Made, I am reliably told, by Rudi Bauer during his time making wines for Hay’s Lake – then Rockburn. A Central Otago Pinot Gris – sealed under cork.
Sensational nose of peach and orange blossom, with the characteristic spicy pear notes floating through with a good swirling. Colour is not darkening too much, although heading towards a straw-like golden hue.
On the palate there’s still a near-youthful burst of fruit, and although ripe and glossy, this has only just started down the bottle-age characters of honeycomb, brioche and the dampening of acidity.
It’s a substantial mouthful – the blowsy alcohol at 14.5% has contributed here – densely packed, and intensely textural.
I’m lucky to have two more of these tucked away – this will go well for another 5 years at least! Really well-made New Zealand Pinot Gris, Riesling and even Sauvignon Blanc can age wonderfully – I’d say this is looking fitter than the 2002 Coleraine I had a couple of months ago.
