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- Skeeter - 08-03-2004
The annual Massive Wine Sale of the Fine Wine Delivery Company was last weekend. Sadly, due to the fact I was working that afternoon, I was forced to be selective, rather than cut loose on the 100(!) wines open for tasting. (Luckily, a number of the wines had been open for the early-July tasting as well.) Here's the brief TN's. (Geographical Note: *=New Zealand, #=Australia in the TN's)
2003 Goldwater "New Dog" Sauvignon Blanc*: A Waiheke Island SB. Quite lemony in nose and flavour, fairly nice without really leaping out at me.
2003 Waipara Hills Sauvignon Blanc*: This one was more my style. Very crisp and aromatic, with a hint of armpit. A very classy SB.
2003 Brookfields Bergman Chardonnay*: I think I'd tried this one before. Very lightly oaked, medium-bodied, creamy with a touch of citrus. I liked this one better second time around. The first Big Tick O' Approval (BToA) for the day.
2003 Goldwater Roseland Chardonnay*: This left me so unenthused, the tasting notes section is blank. Not one on my shopping list, then.
2002 De Bortoli Noble One#: This one HAS been on the shopping list for quite some time, though. I've heard so many good things about it that it was probably impossible for it to live up to the hype, however. Still, as good a Noble Semillon as I've tried. Peaches, apricots and oozing with style. In Antipodean terms, she's a corker, a beauty and a little Aussie ripper. BToA!
2001 Gramps Botrytis Late Harvest#: Trying this after the Noble One was probably a mistake. Lighter, shorter and more restrained. I'll put in the "undecided" pile for now.
2002 Richmond Grove Limited Release Reisling#: VERY flinty nose, very dry in style. It wasn't my style, although it probably would have beren a few years back.
2000 Richmond Grove Cabernet Sauvignon#: Whoa, Nellie! Berries, good firm oak and a [Winoweenie Mode ON] fabbo bottle o' juice.[Winoweenie Mode OFF] Thumbs WAY up. BToA #3!
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Gris*: Forgot to note the vintage of this one. 2003 at a guess. Didn't grab me on the first taste, but grew on me on the second sip. Full-bodied with nice pear flavours. I'm still tip-toeing through Kiwi PG's, but this was a not-bad example of the breed.
2001 Rosemount Estate Chardonnay#: A dangerously drinkable lightly-oaked Aussie chardonnay. Nice citrus aftertaste, too.
2001 Rosemount Cabernet Sauvignon#: Good body, and really nice mouthfeel on this one. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to hunt them down, but Rosemount do seem to have fairly consistent quality standards.
1999 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon#: My notes were getting a little less detailed by now, as I was running out of time. (And stamina.) But this Coonawarra Cab Sav gets the BToA for it's amazing body backed up with nice, tingly tannins. Was probably a monster back in '99.
Roaring Meg Pinot Noir*: Oh, dear. The young-vines PN from Mt. Difficulty gets my Big Cross of DISapproval. About as far from my taste in reds as you could get. (Of course, one of my fellow tasting-room co-workers at Matua told me she really enjoyed Roaring Meg. Typical, huh? [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img] ) Light bodied, but the tannins were just too harsh for me.
2002 Saltram Barossa Shiraz#: This is a huge wine... typical of Aussie shiraz, full of jammy plums and black pepper. Dripping with class, I thought I had found my Pick O' The Day. Then I tried the one next to it...
2001 Wolfblass Brown Label Shiraz#: Smooth, spicy and an out-and-out stunner! My Personal Pick of the Day by a long way. Wolfblass apparently has a few labels above this one, including the "Man, that sounds pricey" Platinum label series. One can dream, I suppose.
2001 Peter Lehmann Noble Semillon#: This sticky's an old friend... my local wine store still holds a few bottles of their '97(!) vintage. Smooth, luscious, fairly long on the finish. Be interesting to see how this develops.
2004 Forrest Estate Gewurztraminer*: And then I stumbled on the suprise hit of the day! Not being a fan of gewurztraminer on the whole, I was blown away by this one. Mammoth floral/rosepetal nose, full and flavoursome. (Those near-perfect 2004 growing conditions in Marlborough, perhaps?) An unexpected BToA!
2002 Unison Merlot/Cabernet/Syrah*: Back-to-back BToA's! Very dry, with nice spicy Syrah notes. Like it, like it a lot!
Chambers Rosewood Tokay#: I finshed off with two Rutherglen Tokays. The first was smooth, not overly sweet, with a very long finish. I noted it as being like a "light port" on my notes. Not really "me", though.
Morris Liquer Tokay#: The second has no tasting notes in my book... But I could just copy them off the bottle I took home with me. Amnazingly full, raisiny Tokay, sweet but not cloying. Great stuff! (I was told to "treat myself" to the Black Label Tokay at some stage.... but at NZ$65/bottle, it'll have to wait 'til Christmas, methinks. The one I brought was great value at a third that price.)
So, 20 wines in 90 minutes or so, with EIGHT Big Ticks O' Approval... a good afternoons' work, I say. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
- hotwine - 08-03-2004
Nice notes, Skeeter, thanks for taking the time.
- Innkeeper - 08-03-2004
Thanks again Skeets.
- winoweenie - 08-03-2004
As ususal Skeets you bring a smile to this creased ole' kisser. Great notes and BOY, could I have used them last week. WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
- Skeeter - 08-03-2004
Well, it's hard work, but someone has to do it, I suppose. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]