Regular readers may remember my report on a tasting of the same theme at around this time last year – an evening of great New Zealand Bordeaux style blends, at Social Kitchen in Kingsland. For a refresher, take a look here > https://winefolio.co.nz/?p=6178. On that occasion, the list of bottles included some iconic labels like Coleraine, Larose, Goldwater and St. Nesbit alongside relative newcomers Gillman, Destiny Bay and random french interlopers!
Tonights edition – of what would now seem to be an annual event – sees us back at Vic Road Kitchen in Devonport for a ‘best of’ menu that sees course after course of delicious plates land on our table, as we ‘concentrate’ on the wines – free of having to order or choose between us. Whilst the wine focus is fairly narrowly on reds, we were treated to various flavours of fish crudo, jerusalem artichoke, wagyu carpaccio, rocket, truffled mushroom, slow-cooked ragu, roasted fish and home-made pastas and focaccia.
Of course, the main intention of the evening is to taste wines, but the best way to do that is around a table with friends and decent food – so here we are… We start with a 2012 Gillman Clairet and Toby Gillman is on hand to explain to the group how ‘clear wine’ (clairet) was the main wine that appeared in England way back many centuries ago, before wine was sealed under cork. In more modern times, as Bordeaux wines grew darker and more tannic, the name stuck and was adulterated into ‘claret’, however, clairet is still used in the original meaning in the homeland. A darker-than-rosé colour and with more depth in the palate. Sweet-fruited but with plenty of phenolic bite and a prickle of tannin. With a light chill this was a very pleasant aperitif wine.
I had dug out one of my bottles of 2011 Matariki Quintology – a wine that has always been a joy to drink, and is now no longer being made of course. A full review is here > www.winefolio.co.nz/?p=9065. Another ‘lost label’ that is often the best thing on the table is here again tonight – 2008 St Nesbit is now a modern subdivision in Karaka, South Auckland. With impeccable structure and that vibrant, lifted nose that is the trademark of this wine. There’s a spice and black olive note that sits beside the plush, dark fruit and leads you into a texture that is silken and enveloping. Starting to deliver some savoury and earthy notes as well. This has everything.
Another bottle that features Syrah alongside the usual varietal suspects (the Quintology also had Syrah in the blend) is 2005 Unison Selection. This also comes from the Gimblett Gravels, and is another one that over-delivers at the price. Quite complex, with layers of glossy, ripe flavours and a soft texture cocooning the palate. Look for a minerality that adds another element to what is already a blend with substance and character.
There are going to be a few ‘classics’ uncorked on a night like this – and we start with the darling of New Zealand Bordeaux-style wines – Te Mata Coleraine. Having a couple of cracking vintages – 2000 Coleraine and 2006 Coleraine really allows those around the table to take in just what this wine has to offer. Coleraine has received a couple of 100/100 scores from contemporaries, and I certainly won’t go that far… but there’s a lot to admire about the elegance and panache of this Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wine. Again flashes of minerality are shown, but that cassis from the main component sets the tone, the Merlot fleshing it out with dashes of herbs, spice and a cedar note from the oak is shown across both of these wines. The twenty (or so) years in bottle haven’t dulled it and the finish is intense and persistent.
A few rivals to the local crown follow – 2010 Stonyridge Larose is drinking very well. Languid, lush and sweet-fruited. Blackcurrant, star anise, red plum, bramble and vanilla – ripe and unctuous. Dense and serene into the palate. Great structure – fine, elegant muscle of tannin, with generous oak that is well-integrated, framing the sumptuous fruit. There is immense power here, but also a softer, seductive charm.
2014 Destiny Bay Magna Praemia comes in a bottle that would give Jancis Robinson a heart attack – she refers to these heavyweights as ‘the elephant in the cellar’ these days. At around three-quarters Cabernet Sauvignon, this is also another left-bank style. Very well-crafted – meticulous structure and form, that then allows for the black fruit, vivacious acidity and fine, supple tannin to take centre stage. Seamless, the components well integrated – there’s a brooding, almost bloodyness to the core here. One to take your time over.
2005 Gillman Estate is, for me, the best wine out of Matakana. I do love Cabernet Franc, and the potential of it is perhaps only just starting to be realised in New Zealand. Smoky, herbal, forest-floor scents on the nose – quite european in fact. But watch out for the fruit – this tells you you’re in the New World. A juiciness and brightness through the palate that balances out the nose and the linger of savoury notes. Tasting excellent now, with nearly two decades in bottle, but watch for this to stay the course a while yet – possibly only just nearing the peak now.
2005 Chateau Talbot is quintessential St. Julien. The last time out someone snuck in a Ducru Beaucaillou, and this excellent wine from the Medoc was another welcomed interloper. Very broad and smooth – all rounded tannin and classical, chiselled features. There’s more balance than there is weight and concentration, with a focus on finesse over power. Still a baby, I’d expect to be seeing this develop more over the next fifteen years.
