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+--- Thread: Quite of lot of TN's... (/thread-8804.html)
- Skeeter - 02-12-2008
Okay, I’ve been slacking off on getting my scribbled TN’s out of my notebook and onto the board. So, no mucking about… let’s dive into some of the Staff Tastings, the pre-Xmas Champange-and sparkling bash and a few drink-at-home beverages.
2007 Te Whare Ra Toru: Here’s an odd duck to start off with. “Toru†is Maori for “Threeâ€, and that’s how many varieties are in the bottle. The Gewurtztraminer announces its presence first, all floral meadows on the nose. A nice, smooth, off-dry palate, thanks to the Pinot Gris, with some honeysuckle notes coming through. (Hellllo, Reisling.) A very palatable blend.
Pelorus NV Methode: Cloudy Bays’ non-vintage sparkler is quite fruit-driven at first, before a nice funky edge kicks in. Very smooth mousse, too. Should be an excellent aperitif. Lots to like here.
(There ensues a brief pause in my transcribing to sell a couple of hundred dollars of excellent Central Otago wines. Yes, I’m using the company computer. But it’s wine-related business, yeah?)
2006 Maven Pinot Noir: No fruit bomb here… a very earthy style of Marlborough Pinot, with forest floor notes. Pretty youthful still, with complexity to spare. Would be interesting to see how this one develops.
2006 Te Whare ra Pinot Noir: Whoosh! Big, masculine Pinot, deep ruby in the glass, massively structured, great length. A full-on style, but right up my alley. Big Tick o’ Approval.
2006 Mahi Pinot Noir: My notes read “Vegemite/bacon fat†nose… I’m thinking that was out of one of my fellow tasters mouths, however. (I was between two pinot-lovers, both of whom fired off comments on the above two PN’s and this one like they had been to a “All The Superlatives You Can Carry For a Dollar†sale. Passionate about their pinots, those two.) Firm, drying tannins dominate this bold Pinot. Not my favourite of the trio, but pretty good.
2006 Wither Hills Pinot Noir: Who let the cows out? (Moo, moomoo, moomoo…) Yep, we’re in the barnyard here… deep earthy nose, ripe and layered on the palate. Excellent as always. And as always, a shade beyond my everyday purchasing power. (NZ$60) Hey, is that my birthday coming up?
2007 Waipara Hills Pinot Gris: A delicate, fruit-driven PG, slightly funky aftertaste… and sadly, an odd, somewhat harsh finish. I even rinsed and went back for a second taste in case it was just my typical aversion to Pinot Gris influencing me. Nope, there it was again. That boy ain’t right. Next!
2007 Rockburn Sauvignon Blanc: I braced myself for this one… a Savvie from Central Otago! Surely they couldn’t make decent savs that far south, I thought.
Incorrectly, as it turned out.
Pungent nose, with apples and sweaty characters to the forefront. Super-citric flavours of zingy lemon and grapefruit, with a lingering, delicious finish. Break out the sashimi, we’ve got a winner here!
2004 Drumsara Pinot Noir: I’m always lamenting the fact that most Kiwi Pinot Noir gets drunk way too soon. A year after vintage can see it blossom. A few too many years, though… and you get one like this. Medium crimson, fading at the rim already. Slightly earthy nose with some dark berry scents. The fruit seems to have faded on the palate, though… the remaining tannins are dominating, the mid-palate seems hollow and the whole thing has just wobbled out of balance. Not me at all. (Although some of our customers loved it when it was on the tasting table. Different strokes, and all that.)
2007 Villa Maria Gravel Lane Sauvignon Blanc: Subtler than the average Savvie, refined and long, with the acid levels reigned back a fair way. Melon and capsicum flavours. Not leap-out –the-glass spectacular, but quite a nice wine.
2004 Nga Waka Home Block Chardonnay: The nose promises the world, the palate delivers the hemisphere of your choice. (Okay, weird metaphor. Read: It smells bigger than it tastes.) Tangy, nutty, old-school chardy, creamy-smooth texture, mouthfilling and rounded. Yum! (Of course, being a chardonnay, it polarized people between “delicious†and “bleehâ€.)
