Results tagged “Hawkes Bay”

Though this is nice to drink, it's in every way a lesser wine compared to its reserve-level sibling, the Selection (2005, 2006). I'd definitely spring for the mesmerising Selection for maximum satisfaction.

Some wines are charismatic without being pretty; they make an entrance with the panache of the truly confident, and it takes a moment before you realise they're really not that attractive in a conventional sense. But their confidence draws you in regardless, generating a visceral response that, perhaps, speaks to a different sort of beauty.

I have previously tasted the 2006 version of this wine and, swirling this more recent edition tonight, my earlier note remains relevant to a large extent. This is a savoury rosé style, quite full and somewhat angular; in other words, a more challenging wine than some. 

Yesterday's 2008 Dowie Doole Merlot was the first of what I hope will be three quite different expressions of this grape (the third is a Blue Poles wine from Margaret River). The second, this Unison wine, is from the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay in New Zealand. Imported into Australia by Eurocentric Wine. 

There's something unpleasant about the way this wine smells, but what is it exactly? It doesn't really smell like viognier, that's for sure. To me, it smells more like powdered milk, inexpensive celebrity perfume that'd excite Humbert Humbert, and low-grade canned peaches. There's also something like unventilated FEMA trailers duking it out with bitter phenolics in a disused corner of your high school chemistry lab. Oh man, this is fascinatingly bad. I mean, yeah, I don't really want to taste it but if you're gonna go off, you might as well do it in a really interesting way, right?

Greasy and plastic in the mouth, it does nothing for a minute before surging up on a Bit-O-Honey wave of sugary fruit worthy of a trashy Serge Gainsborough song before making a quick right turn into an unpleasant, gritty, almost milky finish with flashes of peppery notes that's just a touch hot as well, making sure that virtually everything that can go wrong with viognier has in fact gone wrong by the time you'll finish the bottle. And that, by any objective observation, is no mean feat. Congratulations to Te Mata for a job well done!

One of New Zealand's higher profile Chardonnays.

Rich aromas that include yellow peach, matchstick, vanilla, toasted nuts and more. There's certainly a lot going on here. Despite the aroma profile, it's a little reticent in terms of expressiveness. Not so on the palate, where an impressive intensity of flavour is present almost immediately. Masses of peach and nougat flood the mouth, helped by a relatively viscous mouthfeel and tingly, yet subservient, acid. This is much more forward than my recollection of the 2006, and really quite complex. It's also pretty worked and this, as with most things vinous, will be a matter of taste. From a full mid palate, the wine moves through an equally flavoursome after palate, more acid driven here, and on to a finish that tapers quite elegantly.

Perhaps a little blousy for me, but there's no denying the power of this fruit, nor the complexity and (relative) balance achieved through winemaking. A fabulous wine if you're in the mood for full-on New World Chardonnay.

Te Mata Estate
Price: $NZ40
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: December 2008

I've occasionally written up Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc wines on this site and have expressed some reservations about the style in light of its more famous cousin to the South. I've been waiting for a wine to change my mind and I may have found it in this Te Mata number.

Prickly, rich aromas of passionfruit with a bit of herbal astrigency. On its own terms, this is a very sniffable aroma, quite different from the Marlborough wines but no lesser for it. It's a bright wine, but less aggressive in comparison and consequently more approachable.

On entry, good impact both via structure and flavour intensity. There's no shortage of fruit here, passionfruit jumping onto the tongue along with a nice line of fine acid and some other complexing flavours. Quite impressive. It reminds me a bit of Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc in its clean, bright and fruit-driven flavour profile. Not as rich as some Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blancs I've had, and I like this leaner profile, as it successfully avoids the laziness observed in some other wines. Not especially long.

Nice wine and, for me, a viable alternative to Marlborough.

Te Mata Estate
Price: $NZ20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008

Hawkes Bay Gewürztraminer from a label that appears to have a considerable presence at the lower end of the market here in New Zealand.

Varietal lychee on the nose is quite promising. Beyond this, however, the aroma profile becomes dull, lacking the character and assertiveness one might wish for in this variety. There's some floral influence but otherwise it's all a bit simple and blunt.

Things don't get a lot better in the mouth, unfortunately. It's thick and a bit flabby, owing to an acid structure that is overwhelmed by the wine's viscosity and what appears to be some alcohol heat too. There doesn't seem to be much intensity of flavour either, with wisps of lychee and spice disappearing into a vortex of blandness.

