NobleRottersSydney - Montana (NZ) + agency wines

The First Monday Club enjoys a visit from Cathy and Chris from Montana Wines, visiting for the NZ Wine Fair in Sydney this week, and who bring some of the top offerings from Montana, as well as some other wines they distribute in Australia. After 3 NV sparklers (Deutz NZ, Lindauer, Perrier Jouet) we moved to the table wines:

• 2003 Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc Rapaura Series

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Mid-straw in colour. A pot-pourri and fruit-salad nose which follows through on the palate, along with a little rosewater. There’s some nice fine acid here, but a fair dose of residual sugar too. I find a little smokiness appears as well (oak?? – surely not). Light-bodied, but the RS is certainly filling out the palate. Best with hot or spicy food, perhaps?

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• 2002 Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Very pale straw. This is almost a throwback to the chiched styles of the early nineties. Lots of straw, but really powered along by green capsicum and asparagus aromas. Fine acid easily carries the light dusty oak treatment, which in turn is giving plenty of palate coverage.Quite rich, then, despite the greenness of the flavours, which put iit just outside my preference, I’m afraid. A polarizing wine. And, it’s followed by a question from me to the good Montana people as to why I see all these recent vintage wines sitting around the table sealed with corks? Get with the program, folks. For whatever reason, TCA rates seem to be running at appalling rates these days. If anyone should be putting its top wines under screwcap, it’s Montana. Apparently they are for future releases. Hmmmm.

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• 2001 Church Road Chardonnay Hawke's Bay

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  Pale straw. Sophisticated nose of light vanillan oak melding with melon aromas. Some light buttery qualities emerge on the palate, along with some fresh, mild acid. Restrained, inoffensive and quite light. Attractive enough in a simple way.

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• 2002 Montana Chardonnay Estate Flawed

  New Zealand, North Island, Gisborne, Ormond

  And after my spray about cork taint 2 wines ago, what do we find? Two bottles of this chardonnay were available. If TCA presents as a deformity, then on the first bottle it looked like a ‘monstrous carbuncle on the face of an old and beloved friend’ (to quote HRH Charles’ memorable comment about the National Gallery extension in Trafalgar Square). The second bottle was the Elephant Man. Enough with tree bark, I say.

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• 2002 Montana Gewürztraminer Patutahi Estate

  New Zealand, North Island, Gisborne

  Here is a classic Gewurz nose. Along with the rose water and exotic spices it has a distinct flowery tone. There’s a touch of sugar on the palate, which adds body rather than length. The acid is clean, and lacks the faint oiliness which distinguishes Alsation versions of this variety. Fair wine.

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• 2001 Montana Pinot Noir Reserve Barrique Aged

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Light red. A heavy stewed cherry and raspberry nose sits over some chocolatey oak on the palate. Tart sour cherries constitute the fruit flavours in the mouth. Quite tart. Actually very tart, which only emphasizes the …er…tartness. A bit thin overall.

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• 2001 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  This is better [than Montana]. We’ve moved the fruit aromas more towards the strawberry end of the spectrum. Aromas are not sweet, just less sour. The fruit here is solid on the palate, but not overly worked. There’s a little bitterness towards the back palate. The wine has a kind of tight freshness, with some tannin noticeable. Not bad, for a modest pinot.

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• 2001 Montana Pinot Noir Terraces Estate

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  A new release, at least in Australia. A solid red colour. An über-pinot nose, with game, strawberries, truffle/earth aromas and some underlying oak. On the palate it’s quite multi-faceted, with the aromatic qualities all present. The oak is not dominant which is good, but I find a whiff of VA, and more worryingly, a great alcoholic heat (14%) just tip the balance out of proportion and push this into the unsatisfactory category for me. A polarizing wine – others felt differently.

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• 2001 Montana Merlot Barrel Fermented

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  (Marlbrough/Hawkes Bay) Bright red with a touch of crimson – quite sparkes in the glass, I must say. A soft sweet oaky nose. Somewhat astringent on the palate, with a short and undistinguished finish. So-so.

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• 1999 Tatachilla Merlot

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon

  Red-black as we cross the Tasman. Clearly I have issues with merlot. This has a tarry, jammy, burnt oak nose. Hot plummy fruit follows through on the palate, which has a soft tannic finish, rather than hard astringency. It does become somewhat hot as time passes (I didn’t check the alcohol, but I’d be surprised if it was below 14%), and the fruit seems to possess a strongly macerated quality which keeps the wine out of sophisticated circles.

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• 2000 Tatachilla Shiraz Foundation

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Deep black-red. Plenty of blackcurrant, deep spice and chocolate oak aromas here. Somewhat charry flavours on the palate, again with heat, but there’s good acid and respectable fruit weight in the mouth. A bit of a bruiser that’s doing its best in a difficult year.

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• 1996 McWilliam's Sémillon Limited Release Botrytis

  Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina

  Two half bottles, and our friend the CORK has another contribution to make – they’re just slightly different shades of mid-gold, with corresponding variations in development. Taking an average(!), there’s certainly rich honey on the nose, with some decayed marmalade and cumquat. There’s enough acid still to maintain freshness on the palate (some bottle difference), although the finish is a little premptory, and falls somewhat short of profound. None-the-less, a quite satisfying wine to sip by itself.

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• 2000 Virtu Sémillon Noble Sémillon

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  Undaunted by it’s ugly label, this yellowish coloured wine shows very clean botrytis honey & passionfruit flavours. The palate is much nearer Sauternes than Riverina in texture and richness, and I find the restrained, aldehydic flavours very persistent, in spite of what seems an initial leanness of body. Far less decadent than the McWilliams offering, it combines a lot better with desserts and is really very good.

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