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Wine Guide
February to July 2009
Sauvignon Blanc
Astrolabe
Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc - 2008
Colour : Pale straw with green highlights
Aroma : Powerful gooseberry, greenage, capsicum, passionfruit and lime peel aromas
Palate : Medium to full-bodied with strong gooseberry, passionfruit and currant flavours, a hint of freshly-cut red capsicum and a refreshingly smooth lingering finish.
Cellaring : Best enjoyed when young and fresh, but has the potential to age gracefully until early 2010.
Food Match : Summer salads, Thai noodles, seafood and especially green-lipped mussel dishes.
Auntsfield Estate
Auntsfield Long Cow
Sauvignon Blanc - 2008
This is a distinctive, hand-crafted wine with lifted aromas of passionfruit, gooseberry and rich tropical fruits balanced with vibrant notes of dried herbs and lemon blossom. The palate is intense, rich and elegant revealing ripe tropical fruit, papaya, banana and wild honey. The underlying minerality balances the generous palate weight and mouth-filling texture. A complex wine with a long lingering finish, persistent length and a crisp, fresh finish.
Esk Valley
Sauvignon Blanc - 2008
This is a full bodied and rich style of Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is a blend of vineyards from sites on the banks of the Ngaruroro River in Hawke's Bay. The warmer nature of the region provides the wine with an amalgam of ripe tropical fruit flavours with an underlying herbaceousness. Passionfruit and ripe citrus notes predominate, with a crisp refreshing finish.
Highfield Estate
Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc - 2008
Colour : Pale straw.
Aroma : A pungent Sauvignon Blanc displaying a spectrum of tropical and herbal aromas. Copious amounts of passionfruit, gooseberry and bell pepper fragrances are found on the nose. Extended lees contact has added depth, texture and balance to the palate.
Palate : A full, ripe, round style displaying tropical fruit flavours with upfront fruit of mango and passionfruit and a very smooth, fine aftertaste. A sensual, weighty, yet elegenat wine with a rounded finish.
Chardonnay
Alpha Domus
Barrique Fermented
Chardonnay - 2007
Aroma : A delicate aroma of ripe mandarin, melon and citrus. Hints of vanillin, biscuit and mineral characters add complexity.
Palate : This is a rich, well balanced wine with flavours of orange zest, ripe peach and citrus. Barrel fermentation contributes vanillin, spice and toasted almond notes.
Cellaring : The lively fresh characters of this wine are best enjoyed in its youth. Some bottle ageing will add roundness to the palate. Cellar up to 2010.
Food Match : Great with richly flavoured foods such as shellfish, smoked meats and risotto.
Lawson's Dry Hills
Chardonnay - 2007
The aromas show stone fruit, lemon and butterscotch on the nose, whilst the palate exhibits rich and round vanilla and spicy oak characters, wonderfully integrated with citrus fruit flavours. Excellent concentration and natural acidity provide great length and elegance on the finish. This Chardonnay will age nicely through to 2011 developing toasty aged characters with added complexity.
Southbank Estate
Hawke's Bay
Chardonnay - 2006
An elegant and toasty Chardonnay with subtle stone fruit, zesty citrus and a superbly rich texture. Balanced and elegant, it shows a delightful spine of acidity, supported by notes of peach creme brulee.
Tohu
Marlborough
Unoaked Chardonnay - 2006
Fresh and fruity with aromas of white peach and citrus. This wine is light bodied while the palate is rich and full flavoured.
Premium White Wines
Coopers Creek
Marlborough
Riesling – 2007
Colour : Very pale at bottling but with time this wine will pick up gold tints.
Bouquet : Aromatic intensity looks set to be one of the hallmarks of the 2007 Marlborough Rieslings. This wine leaps from the glass with masses of citrus, citrus blossom and spice.
Palate : A defining characteristic of Rieslings from the Dog Point Road vineyard is their purity and richness. This wine is subtle, yet concentrated and the acid and fruit sweetness is beautifully harmonious.
Framingham
Marlborough
Pinot Gris - 2007
The bouquet is reminiscent of apples, pears and cream, while the palate has "Apple Strudel"-like flavours of apple, pear, quince, raisins, dough and custard as well as a fine, silky texture it has an intense, rich, slightly oily palate with excellent weight, texture and mouthfeel culminating in a long creamy finish. These fruit flavours are immediately appealing, but the wine's complexity will continue to develop over the next two or three years.
Hunter’s
Gewurztraminer – 2006
An aromatic Gewurztraminer with aromas and flavours of Turkish delight and cinnamon spice. The spiciness lingers through to a long off-dry finish. A well balanced wine that is appealing to drink now but will reward from 3-4 years cellaring.
Winner : Gold and Trophy Champion Gewurztraminer 2008 Air New Zealand Wine Awards
Morton Estate
White Label Hawke's Bay
Viognier - 2007
The 2007 vintage provided exceptional ripening conditions with perfectly clean, ripe fruit. The wine has a vibrant straw gold hue. The nose displays lovely fresh aromas of musk and sweet orange marmalade with just a hint of spiciness. On the palate, the classic varietal flavours of mandarin peel and citrus abound and are augmented by a full-bodied, mouth-filling texture of exceptional length.