Disappointing, and overpriced too.

Mission Estate
Price: $NZ20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008

I confess I loved many of the Hawkes Bay reds tasted on my last visit to New Zealand, so I've been keen to try a few more this visit. Whilst Gimblett Gravels Syrah is a spectacular style and very appealing me, tonight I'm trying a Bordeaux blend, which is historically more typical to this region.

Lovely bright purple colour, not overly dense, almost garish in its purity. On the nose, sweet red fruit and adistinctively Gimblett Gravels spice that reminds me of pot pourri. There's a nice savoury edge to the fruit too. The more I sniff the deeper the aroma profile becomes, adding layers of complexity as I swirl. Very nice. The palate is currently highly structured with ripe yet very assertive tannins emerging quite early in the line. On entry, more bright fruit that edges towards confectionary but is held in check by spice and savouriness. Then the tannins come, powdery and even, masking the flavour profile a bit. That's ok though, all it takes it some energetic swirling and chewing for a rush of fruit to register on the tongue, along with a well-judged amount of vanilla oak. It's medium bodied, consistent in line and coherent. Reasonable finish.

A lovely return to Hawkes Bay.

Esk Valley
Price: $NZ30
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008

Time for an experiment. I'm not afraid of wine made for the price conscious consumer, perhaps as much out of necessity as anything else. But I tend to stick with tried and true favourites; those acknowledged bargains that, in terms of quality, consistently sit above their price points. I also tend to shop in the $15-20 price range for my everyday wines. Habit can mask new opportunities, so this evening the other half and I decided to visit our local 1st Murphy and purchase one dozen bottles, the total of which was not to exceed $120. 

Craggy Range has by far the most glamorous tasting facility of all the wineries I visited in Hawkes Bay late last year. Its natural setting is glorious, but the spacious room itself is all glass and shiny surfaces -- very upscale indeed. Worth a visit, for sure. There's also a large range of wines available for tasting, including this, one of Craggy Range's premium cuvées. It is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and, on tasting at cellar door, was almost impenetrable. I took this as a personal challenge, of course, and purchased a bottle for later tasting.

The flagship wine from Unison Vineyards in New Zealand. As with the regular Unison, this wine is a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, proportions unspecified.

A spicy, peppery, dried floral, clean-fruited nose that keeps shifting from under my feet (nostrils?). It's a forthright. slightly lifted nose that promises intensity and dexterity in the mouth. Fruit is deep and complex, moving between shots of cassis, sweet raspberry liqueur and other goodness. Creamy, custard oak adds plushness. As it sits in the glass, high toned spice is giving way, partly at least, to fruit and oak. I love wines like this, constantly changing and revealing layers of complexity.

The palate is initially a bit disorienting, in that it is perhaps less momentous than indicated by the nose. Once you adjust to the scale of it, though, it vibrates with fascinating flavours. Entry is tingly and acidic, signalling the other principal pleasure of this wine: texture. Intense fruit flavour registers soon thereafter, flowing to a medium to full bodied mid-palate of clean, complex fruit and spice. Coffee-ground oak is a fairly prominent flavour influence, and is somehow appropriate given the acidic, extracted nature of the mouthfeel. The after palate leaves behind any plushness of fruit and progresses to a more oak-driven savouriness that suggests some time in bottle may be beneficial. Finish is long, slightly sweet and a little aggressive.

I wish I had more bottles of this. It's a different wine from the Unison, although clearly emerging out of the same idea of "wine." It's a bigger wine in most ways, built to drink slowly and examine closely. I love it. Start drinking in about 5 years.

Update: I've been following this wine for two days (unrefrigerated) and it has really opened up to become almost voluptuous. Great balance, the after palate and finish filling out nicely. No signs of the wine tiring yet.

Unison Vineyards
Price: $NZ48
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: January 2008

According to Trinity Hill, this wine is made only in vintages of a certain quality, the previous release being a 1998 wine. This 2002 is the current release and was purchased at cellar door a few weeks ago.

