Vidal Reserve Chardonnay 2015
A Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay, from a variety of vineyards, including Kakako in the Ohiti Valley, some Gimblett Gravels and Te Awanga fruit. A zingy golden colour in the glass, paling to a greenish tinge at the edges, tasted at four years bottle age in October 2019. A soft nose hinting at flintiness, spicy oak and ripe stonefruit, leading into a medium bodied wine with concentrated citrus fruit and a decent whack of nutty, toasty barrel ferment and ageing influence (9 months in 20% new oak). A fine balance of rich ripe honeyed peach with an underlying creaminess and texture. The moderate acidity sweeps through to a generous and satisfying finish. Just fantastic for a four-year old wine that I would have paid little over $15 for on release – Vidal are a class act, and definitely in the value-for-money game.
Lawsons Dry Hills Gewurtztraminer 2017
From twin vineyards with clay soils at the base of the Wither Hills, this is a legend of New Zealand winemaking, winning the Rapid Labels Trophy for Champion Gewurtz at the NZIWS 2019. A very pale golden colour in the glass, but, my, with outrageous aromas of Turkish delight, lemon sherbert and musky French perfumes. The fruit is lush, pronounced, sweet and deep – lychee, pear and fresh citrus. The palate is immensely textural with a striking depth and densely packed weight to it. After such a rounded and plush core, the finish surprisingly lacey and dry, with a light mineral element sneaking in. Superb cellaring potential here.
Pisa Range ‘Black Poplar Block’ Pinot Noir 2015
The Pisa vineyards are north of Cromwell, in an area of large diurnal variation (where the temperature varies a lot from daytime to night). Winner of a Gold Medal at NZIWS this year. A dense, deep red coloured wine with very spicey and complex bouquet including savoury herbals, cherry, cloves and star anise. It’s sweet-fruited and youthful, despite it’s year in French oak barriques lending a hefty wadge of oak flavours integrated into the layered palate. It has a finesse to the medium-bodied core – almost syrah-like in its poise… definitely something quite french about its elegance. A rich chocolatey depth to the finish, with notes of liquorice and plum lingering for some distance.
