the dinner wines at Pippi Pizzeria in Havelock North

Flight 1 (8 Notes)

  • 2007 Craggy Range Chardonnay Single Vineyard Kidnappers Vineyard

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    {screwcap, 14%, NZ$19} If this needs a foreign lookalike, then you could say its aimed at Chablis. The C3 is a reference to the three clones making up the wine. Clean, youthful aromas, rather flinty. Dry and lightish-bodied, there’s plenty of acid, the barest minimum of oak, and stony fruits and nuts on the palate. Does finish a little warm though – I would drink within 2-3 years.

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  • 2006 Craggy Range Merlot Gimblett Gravels Vineyard

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

    {cork, 13.5%, NZ$40} This is the kind of wine no-one seems to make in Australia – certainly not from merlot, anyway. Ruby-coloured inky darkness, with refined plummy vanilla aromas. On the palate, chalky tannins frame well-proportioned muscular merlot fruit. The oak is understated, and the wine feels quite round and soft in the mouth, without ever becoming flabby or harsh. Medium-bodied in the end, with a moderate length finish, it just needs a little time to build some harmony.

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  • 2007 Craggy Range Riesling Glasnevin Gravels Vineyard

    New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury, Waipara

    {screwcap, 9%, NZ$20} The nose is very light, all floral and musk notes. It even smells worryingly sweet. The palate offers gently honeyed fruit and sweet white flower flavours. But still it remains all fruit and sugar (34g/l of sugar), I just don’t find it has the acid to be convincing. A decent chill helps – a cold bottle was more palatable; chilled down with asian food it would work. But I’m not really convinced. Needs acid, man!

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  • 2006 Allegrini Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie Corte Giara

    Italy, Delle Venezie

    {screwcap, 12%} The only foreign interloper of the weekend, which we wouldn’t have ordered had the winelist been a bit more forthcoming about origin. Light matchstick aromas with tropical fruit. On the palate, there’s some grey wet-stone flavours, but again this wine seems to have more sugar than the acid can handle. Good to see an Italian wine under a screwcap, even if it may have cost it the DOC moniker; but the wine itself is hardly a great advertisement for anything very much; an undemanding quaffer for a hot day at best.

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  • 2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

    New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

    {screwcap, 13%} Among all the many-named sauvignon’s Crawford makes, this is simply labelled Marlborough. The nose is all asparagus and gooseberry – right in the mold. It does smell balanced and controlled – it shouldn’t put too many people off! The palate avoids the tinned-pea character that I often find; this has lively greenish fruits supported by plenty of acid, and if the back palate is pretty soft the wine still manages a decently persistent finish. An acceptable face of a sometimes extreme style.

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  • 2007 Alpha Domus Chardonnay Barrique Fermented

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    {screwcap, 14%} A flinty stone and grapefruit nose. Oak aromas are pretty subtle for a wine that was both fermented and aged in the stuff. A dry palate, with very soft tannins. Defined by a crisp cut of acid and decent weight of mid-palate fruit, though lacks the depth to suggests its got any great aging future ahead of it. But it’s very good as a young ‘un.

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  • 2005 Redmetal Vineyards Basket Press

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    Merlot/Cab Franc {screwcap, 13%} Lots of jammy, chewing gum aromas. All jubey and sweet-smelling. The palate does a little better, with supple red fruits, soft powdery tannins and minimal oak. It’s still fairly light-bodied, although there’s no suggestion of unripe or green fruit. The finish is pretty short, and overall it’s a slightly underwhelming experience. Drink now.

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  • 2008 Te Mata Estate Gamay Woodthorpe Vineyard

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    {screwcap, 12%} Given the Rotters’ group attitude to Beaujolais, this wine was always going to meet with a mixed reception. A light sour-cherry nose, with some of the bubble-gum characters you might expect. The palate is light and tight, smoky and tart, with an attractive stalkiness and acidity that suggests it’s a ideal match to tomato-based dishes. Although light-bodied, it still manages a decent length of finish. I enjoyed it – others at the table were not so enthusiastic.

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