Characteristic dustiness is most noticeable on the nose, along with equally typical cassis fruit aromas and some supporting cedar oak. Some age is evident, not through any prominence of tertiary aromas but from good integration of flavour components, each seeming to melt into the other in a relaxed fashion. Good balance. Entry is smooth and fairly immediate, with fruit flavour registering quite quickly on the palate. The middle palate shows the same dustiness as the nose, but which here comes across as an attractive gravel note. Slightly simple red and black berry fruits sit underneath and are propped up by more savoury oak. As with the nose, flavours are well integrated. Weight is medium bodied at most, and the wine gives an overall impression of elegance rather than power. Fruit flavour continues linearly through the after palate, rising attractively towards a finish of fine, chalky tannins. Satisfying length.

I wondered at some points whether it lacks a little in intensity on the palate, but perhaps it's a stylistic thing rather than an absence of flavour. I suspect a lot of people will enjoy this interpretation of Cabernet, which is stylish without being a showpony of a wine. It could certainly sit longer in bottle if you were so inclined, though it's drinking well now. We had this wine with Wagyu rump and it matched the beef really well, all flavours intermingling deliciously.

Trinity Hill
Price: $NZ29
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: January 2008

This wine is Unison Vineyard's signature wine, along with the "reserve" level Unison Selection. It's a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Estate grapes. The proportions of the blend are not specified, and deliberately so. When I queried Unison about this, I was told it views the Unison wine as a style whose blend may vary from year to year, so the exact percentage of each variety is really beside the point. It's nice to encounter a producer with such a clear, confident vision.

Black Barn has an interesting range of wines, including some that are unusual in the context of Hawkes Bay producers. This wine, a straight Malbec, is one of them (they also do a Sangiovese and straight Cabernet Franc in addition to a wide range of other red and white wines). I tried this at cellar door and it seemed promising at the time, so I picked up a bottle for more thorough tasting later on.

Captivating, expressive nose of dried flowers (of similar character to Gimblett Gravels Syrah, though this wine is from a different sub-region in Hawkes Bay), sweet jammy Malbec fruit, some oak, some stalk/foliage. Complex without being forbidding. The entry is smooth and tactile; the point at which fruit flavour hits the tongue is quite palpable. Full bodied middle plalate is full of intensely sweet fruit, more savoury dried flowers, and toasty oak. The wine's line continues strongly through the palate and rises a little during the after palate, creating a nice lift of flavour. The finish is characterised by fine, chocolate-like tannins that extend the wine's flavour most satisfyingly.

What a fun wine. There's nothing super sophisticated about this number, but it's full of flavour, shows good complexity, has character and is ready to drink right now. What's not to like?

Black Barn
Price: $NZ35
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: December 2007

The other half is quite fond of Pinot Gris and that keeps me in the tasting loop as far as this variety is concerned. It's quite fashionable to knock Gris as unworthy but, occasionally, a wine does stand out. They are the exceptions that prove the rule, perhaps.

Quite a rich colour, hay-like verging on golden. A subtle nose of pear, apple skins, some vanilla oak and bitterness. The palate is big but strangely flavourless. Initially, the entry ushers in similar fruit flavours as seen on the nose. On the middle palate, however, phenolic bitterness becomes quite prominent and persists until an after palate and finish that display alcohol heat (14%).These combine to mask the attractive, varietal fruit flavour and transform the wine into a rather coarse experience.

Time in glass didn't assist with the wine's balance. I think this wine might be best accompanied by something summery and rustic in flavour -- Caesar salad, perhaps.

Black Barn
Price: $NZ20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007

I tasted another Te Mata Chardonnay, the Woodthorpe Vineyard wine, a couple of weeks ago and was quite impressed. So I picked up Te Mata's premium Chardonnay eagerly at cellar door, and today had the chance to open it for a drink. Nice wine to finish off Christmas Day, I reckon.

Youthful, pale hay colour, good clarity. The nose is quite tight, with some yeasty characters along with zingy citrus and some nutty oak. Balanced and subtle, with flavours showing excellent integration. The wine's entry is very fresh due to prominent acidity, and marks the start of a very structured, driven line that shoots right down the middle of the tongue. The middle palate shows an array of flavours ranging from cooler climate Chardonnay fruit to yeasty/creamy characters and nutty/spicy oak. Fruit flavour is moderately intense and of good complexity. As with the Woodthorpe, the wine is really well balanced, each element contributing an appropriate amount of flavour and structure to the wine. Unlike the Woodthorpe, the Elston is much more structural, at least at this stage. This translates to an impression of astringency and suggests the wine might drink well in a couple of years' time.