2007 Cable Bay Gewürztraminer: Light and delicate floral aromatics, medium-bodied, slightly off-dry. Okay, but didn’t set the world on fire for me.
2005 Weeping Sands Merlot/Cabernet: I’m so undecided on this one, my notes kind of trailed off in mid-sentence. It was getting late, though.
2005 Okahu Estate Pinotage: Medium-bodied, but with an excellent array of flavours. Plum, currants, spicey notes, firm tannins. Really well-made wine. Delicious. Big Tick o’ Approval.
Nautilis Methode NV: Rich, crisp and drinkable, with restrained acids and excellent mouthfeel. I do like a good glass of fizz at the moment.
During the above tastings I was also lucky enough to sample several Champagnes. (Allowing me to be faux-pretentious if I wanted to be… “Bolly? Well, actually I prefer the Pol Roger, darling!†I won’t be, though. But the non-vintage Pol really is superb.) The highlights included a beautiful Pol Roger ’99 Rose, an amazingly toasty, yeasty ’98 Pol Chardonnay and the stunning 1997 Bollinger Grand Anee.
Some French and Spanish reds also got a workout. (Most of the French left me cold, bar a 2006 Jaboulet GSM.) The Rioja passed muster easily, and a 2004 Solar Viejo Crianza pushed the right buttons with its spicy, drying characters. Went well with the cumin hummus I was snacking on, too.
And finally:
2003 Matua Valley Innovator Pinot Noir: Notice a trend? Yeah, I jumped aboard the Pinot bandwagon big-time this month. I’ll have to crack a Syrah soon, just so I don’t feel like a sheep. (Then again, some of those Pinots are well-worth becoming one of the flock for.) This last one? Well, don’t expect to find it anytime soon. It was a tiny run, sold out for three years at the cellar door and this was my last bottle. (Hidden away under my father-in-laws house these last four-and-a-bit years.) Opened because, hey, it was ready to drink and my mother-in-law had a roast of lamb in the oven. It was worth the wait. Still alive under the screwcap, supple, silky and smooth. Everything had melded perfectly into a most pleasant drop. (Of course, it was pretty damn good back in ’04, too.)
Well, there you have it. And hey, guess what? My favourite Wine Bore showed up while I was transcribing my notes. Again. He tried the Rockburn Sauvignon, declaring it “No good. Out of balance, too fruity, too acidic.†I politely reminded him that that was possibly because it was, I don’t know, a sauvignon blanc. He then insisted on a fresh glass before trying the Rockburn Unoaked Chardonnay we also had open. (“My palate’s too sensitive!â€. Oh, bite my nuts, you plonker.) He decided he could smell mildew in the wine. My eyebrow inadvertently raised so high I think it tried to escape from my head. Oddly, he actually liked his “mildew-y†chard, which I consider pretty short and uninspiring.
He surprised me by buying a couple of bottles, though. (Of Pinot Gris. *sigh*)Less surprising was his request for his “usual†discount. No-one has EVER given him a discount. So I gave him the usual 0%.
Plonker.
[This message has been edited by Skeeter (edited 02-12-2008).]
- wondersofwine - 02-12-2008
Love your notes, Skeeter. (Including those on your favorite customer.)
- dananne - 02-12-2008
As always, a stellar job. Really enjoyed the PN notes.
- TheEngineer - 02-12-2008
Great notes Skeet. LOL!!! great story telling too!
You and KC were having an unannounced competition this week???
- winoweenie - 02-13-2008
Just for an item of interest....What would happen if KC and Skeets happened to be sheparding the same shop whenced Skeets fav customer arrived???? It would undoubtedliblly be ruled justifiable homicide regardless who got to his throat first. WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
- Skeeter - 02-17-2008
So long as someone ensures I bean him with a cheap sauvignon. Breaking a cellar-worth cab over his head would mean I'd HAVE to turn myself in.
- Kcwhippet - 02-17-2008
Do you think maybe a bottle of either Yellow Tail or Charles Shaw might do the trick??