A Mixed Grab-Bag of TN's

[Skeeter]

Hey, remember me? Nope. Not surprised, it's been a while. But I've been... well, lazy. So to make up for my unforgivable absence, let me crank some Ramones and fire off a few TN's from the scribbled fragments of paper I cleared out of my wallet tonight.

2006 Clearview Chardonnay: Full, rich mouthfeel. Nutty and creamy, with a good acid spine. Drinking nicely, but no hurry really. I managed to have lunch there on a recent visit to the Hawkes Bay Excellent food and great service. (Even replacing a spilled glass of wine at no charge after a waiter knocked over a chair, causing my mothers gewurztraminer to end up in my lap.) . A bottle of their Unoaked Chardoanny is currently in my "working cellar".. ie. the wardrobe. It won't be on Death Row long.

2006 Milton Chenin Blanc: Wowza! Crisp gala apple, nashi pear, a squeeze of lime and a little cinnamon. Damn, now I'm hungry. But this was amazing. I'd trample a nun to get a few more bottles of this.

2006 Saddleback Pinot Noir: Blackberry confectionery nose, fine tannins, medium body. My notes don't actually say whether I liked it, and it's been a while since I tried it. So this is a really unhelpful TN, huh?

2005 Lloyd Shiraz: Big Aussie bruiser this one! Very tannic, very long. The fruit gets a little overpowered by the all-out power, though. (I refuse to use the term "austere"... I've heard it mis-used about a gazillion times.) This one needs time in the cellar or a big gamey slab of Skippy. Or Bambi if you prefer.

2004 De Bortoli Noble One: Tasted for a second time a few months back, and still a stunner. Luxurious, luscious and balanced to perfection. Sublime orange and peach flavours get this one a Big Tick O' Approval!

2006 Rippon Osteiner: Interesting. Slightly sweet and very fruit-driven. Nashi pear again, but almost sherbt-like. I liked the heck out of this one. Should be excelllent with asian cuisine. (Or a decent Thai takeout, at least.)

2004 Nautilis Chardonnay: My notes call this a "good, honest chardonnay". Obviously didn't leap out at me, but didn't get the thumbs down either.

NV Hardys Merlot: Gifted to me after a party. It was drinkable. But not one I'm racing out to buy again. Even at 6 bucks a bottle.

2006 Te Mata Elston Chardonnay: One of the winemakers at the winery I work weekends at can't stand Elston. I'm going to have to disagree. Tight, structured, massively long, great mouthfeel, excellent peachy/nutty character. Sorry dude, I give this one a pass with flying colours!

Well, that should do for a while. Tomorrow, there's a 150-wine tasting/sale at a store in town. I'm attending, I think. And even better news. I got a new part-time job. In a winestore. One that specialises in top-end New Zealand juice. And does a lot of staff tastings.

I'm a happy little Kiwi!

Ninja Edit: I just discovered one of my old TN's on a dusty Wordpad file tucked into a neglected corner of my hard-drive. Therein I discovered that the '02 Rippon Osteiner was "oily" and "didn't do much for me". Times change, and so do tastes, I guess.

[This message has been edited by Skeeter (edited 07-26-2007).]

[Innkeeper]

Welcome back Skeets. We missed you.

[wondersofwine]

Thanks for posting Skeeter. I've been hearing about Milton Riesling lately. We were supposed to have it at a wine dinner last night but the delivery didn't arrive, so we ended up having a Schloss Vollrads Riesling from Rheingau, Germany.

[winoweenie]

Velchomme back there Skeets! Thot maybe you'd been kidnapped by a rouge band of Kiwi Nuns who were trying to force you to mend your ways.WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

[Skeeter]

Perish the thought, WW. (Besides, a nun armed with a ruler is a terrifying sight to behold.)

Things were a bit disappointing today... I arrived a bit later than I had planned at the wine sale, and found all the wine reps had already packed up and departed. Still some wines open for tasting, but most were the exact smae ones from the previous sale.

However, the Mt. Difficulty "Roaring Meg" '06 Pinot Noir was a nice surprise... The debut vintage had been widely praised, but didn't do a thing for me. This one was a lot smoother, if still a tiny bit harsh on the finish. I'll give those young vines another year or two to really show what they're capable of, I think.