An impressive wine that is all about harmony rather than impact and scale. Drink this with a creamy pasta dish and leave some in the bottle to ponder through the evening. Good value for what it is.

Te Mata Estate
Price: $NZ37.20
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: December 2007

If you're in the Hawkes Bay area, I strongly recommend a visit to Unison Vineyard. We dropped in and were greeted by the effusive and extremely passionate viticulturalist, who gave us a sensational tasting and lots of information about each wine, the vineyard, and the region generally. Oh, also they make a lovely olive oil (from Estate fruit) and a delicious Balsamic vinegar. This wine is their straight Merlot, priced reasonably and intended to be consumed sooner rather than later.

Garnet colour, looking a bit older, perhaps, than one might expect from a 2006 vintage wine. Attractive, though. The nose is fabulous -- a lifted, multifaceted flavour profile that passes through herbal, medicinal notes, dark fruits and some oak quite seamlessly. Overall, quite savoury and tight. The entry is subtle, and the wine builds intensity as the palate progresses. The middle palate is again quite savoury, with lots of dark fruit and more herbal flavours, and a sweet edge to keep things relatively easygoing. Medium weight palate with a nicely textured, rustic mouthfeel (somewhat Italianate, perhaps). Oak is reasonably prominent, and perhaps a little coarse in its sappiness, but never overwhelms the wine. The after palate starts to drop slightly in intensity before drying, slightly rustic tannins kick in to carry the wine off with good length.

This is a very drinkable wine that will, I imagine, go very well with Italian food. A nice expression of Merlot that will please lovers of the more savoury side of this variety. Good value too.

Unison Vineyard
Price: $NZ24
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007

I had a few Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blancs while in the area and, perhaps inevitably, found some wineries comparing their wines to (perhaps even justifying against) Marlborough wines. This wine from Black Barn is pretty representative of the Hawkes Bay style.

Pale, hay-like colour, brilliant clarity. Heavy, thick tropical fruit aromas that lack the higher register of flavours that make the Marlborough style so distinctive. Some may consider this a very good thing. Certainly flavourful, if not explosive. Lively entry that zings with firm, though not searing, acidity. The middle palate is full of tropical fruit flavours and passionfruit, not lightfooted so much as thick and heady. No great complexity here, but it's a nice flavour profile for sure. The after palate rises in the back of the mouth to a climax and then tapers off pretty quickly. The finish is of adequate length for this variety.

I'm in two minds about this wine. On the one hand, it's a nice change from Marlborough wines, it tastes good and it's well priced. On the other hand, it's a not especially distinctive wine (and style). Nice for a change of pace, perhaps.

Black Barn
Price: $NZ18
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007

To my shame, I've been drinking even more than I've been writing up while in New Zealand. Here are a few bits and pieces of marginal interest.

Mission Estate Winery Hawkes Bay Merlot 2006

I used most of this wine for cooking but swilled a glass once the casserole was underway. And whaddya know, it's actually pretty good. Nice fruit, easygoing structure, no boiled lollies in sight. Definitely on the riper end of the spectrum for Merlot, and none the worse for that. Great quaffer. Wish all Aussies at this price point were as good. Fruit comes from various vineyards in the Hawkes Bay region, including the Gimblett Gravels.

Mission Estate Winery
Price: $NZ14
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007

Jacob's Creek Shiraz 2005

I don't know what this wine is doing in here, but let's just say that it was offered, and as we all know, it's rude not to accept a gift.

It's actually not too bad, certainly a fault-free wine at the very least. The fruit flavour has that confected red fruit quality that screams "industrial" to me, but hey, it's tasty and has lots of flavour. Not bad.

Jacob's Creek
Price: $NZ9
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007

Matua Valley Late Harvest Muscat 2006

I was having cravings the other night in Gisborne (just a few nights before the big earthquake, no less) and wandered up to the local supermarket to grab some dessert and, of course, wine to go with. I have no idea what grapes are in this wine, although the label does, at least, let the purchaser know that they are from the Gisborne wine region.

There's some nice, sweet fruit flavour here, a little "jasmine tea" in character, but harsh acidity quite overwhelms any sense of flavour. It's not the sort of acidity that is cleansing or sprightly -- it's just harsh and unbalanced. Oh well.

Matua Valley
Price: $NZ12 (375ml)
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007