Morton Estate
White Label Hawke's Bay
Musetta Rose - 2007
A beautiful vibrant red wine with great intensity and a fruity nose. Generous in flavour, flirtatious on the palate and leaving a lingering after glow, the Musetta Rose is a masterpiece. She is the perfect companion especially with light summer lunches. However, Musetta's versatility means she will suit any menu. So for long summer nights enjoy her wonderful company with perfume of red berry fruits and a sophisticated character.
Pinot Noir
Cable Bay
Marlborough
Pinot Noir - 2007
An intriguing wine which captures the elegance and finess of Pinot Noir. The wine evolves in the glass, revealing a harmony of fruit purity and savoury complexity - rich plum and cherry characters with hints of wild thyme and mushrooms. The generous flavours are supported by soft, silky tannins. This wine will reward careful cellaring for 3-4 years.
Framingham
Marlborough
Pinot Noir - 2007
The wine is made in a fruit driven style with the emphasis on texture and approachability. Sensitive oak handling supports a good balance of sweet fruit and savoury characters. The bouquet offers spicy cherry, cranberry and light red fruit notes, while the palate is concentrated with approachable tannins, sweet red fruits, savoury meat and game flavours and a juicy finish.
Hunter's
Marlborough
Pinot Noir - 2007
A smooth medium bodied Pinot Noir with rich, ripe berry and subtle forest floor aromas. These aromas combined with wild berries, dark red fruits and mild spicy oak flavours make an enjoyable and easy drinking wine.
Thornbury
Pinot Noir - 2006
The hot dry summers of the Bannockburn Valley create rich Pinot Noir flavours of black cherry and bright strawberry, which have been underpinned with delicate spice and cedary oak. The bouquet offers rich dark liquorice and plum aromatics that give way to hints of earth and wild herb, as well as some dark chocolate. The palate is full and fleshy with well textured tannins.
Villa Maria
Cellar Selection
Pinot Noir - 2007
A perfumed bouquet of red and dark cherries, plums and spice notes. Fruit driven and elegant, with long layers of flavour, full-bodied and well balanced with fine grainy tannins. The wine is concentrated and rich combined with the elegance, finesse and complexity that makes Pinot Noir unique.
Premium Red Wines
Church Road Cuve
Cabernet Sauvignon - 2005
Colour : Deep, rich garnet.
Aromas : Multi-dimensional aromas including classic cassis, plum and blackberry fruit, dried currant, liquorice, earth and chocolate with an almost violet-like aromatic lift.
Palate : Full bodied with excellent mid palate flesh. This is balanced by a backbone of fine grained ripe tannin, giving the wine excellent textural length.
Food Match : Savoury and meat dishes.
Mills Reef Winery
Reserve Syrah - 2007
This classic deep purple-red Hawke's Bay Syrah is attractively scented, with vibrant aromas of blackcurrant, white pepper, spiced dried apricots and floral notes. The palate is rich and silky with fine supple tannins, oak complexity and pronouned forest berry fruit, white pepper, caramel and coffee flavours. Already immensely enjoyable, this wine will continue to flourish and reward cellaring for up to 5 years.
Mission Estate
Reserve Syrah - 2007
This wine has a complex peppery nose with spicy undertones derived from our Gimblett Road vineyard complemented by the dark berry aromas of our Mere Road vineyard. The colour is deep and vibrant. The full bodied palate is rich with fine soft tannins and exuberant fruit showing on the palate. The wine has good finesse in the aroma and a soft structure from careful oak maturation.
Winner : Pure Elite Gold Medal 2008 Air New Zealand Wine Awards
Trinity Hill
Tempranillo - 2007
The wine has wild raspberry fruit aromas and spice characterises the wine, with a little vanillin from the oak barrels. The texture is silky, but with substance, almost like a combination of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. There is great persistence of the wild fruit flavours on the finish. The wine will age well over 5 years or so and can be drunk with any red meat or pork dishes.
Winner : Gold and Trophy Champion Other Red Styles 2008 Air New Zealand Wine Awards
Vidal Estate
Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon - 2004
A blend of Merlot with a portion of Cabernet Sauvignon to add structure and balance. Perfumed blackcurrant, coffee and tobacco aromas lead to a palate that shows rich black plum, gamey and savoury notes. Tannins are fine grained that will soften over time.
Dessert Wines
Constellation NZ
Rose Tree Cottage
Noble Riesling - 2007
Bouquet : Reminiscent of citrus blossoms, dried apricots and honey.
Palate : Rich and shows flavours of dried summer fruits and butterscotch lingering warm and supple.
Food Match : Desserts comprising creme brulee, lemon citrus cheesecake, baked apple and Manuka honey drizzle, dried fruit and blue and rich creamy cheeses. Should be suitably well chilled and served in a small elegant dessert glass.
Firstland Vineyards
Glacier Dessert Wine - 2006
The wine has a lime and citrus bouquet with hints of apricot and honeysuckle which leads onto a full palate with perfectly balanced acidity and sweetness. It has a long lingering mouth-feel of honey. The wine is straw gold in colour with hints of green on the hue.
Forrest Estate
Botrytised Riesling – 2008
The 2008 vintage produced the best natural conditions for making sweet Botrytised wines. A delicious dessert wine, our 2008 Botrytised Riesling is straw gold in colour and abounds with orange marmalade, apricot and toffee aromas on the nose. A sweet opulent palate with Manuka honey and mandarin zest characters and a crisp lingering finish. The wine makes appealing drinking now but will also cellar well.