Tag Archives: Marlborough

Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2006

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I really don’t know what to say about this wine. It smells like Pinot Noir, more or less… and I’m at a loss for descriptors past that point. There seems to be some kind of weird spritziness on the tongue, and I find myself wondering if there’s been a small refermentation in bottle as well; there’s an odd, yeasty note that’s unattractive and it mostly tastes of pizza dough that someone dropped in a wax cup of strawberry Kool-Aid at the end of a children’s birthday party.Fifteen minutes after pouring, there’s kind of a foamy, frothy ring around the wine as it sits in my glass. It’s not very attractive. Here’s a snapshot:With additional time and air, this wine is about as far from good pinot noir as it gets. It’s medium bodied, atypically so for Pinot. The wine is heavy, dull, flabby, and overripe. There is no finish. There is no excuse for shipping this wine overseas; it should have been consumed as sangria, preferably in Nelson.Thankfully, our street’s recyclables are being picked up by the city overnight. I don’t want to have to look at this bottle in the morning and be reminded of my mistake.Villa MariaPrice: US $17.99Closure: StelvinDate tasted: April 2008

Mount Riley Savée 2007

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I don’t recall having tasted a sparkling wine made from Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc grapes before, so it was with particular interest that I sampled this number.
A fresh, lively nose that strikes me as pretty but perhaps less explosive than many still wines made from the same grape. What’s interesting about the palate is that it shows very evident Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc character in the context of a highly atypical wine style. There’s the trademark grassy, passionfruity, capsicummy flavour profile, surrounded at entry and after palate by lively fizz. It’s an odd, unexpected combination that nevertheless shows great freshness and is certainly fun.
Whether it’s a style I prefer over the still version remains questionable. The winemaking does blunt the typical flavour profile a bit, which may please some people but, for me, may not satisfy the craving for utter vulgarity that usually strikes before I reach for a Marlborough Savvy. I think this would be a great wine to serve as an aperitif if you’re looking for a variation on the usual sparkling theme.
Mount RileyPrice: $A25Closure: CorkDate tasted: March 2008

Giesen Sauvignon Blanc 2007

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I remember when I first tasted this wine, in the late 90s. I came a bit late to Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, you see, but the Giesen gave me an inexpensive taste of what it was about. It continues to be my favourite “reliable” example of the genre, and as 2007 has been talked up in the Marlborough, I was interested to taste this wine over the weekend.
As is typical with this wine, somewhat explosive aromas of cut grass, passionfruit and other astringent fruits leap from the glass. This is a wine that bursts into the room with all guns blazing. It’s piercing and characterful and gloriously vulgar. It’s also, within the context of the style, balanced and attractive.
The entry shows tingly acid and a sourness that carries through to the mid-palate. Within this light bodied wine, there are intense flavours that mirror the nose, along with a somewhat scouring mouthfeel. There’s a deceleration towards the after palate, and the finish is an echo rather than a substantial continuation of the wine’s flavour, but by that time, you’re ready for another sip anyway.
No great complexity of flavour, then, but it’s a hugely enjoyable wine that exists at the more outré end of the stylistic spectrum for “budget” Sauvignon Blancs. Personally, I don’t see the point to the softer, more rounded wines that are crafted for maximum acceptability but, to me, represent a denial of terroir and style.
GiesenPrice: $A15Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008

Kathy Lynskey Gewürztraminer 2006

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This wine, impossibly pale – approaching a sort of white tea, white grape juice clarity – smells of good quality rose petal tea from China: smooth, floral, beautiful, perhaps not terribly complex, but then again Gewürztraminer seldom is, at least on the nose.There’s also a sort of clove oil spiciness, but only just.In the mouth, this wine is a big surprise. It’s full, fleshy, but not fat; oily, but pleasantly so, and all in all strangely austere, restrained. It’s got a marzipan fruitiness combined with a dry finish, good length, and a miraculous ability to keep you going back for another taste. If anything, it reminds me of French orange blossom honey combined with Dresdner stollen: all gentle spices, orange peel, hay, and quiet. Delicious.When summertime rolls around in another few months, I’m looking forward to reading on the back patio with a glass or two of this; it’s delightful, elegant, and just the sort of thing to have with a burrito al pastor.Kathy Lynskey WinesPrice: US $13.99Closure: DiamDate tasted: February 2008

Boro Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2007

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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

Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc 2007

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As blatant as they can sometimes be, I do rather like a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc now and then. It’s like blue cheese or test cricket — if you’re in the mood, nothing else will do. This one popped up at the lunch table the other day and, as it was a hot day, I dived in.

Whether you like this wine will depend on how you like your Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Some lean quite far towards the piercingly aromatic end of the spectrum, whereas others exist in a more easygoing space, more tropical fruit and less cat’s piss. This one definitely sits at the the easygoing end, with obvious and slightly cloying aromas of tropical fruit, passionfruit, etc. Pretty typical in style, although not showing much of the minerality that can add extra complexity to these wines.

The palate continues the same theme, with softer acidity than some, and a sweetness to the fruit that you will either enjoy or find just vulgar (alas, I fall into the latter camp). The sweetness is such that I wondered whether there’s a degree of residual sugar hanging about. As well made as it is, I found this wine a bit cloying on the palate in particular, a factor amplified by this wine’s length (it does linger). On the plus side, it’s pretty crowd pleasing and is full of flavour.

Maybe I wasn’t in the mood after all.

Stoneleigh
Price: $A13
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2007

Deutz Marlborough Brut Cuvée NV

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I really felt like sparkling wine tonight, but didn’t want to spend a bundle. I reached for some Domaine Chandon at the local bottlo but thought I’d give the Deutz a spin.

Whoops. On pouring, this wine shows a frothy, coarse mousse that almost instantly disappears. In its wake is left a basically non-existent bead. A bit like flat Diet Coke. The nose shows some bready characters, nothing especially interesting or complex, and slightly stale-smelling. The palate is more fruit-driven, with some attractive, round fruit flavours in the mix. The wine froths up again in the mouth, and the coarseness of the effervescence means this is isn’t altogether pleasant. On the plus side, the acidity seems well balanced and there’s some tasty fruit in there. But the textural dimension to this wine lets it down almost entirely, and I can’t find much sophistication anywhere in this wine.

For the price, I would expect more. I wonder if it was a bad bottle?

Deutz Marlborough Cuvée
Price: $A20
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007