Mini-Notes on 3 wines

[Skeeter]

I love wine stores that do tastings. I stopped into the N.Z Winemakers Center in mid-town Auckland (My new favourite store) and discovered they're one of them. Here's a couple I tried.

Giesen 2001 Reserve Barrel Selection Chardonnay: This one got Skeeters' Big-Ass Tick of Approval. Very complex wine to my taste, with some nice subtle buttery flavours lurking in the background and well-balanced oak levels. Another customer was equally impressed, being a self-admitted chardonnay freak. NZ$23.50

Giesen Riesling: My notes, hastly scribbled on the back of an ATM reciept, don't have the vintage. (I think it was the 2002) It was a lot sweeter than most rieslings I've tried, and not really to my taste. (The owner referred to it as a "riesling for Sav blanc drinkers"... a "training wine" if you like.) NZ$17.50

Harrier Rise 2000 "Uppercase": I've been by this winery in Keumeu a few times, and it's been closed every time. (It's a lifestyle winery, rather than a straight-out business.) This is a merlot that looks beautiful in the glass. Plenty of cheek-puckering tannins, doubly so if your an occasional-red drinker like me. The owner noted my expression and remarked "There's a lot going on in that one, isn't there?" I'll say... Layer on layer of flavours. Give my palate another few years and I'll be all over it like a rash.

I tasted one other, but since I ended up buying the bottle, i'll hold off until I re-taste that one at home. (It's the Harrier Rise "Monza" Cabernet Franc... only the second bottle of red I've ever brought. The red-loving father-in-law will be pleased, especially if I take it over to share this weekend.)

Geisen: http://www.tizwine.com/wineryprofile$104

Harrier Rise: http://www.tizwine.com/wineryprofile$118


[This message has been edited by Skeeter (edited 09-18-2003).]