Pot luck dinner with blind chardonnay
My house
Tasted March 18, 2017 by ThomasE with 185 views
Introduction
Pot luck dinner with friends, with the focus being New Zealand Chardonnay blind tasting. An interesting imposter thrown into the second flight to keep everyone on their toes and some red later on with a cheeseboard
Flight 1 - Northland style Bell Inn smokies (3 notes)
Grouping of the three cheaper chardonnays, all were enjoyable but the Vidal really punched above its weight. Worked well with the oily smoked mullet
White
2014 Akarua Chardonnay Central Otago
New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago
Pale, Citrus aromas, touch of smoke. Garden lemon, grapefruit on the palate, high acidity, some steely aspects, crisp but fades quickly and not particularly memorable. May develop with time
White
2015 Vidal Estate Chardonnay Reserve
New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay
Pale straw, stone fruits, touch of tropical and some floral aromas. Well balanced palate with fruit, but also butterscotch and hint of coconut. Stood up to rich food well, medium finish. Great wine, particularly considering its price point
White
2014 Te Kairanga Chardonnay
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Pale Yellow, Bold aromas, stone fruit, melon, freshly cut cooking apples, touch of honey. Reasonable palate, good dense fruity flavours, with splattering of oak, some mild buttery aspects but not overtly complex. Enjoyable wine, stands up to food well
Flight 2 - Gnocchi with garlic oyster mushrooms and sage burnt butter/ Three cheese vegetable lasagne (3 notes)
Irongate stole the show here, really enjoyable flight, KR was great too but probably needs more time to show its true colours. Aged Arneis was an interesting imposter; was picked by most of the drinkers. Certainly a good alternative; there are a few NZ producers experimenting with this italian grape
White
2014 Babich Chardonnay Irongate
New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels
Yellow, white peach, nectarine, hint of oak on the nose. Good depth of citrus and stonefruit, with butterscotch and toasty oats. Beautiful firm acidity brings elegance and balance, propping up a long finish. Fantastic wine that will no doubt show more as it matures
White
2014 Kumeu River Chardonnay Estate
New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu
Pale yellow, voluptuous stone fruit, with citrus and hint of smoke. White peach, florals one the palate, with good minerality. Medium length Perhaps a little closed yet, will be interesting to drink this again in a couple of years time
White
2011 Trinity Hill Arneis Gimblett Gravels
New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels
Yellow, Floral nose, touch of under ripe nectarine. Palate quite dry, grapefruit, touch of apricot, some nice spicy oak that provides structure but does not overwhelm. Still quite fresh, would not have guessed it was 6 years old
Flight 3 - Cheese board (2 notes)
Two nice but different wine. Was really impressed by the Wolfblass, I expected it to be too young but thankfully not over spiced.
Red
2015 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir GV Collection
New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago
Complex aromas redcurrants with some stewed fruit. Tantalising palate, but still very young, spice with dense fruity acidity. Too closed now(hence NR) but with time I suspect will become a beautiful wine
Red
2012 Wolf Blass Shiraz Grey Label
Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Purple, Well balanced nose, dark fruits, blackberry. Pleasant palate, with good expression of fruits accompanied by some well proportioned spice, a touch of jammyness and smoke. Drinking well now but has got many years to come
Closing
Really enjoyable tasting, Unanimous wine of the evening was the Irongate, the rest of the bottle was demolished in no time. It was nice to see the Vidal hold up well in a blind tasting. I enjoyed the GV Pinot, although it needs time to fully develop
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