I recall we consumed these wines over two or three nights. Certainly, it all happened in Queenstown, around Christmas.

Before heading off to the most unlikely (and wonderful) Christmas dinner one could imagine, we downed a bottle of Domaine Emilian Gillet Viré-Clessé Quintaine 2002. I think this wine’s a bit of alright and had been keen to share it with Chris since my first tasting. Gratifying, then, to observe Chris’s enjoyment of what is an unusual and delicious white Burgundy. According to Ross Duke, Jean Thévenet (who makes this wine) picks his fruit in tranches at quite different levels of ripeness, including late picked, Botrytis affected fruit. This is evident in the quite startling array of flavour influences, and a lusciously round mouthfeel. Fabulous wine, great value.

Thinking back, we also managed to drink a bottle of 1996 Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon, though exactly when I can’t recall. As per my previous note, this wine remains a beautiful baby, showing nascent signs of maturity but still prickling with youth.

At some point in the next twenty four hours, we opened a series of Shirazes. From the first sip, it was evident Chris’s bottle of Cayuse Vineyards Cailloux Syrah 2006 from Washington State’s Walla Walla appellation would be the wine to beat. I’ve never tasted Syrah with such a flavour profile before. Explosively fragrant, this wine smells of bright red and black fruits, spice, tobacco, some pepper and a cascade of notes I feel ill equipped to describe. The palate matches the nose’s level of impact with powerful flavour that steamrolls across the tongue. It’s not at all heavy, though. This wine is almost expressionist in its character — vivid, emotional, even a bit uncontrolled. I loved it and was very sad to see the end of the bottle. My wine of the trip, without a doubt.

Many wines might suffer in comparison to the Cayuse, and on the day this was the fate of a bottle of Seppelt’s St Peters Shiraz from 2004. Dan and I felt it was a little bretty — certainly, it never tasted quite right, with a thinly acidic palate and not much stuffing. My last tasting of this wine revealed a balanced, elegant wine of some luxury, so I can only conclude we struck an inferior bottle.

Not so much suffering in comparison to a particular wine as an entire wine style was our next bottle, a Lake’s Folly Cabernet from 1999. Note to self: don’t mix older Hunters with young, fruity Shiraz. Lots of regional stink here and, though it showed true to type, this wine requires the sort of leisurely, isolated contemplation that none of us were in the mood to provide. The next day, I retasted this wine and enjoyed it a deal more. As always, a polarising style, for which I remain grateful.

A 2006 Wendouree Shiraz was just the ticket to revitalise our palates. This is seriously young, yet not as forbidding as I had anticipated. Sure, there’s structure to burn, but the primary fruit is so clean, pure and deep, it’s a pleasure to taste right now. Very dark berry fruits and eucalyptus are the main flavour components. By the next day, it was tasting markedly better, structurally more integrated and with greater elegance. If it’s not yet a wine of overt complexity, its correctness and poise provide ample compensation. A wine with its best days ahead, and one that I’d love to retaste again and again.

I guess we were Shirazed out by this point, because our next bottle, also courtesy of Wendouree, was a fortified Muscat of Alexandria (a blend of the 2004 and 2005 vintages). Not a wine to pick apart, this is designed for easy, hedonistic enjoyment. This is an unusual fortified wine in the Australian context, being relatively fresh and light as a style. Piercing, rich floral and marmalade notes dominate. Delicious.

There isn’t much else to do in Invercargill two days before Christmas except open a whole bunch of wine. Or so we told ourselves. Earlier in the day, we had visited the Southern-most point of the South Island of New Zealand, so Pinot Noir seemed an appropriately extreme varietal for our evening tasting.

Starting with the obvious, then, we opened a bottle of Jacques Cacheux & Fils Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas 2005. I’ve tasted this wine before, and my experience of it on the night was consistent with my earlier tasting. Very much on the funky side, this isn’t a world-beater but shows intense perfume, an attractively nimble character and enough finesse to keep things interesting.

