I confess that trying this wine this was a bit of a trip down Memory Lane for me. Back in November 2019, I started up the WineFolio website, and one of the things that I wanted to do as part of that was a series of benchmark tastings of New Zealand wines by grape varietal. The first one that I finally managed to arrange was Pinot Gris – and on 1st February 2020 – this wine was the number one choice! The link to the notes from then is here > https://winefolio.co.nz/?p=1214.
After I wrote the article, Soljans sent me another bottle – which has sat in my cellar since. Some NZ Pinot Gris can age really rather well – others less so – and even top examples can enter a doldrums stage with a few years in bottle. Now it was time to take another look – and which outcome would it be for this Auckland wine?
A deep gold colour in the glass. The aroma that has been crisp and juicy in 2020, now shows a side that is deeper, with baked pear, peach, ginger and apple – with a spiced crumble, oatmeal biscuit perfume. A bit flaccid in the palate, with the acidity now muted and lacking drive. A lovely deep juiciness, with honey and spice adding weight and sense of ripe sweetness. The creamy texture encircles the palate – almost too much, crowding out any freshness and energy. It is by no means un-drinkable, but sadly, this hasn’t benefitted from extra cellaring, so I hope you drank and enjoyed in it’s youth. 80pts
