For the ‘second sailing’ of the good ship Tasting Table, we presented our passports at Archie’s Restaurant in Newmarket and settled in for another evening of new wine discoveries around the table. Food was served “family style” with bold, Italian flavours, matched to the bottles as we went. The first three wines were tasted alongside platefuls of bruschetta – Prosciutto and Parmesan, Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato, Gorgonzola and Red Onion and Mushroom with Garlic and Oregano.
Lake Chalice ‘Plume’ Méthode Traditionnelle NV
68% Chardonnay & 32% Pinot Noir – 30 months on lees. Pale golden yellow with a fine mousse of bubbles. First, pear and braeburn apple, then more yeasty, with a touch of brioche and meringue. The acidity is penetrative on the palate – fine and zesty. A nice balance between freshness and complexity, with a hint of fruit sweetness carrying it along. Seems like an easy-drinking aperitif style at first – but really took off to another level once the food arrived. A chalky, drying finish. 91pts “a good level of umami” was in our notes.
Dicey Chardonnay 2023
Pale golden green colour. Bold and flinty with slight reductivity on the nose. Aromas of red apple, white peach, satsuma, lemon peel, all spice and brioche. A serious, elegant expression. Very crisp acidity giving good flow and carry. Feels like a touch of peppery tannin mid-palate, and one guest felt there was “a bold touch of oak”. Broad, textural and generous – almost creamy, before a very focussed, good-length, pithy finish. 93pts
Yealands Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2024
From the hilltop of Seaview Vineyard in the Awatere Valley. Golden colour, with a touch of green around the edges. Starts with a savoury nose – pastry, fennel, green olive, then comes nectarine, grapefruit, whitecurrant and hazelnut. Rides a wave of salty acidity – tart and citrussy. A herbaceous, clean, grassiness creeps into the mid-palate, before a silky texture rounds things out. One of our tasters thought: “Really bright and very well-balanced”. 89pts
The next two Chardonnays had a straightforward carb-laden offering of Chicken and Mushroom Risotto to cope with. They did well! It’s funny how wines just taste so well with food. We were well under way by this point – stories flowing and questions asked.
Crossing Point Chardonnay 2024
A silvery green colour. Old school nose with ripe tropical fruit – pineapple, coconut and mango, plus citrus and some golden peach. hazelnut and a hint of pear danish. Well-balanced with some savoury, herbal and preserved lemon notes mid-palate. Fine acidity meets generous plush fruit midway and keeps on rolling. There’s a nice touch of vanilla from the well-judged use of oak – it adds toast and body, and suits the wine. Look for a long, freshening finish. Well made, and very good value. 92pts
A guest found this to be a “beautiful match to the risotto”. Most of the group said this was the first time they had the wine – asked a lot about the label. “Very Hawke’s Bay” was another comment (that’s a compliment from our group)
Whitehaven ‘Fossil Block’ Chardonnay 2024
Comes from a tiny block in Awatere vineyard with oceanic fossil-rich soils. Very green colour – pale and bright. Starts with chalky aromas – a crisp, crushed shell minerality. Then a breeze of ozone, moving into sliced apple, mandarin and a bit more weight, with lemon curd and nectarine. Fine and delicate but delicious – tense and energetic. Very brisk acid and a real lightness of touch throughout. Flavours of greengage and green olive. The back of palate widens a touch and the finish is pure and lengthy. 92pts A couple of the tasters liked the ‘elegance and purity’ of this one.
The next course of food had to cope with two quite different wine styles – as we transitioned from white to red. To be fair, it wasn’t going to be a hard ask for the Chardonnay to do well alongside Tortelloni filled with Ricotta, Aubergine & Leek, and served with a Creamy, Lemon & Mushroom Sauce – but we all thought that the Escarpment Pinot did well too. The savoury notes and tannin proving to be a contrast to the soft, buttery pasta.
Cuvar ‘Guardians’ Chardonnay 2024
New vintage of a previous ‘Champion Wine of Show’ at the Hawke’s Bay Wine Show. A bright straw colour with a touch of green. The rich, classic bouquet of peach, pear, cashew nut and lemon blossom also has plenty of spice and tropical fruit notes of guava and pineapple. Texture is important in this wine – it cocoons the back of the palate, swaddling the fruit. Breezy acidity and a background oak toast gives spine. Super length on a drying finish. 92pts Our tasters noted the “Old World style” and the food pairing “was inspired – a match made in heaven”
Escarpment Pinot Noir 2023
A cool growing season serves a lighter colour than some on show tonight – a pale, but bright burgundy red. We start with a calm, serious nose – subtle and precise. Raspberry, fig, redcurrant, hay, fallen leaves and salami. Dry, led by a rasp of dusty tannin – ushering in savoury notes of tapenade, peat and nori. A nutty oak character is obvious – perhaps needing time to settle – the wine is also youthfully tight and takes time to unwind in the glass. But open up it does, and the finish is impressively long. 91pts. A few around the table have tasted multiple vintages of this wine and commented “It will develop nicely – very tasty!” One comment was that it was “Delicious, but without the usual Martinborough earthiness”
The last wines were tasted at a leisurely pace with groaning platefuls of protein delivered to the table. Scotch Fillet served with roasted new potatoes and mediterranean vegetables with four good New Zealand Pinots isn’t a bad way to finish off a Wednesday night.
Delta ‘Hatters Hill’ Pinot Noir 2023
Fleshy and fruity – a well-balanced modern Marlborough Pinot. Shows morello cherry, apple, redcurrant, coffee bean, plus a floral note in the perfume. In the palate there is an abundance of sweet fruit heightened by crispy acidity. More complex as you go, when savoury elements of marmite on toast, beetroot and root beer appear. Very fine tannins. 90pts One of our guests thought it was “Dark and firmly structured”.
Nevis Bluff Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024
From Pisa, Central Otago – now made by Matt Connell. A Double Gold medal winner in the NZ International Wine Show and has just collected a Gold medal at the International Wine Challenge in London too. In the glass it is a deep ruby colour. On the nose it’s plush, rich and juicy – cherry dominant with strawberry and plums, then dark chocolate, thyme and lavender. Intense, concentrated and really ripe – the fruit sits forward. “Complex, spicy and delicious” we said. Less about structure here, but tannin is very fine and an elegant, subtle acid leads and shines a light on the lush fruit. 93pts “Just a lovely glass of wine”
Allan Scott ‘Black Label’ Pinot Noir 2024
Bright, shining garnet red colour in the glass. An intense spiciness to the perfume that is intriguing. Juicy cherry, mocha, five spice, blackcurrant, bitter cocoa, cola nut and bay leaf. A tight, youthful, energy flows through a medium-weight palate. Chewy tannins and a crisp acidity plus a mouth-filling texture. “nice vanilla and spice from the oak” featured in the tasting notes. Later in, orange peel and negroni flavours sashay into view. Could take being chilled? It has the character, and all the bits and pieces in place for that. 90pts One of our group commented that it is “quite energetic and ‘now’ – they weren’t making them like this a decade ago”
Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir 2024
A mid-density burgundy/carmine red colour in the glass. Very distinctive on nose – both smoky and floral, and with both red and blue fruits – plum, cherry, cranberry, blueberry, maybe a touch of balsamic. Lovely palate – with weight, energy and fine-boned, sinewy structure. Acidity of course – quite zippy and intense at this youthful stage – but masterful use of oak too. A drag of tannin across the palate widthways. Spice on the finish – peppery and characterful. “a long, lingering finish” “Wine of the night – like a 1er Cru Burgundy” were just a couple of fanfares spoken about this wine. 95pts
