Welcome to the end of the year round up where I look at my ten favourite wines of the year. This is what I judge to be the best of the best wines that I tried in 2022. It was an interesting year. One in which I was cajoled into expanding WineFolio beyond just looking at the New Zealand wine scene, but to taking a wider scope into what is ‘available here’ whilst still focussing on the best of home-grown. It’s probably about 75/25 in terms of tasting wines day-to-day for me – with many more local wines crossing my path than internationals. But when you head up into ‘fine wine’ territory – the best of the best, then New Zealand is only a drop in the ocean, and it’s healthy to reflect on that. As much as I champion New Zealand wines, you cannot deny the quality that it is up against in the global market.
I’m only including here the wines that are ‘ (reasonably) current vintage’. I’m not including the few bottles of 80s and 90s Bordeaux and Burgundy that I had the pleasure of sharing with friends – or the Penfolds Grange, 1970 vintage port, and so on. Not even that ten year old Kusuda that Curt unleashed to accompany some duck pancakes one cold Spring evening.
The Best White Wine of 2022
Aubert Vineyards Chardonnay Powder House Estate 2017 (California, USA). Not shy on the oak – California rides into town. But hold on, this has depth, weight and character plus. It is sweet, sour, green, plush, nutty, generous, all at once. Quince, melon, nectarine, lemon blossom and honeycomb. A beautiful chaos that somehow also has balance, length, power, depth and punch. Superb.
The Best Red Wine of 2022
Radburnd Cellars Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (Hawke’s Bay, NZ) An intensely deep, bloody claret colour, aromatic with elderberry, bay leaf, eucalypt and cassis. Refined, with an elegant power rather than density – showing good tension and poise. Lovely fruit! It sets an opulent tone – with blackcurrant, cranberry and savoury, roasted beetroot, umami notes; then the Merlot fills in the middle with its easy-going swagger. A sinewy spine of fine-grained tannin and lovely peaty oak – enriching, vanilla and toasty. Concentrated and with amazing complexity.
Apart from those two Best White and Best Red wines, these are in no particular order…
Devotus Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 (Martinborough, NZ). Showing nutmeg, pepper and dark fruits on the nose – black cherry, redcurrant and mulberry. Elegant into the palate – open and expressive. Blood orange, strawberry mingle with baking spices as the wine opens and becomes more powerful, starting to show dense concentration of flavour, and, in particular, tannins as it floods your senses. This wine is as much about those gorgeous tannins – and the supporting woody, spiced, resinous qualities of the whole bunch component included – as anything else. Acidity is balanced, and there’s a lovely savoury finish, with peat, wet leaves, olives and crushed herbs. A smooth, velvet finish is a mile-long.
Pierro Chardonnay 2019 (Margaret River, Australia). Pink grapefruit, lime curd, sage, sweetcorn, almond and flower-power. Lovely concentration and intensity with pithy pure acidity that cuts straight through. Coiled and intense, with impressive muscle. A mealy, glossy, texture that has a little mineral and fruit tannin grip. Yum.
Passage Rock ‘Generation’ 2020 (Waiheke Island, NZ). A deep, dense inky black claret in the glass, with really pure Cabernet aromatics of blackcurrant, mint, bramble, campari and bitter chocolate. Tight and youthful, with a beautiful purity and sustained intensity. It’s got a real swagger. A really confident, chest pumped-out kind of Cabernet. The oak is hedonistic, but eaten up by that ripe fruit, adding great structure, working in unison with the plump tannins to form a well-defined, generous core. Finishes succulent, rich and lasting.
Paritua Platinum Cabernet Franc 2019. (Bridge Pa NZ). A distinctive nose of Cabernet Franc, with tobacco, plum, autumn leaves, bramble and violet floral notes. Classy, in the style of a fine Bordeaux. Sweet and ripe, and a lovely complexity to the mid-weighted palate that showed plenty of savoury flavours to balance the succulent fruit. Majestic oak. Not a heavy blockbuster of a wine, but with intricacy and excellent length to the finish.
Helio Chardonnay 2021 (Hawke’s Bay, NZ). Perfumed with sliced pear, grapefruit, cashew, mandarin, honeycomb, tarragon and lemon blossom. A beautiful and immediate snap of citrus acidity bursts onto the palate – saline and bright – setting a vibrant stage for the fruit to shine through. Young, tight and tense, but with a rich, plush concentration. A lean oak note adds depth to the core, allowing the other layers of complexity to emerge as the wine unfolds. An oyster shell minerality completes a polished expression of coastal Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay.
Schubert Wines ‘Kai’ Pinot Noir 2016 (Wairarapa, NZ). Intensely aromatic, with a salvo of both complementary and contrasting fruit and savoury notes on the nose. Lilac florals, blueberry, star anise, mocha, mustard seed, cherry, macademia and mushroom. Bright with a racy acidity and firm concentration. There’s a lovely gloss to this – a polish and harmony, with a pulse of plush fruit, plenty of well-integrated oak and fine, ripe tannins. Some tapenade, black tea and roast tomato flavours emerge as the wine evolves and shows great depth and elegance.
Te Kano Sauvignon Blanc 2021 (Central Otago, NZ). The perfume manages to be both elegant, youthful and emphatic – spilling from the glass in a burst of melon, cucumber, peach, passionfruit and freesia. Through into the palate there are richer notes of spicy oak, nougat and toasted baguette. Buoyant acidity adds vibrancy, drive and balances out some of the richer elements and the growing creaminess. A crushed shell minerality echoes through the mid-palate. The fruit still rises to the fore and that coltish vitality follows through to the most pure, clean and mouth-watering finish.
Maude ‘Mt Maude Dry Riesling’ 2021 (Wanaka, NZ). Vibrant aromatics, with a jazzy, exotic palate showing the perfect balance of ripe citrus fruit, spice, herbal-florals and acidity. A dry, serious expression – light on its feet but with a dazzling complexity. A saline and slatey minerality completes the picture. This should age majestically (but it’s gorgeous right now too).
