In the glass, this wine seems nearly as clear as water – it’s very, very pale, almost the color of weak chamomile tea. On the nose, there’s lots of passionfruit that revealed itself after warming up some in the glass; colder, it smelled more steely, minerally. It’s uncannily liked canned lilikoi iced tea from Hawaii, and I mean that in the best possible way: it gets you salivating just be smelling it. There’s also a sort of chalky undertone to the smell, which is most appealing.
In the mouth, the wine isn’t at all thin – it shows good, albeit slightly soft acidity with the all important US-palate pleasing slight residual sugar that takes the edge off just a bit. Texturally, it’s reasonably fat with a nice sense of viscosity – it feels rich and full. Smelling it again, there’s a faint smokiness there as well.
The finish is pleasant, if perhaps slightly simple: a rich fruitiness, a hint of smoke, and then it’s gone after persisting on the tongue for just a bit. Lovely stuff, and excellent value. Think Cloudy Bay at a third the price (and slightly less huge). On the other hand, the instant this warmed up, it tasted terrible, unlike Cloudy Bay – if you do buy this, make sure to chill it down beforehand.
Boro Hills [but really fresh&easy]
Price: US $9.99
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2007
I think serving temperature is pretty key to these Kiwi SB cheapies. They can become quite icky at higher temps, losing the crisp acidity and minerality that defines the better examples of the style.
You couldn’t be more correct, sir. I really should update this post to point out that once it really warmed up, it changed from being surprisingly good to flabby and nasty.