Warmed up by now, we headed straight for the heavy hitter: J.K. Carriere Antoinette Pinot Noir 2005, from the Willamette Valley in Orgeon. It’s amazing when you consider this wine travelled first from Oregon to California, then from California to New Zealand, and finally to our hotel room in Invercargill. Even more amazing is knowing, the whole time, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole was swimming around in the liquid, destined to disappoint us. Chris was especially disheartened, having lugged the bottle a long way for us to taste together. I couldn’t resist having a quick taste. Although quite tainted, a velvety mouthfeel and considerable density of fruit flavour were evident. What a shame.

In an effort to perk up our spirits, we moved on to Picardy’s Tête de Cuvée 2005 from Western Australia. What a provocative wine. People talk about bringing the drama of a particular site or terroir to the bottle and, for better or worse, this wine exemplifies that particular approach. It’s wonderfully elusive, with a range of high toned notes including orange peel, flowers, spice and smoke. In the mouth, it’s light yet with notably intense fruit character. Great drive through the palate. Chris was prompted to note a certain similarity to Bourbon, and I get this through its extravagantly fragrant profile. Despite these qualities, it tastes so marginal one wonders how the wine was ever made. It teeters on the edge of not existing at all. A beautiful one-off, then. I still can’t decide whether I like it.

We chose a local to finish off the evening, being the 2007 Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir. A total contrast to the Picardy, this wine belongs to the meatier, more subsantial Central Otago camp. Heady notes of Pinot fruit, nutmeg and ripe tomatoes, says Chris. I found the palate quite acidic and a little disjointed, though Chris had less trouble with this aspect of the wine. We ended up drinking it over three days and, by the final glass, it was singing a much smoother song, almost glowing with gentle fruit and a harmonous, velvet structure. Lovely wine.

Whenever we see each other in person, Chris and I (like all good winos) like to bring a selection of bottles to share. Our recent travels in New Zealand were no different, and we were able to taste our way through an interesting and, at times, remarkable series of wines. Certainly, I tasted a couple of stunning North American wines that Chris was generous enough to share with me, along with a bottle of 2000 Louis Roederer Cristal (“left over” from his recent wedding) that kicked off our first tasting session.

I must admit, I’m not as well versed in the world of Champagne as I’d like to be, but even a relative novice like me can tell this wine is bloody good. “Burnt toast,” blurted both Dan and I at the same time. “Pain grillé,” corrected Chris. After all, it’s Champagne! A complex and remarkable array of notes that kept changing as we worked our way through the bottle. Brioche, pear cider, something medicinal and herbal too. What struck me about this wine is how nimble it is, especially considering its grand reputation. It’s long and powerful in the mouth, yet without heaviness, and displays a remarkably smooth, chalk-like mouthfeel.

Dinner wasn’t quite ready, so we needed (and I use that term loosely) another aperitif wine. Opening the fridge revealed a chilled bottle of Grosset’s Springvale Riesling from 2008. This is such an explosively aromatic wine, it was fun to observe everyone’s reactions around the room. It’s almost Sauvignon Blanc-like in intensity. If anything, I enjoyed this more than last time, due no doubt to the sparkling company.

Next up was another wine I’d never tasted and probably would never have heard of if not for Chris’s conspicuous talent for seeking out unusual wines: Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2003. It’s a Bordeaux blend from the Okanaga Valley in British Columbia. A smokey, vegetal, funky nose that also shows some lightly stewed fruit. Those who dislike green notes in their Cabernet probably won’t enjoy this aroma profile, but I don’t mind some vegetal complexity when it’s balanced with the other elements, and this wine strikes me as one that treads the right path here. On the palate, strong notes of smoked sausage and fruit ride an acid-driven structure. Medium bodied, this wine shows fabulous complexity (including the beginnings of some tasty bottle age), and is remarkably cohesive both in structure and flavour. For me, it was wine of the night and certainly one of the wines of the trip.

After this elegant wine, the Wendouree Malbec 2006 was a relative disappointment. Chris identified the fruit here as rather confected, which it is in a jammy, Malbec way. There are also notes of rose water, cough syrup and eucalyptus. A very tasty flavour profile, for sure. What’s missing right now is a sense of poise and coherence. The wine is, frankly, all over the place, with disjointed acidity, awkward tannins and no sense of progression on the palate. However, I think it’s just young. I’ll leave the rest of my stash alone for a few years before retasting.