Forrest Estate dessert wine
#1
formerly kiwi_norway
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: London, UK
Programs: A3*G, NZ*S, Avis PC
Posts: 390
Forrest Estate dessert wine
Does anyone know what the Forrest Estate dessert wine is that NZ are serving at the moment?
I went through a fair bit of it on the way down to Auckland, and I'm trying to find a few bottles before I head back up to Europe in a couple of days. I should have written down exactly what it was, but I guess I'm just not that smart. From memory, the onboard wine guide called it a "2009 Noble Riesling", but the Forrest website doesn't list a 2009 Noble. It has a "2005 Noble Rielsing", or a "2009 Botrytised Riesling". I also found a "2009 Field of Stones Noble Riesling" at one outlet (which is made by Forrest) but again, I'm not sure that's the one.
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help.
I went through a fair bit of it on the way down to Auckland, and I'm trying to find a few bottles before I head back up to Europe in a couple of days. I should have written down exactly what it was, but I guess I'm just not that smart. From memory, the onboard wine guide called it a "2009 Noble Riesling", but the Forrest website doesn't list a 2009 Noble. It has a "2005 Noble Rielsing", or a "2009 Botrytised Riesling". I also found a "2009 Field of Stones Noble Riesling" at one outlet (which is made by Forrest) but again, I'm not sure that's the one.
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help.
#3
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
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However, I'm not sure what vintage AirNZ is currently serving. If I remember, I'll ask on my AKL-SFO flight in a couple of weeks time. Any excuse to drink some more of that nectar!
#4
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: CBR
Programs: QF WP, AC*G
Posts: 1,223
Beware that Forrest does in fact have two distinct (but similar) dessert wines - one is the late harvest riesling, and one is the botrytised. They're both good, but the botrytised is better (and more expensive) and it's the one that AirNZ has.
However, I'm not sure what vintage AirNZ is currently serving. If I remember, I'll ask on my AKL-SFO flight in a couple of weeks time. Any excuse to drink some more of that nectar!
However, I'm not sure what vintage AirNZ is currently serving. If I remember, I'll ask on my AKL-SFO flight in a couple of weeks time. Any excuse to drink some more of that nectar!
#5
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SJC
Programs: NZ*G, QF NB, UA 1K, AA ExecPlat, IHG PlatAmb, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, ZE1 PC
Posts: 2,636
My memory is slightly hazy (heh), but on SFO-AKL on the 21st I'm pretty sure it was the 2009 Botrytised. Definitely botrytised anyway, I do recall that bit because the passenger across the aisle wanted to know what it meant.
#7
formerly kiwi_norway
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: London, UK
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1 - There's NO use or mention of the "Noble" term on the bottle
2 - Forrest sell a couple of other wines specifically labelled as "Noble Riesling"
Anyway, with a bit of effort I managed to track down a couple of bottles in Auckland today (thanks to the wonderful people at Fine Wine Delivery) and they're safely packed for the trip home. Here's hoping they're serving on NZ2 tonight.
#8
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
Correct - and no, Forrest wouldn't refer to the late harvest as noble. I mentioned it just because people often lump dessert wines together and/or assume that each producer would only make one style of dessert wine, so could get caught out.
#10
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 366
Incidentally, in the current NZ wine guide (Aug 2011 to Jan 2012) it states the Forrest dessert wine (one of four) is the 2009 Noble Riesling, with wine label image to match. In comparison, the previous guide (Feb-Jul 2011) had the Forrest 2009 Botrytised Riesling and an label image of the stated wine. The interesting thing is I can't find any mention of the Noble Riesling on Forrest's website.
Can vouch for the Forrest dessert wines.
#11
formerly kiwi_norway
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: London, UK
Programs: A3*G, NZ*S, Avis PC
Posts: 390
Incidentally, in the current NZ wine guide (Aug 2011 to Jan 2012) it states the Forrest dessert wine (one of four) is the 2009 Noble Riesling, with wine label image to match. In comparison, the previous guide (Feb-Jul 2011) had the Forrest 2009 Botrytised Riesling and an label image of the stated wine. The interesting thing is I can't find any mention of the Noble Riesling on Forrest's website.
Made sure I actually saw the bottle onboard NZ2 yesterday, and it most certainly is the 2009 Botrytised that is being served (and it was fantastic! Thanks Hakan for the overly generous pour).
#13
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,617
Saw the 2009 available at Forrest for $40 NZD when I passed through on Thursday.
There happened to be some Americans there who said they were there specifically to buy it after having enjoyed it on their flight the day before.
Some bottles were also available at the little "airshop" at the Woodbourne (aka Blenheim/Marlborough) airport.
It's also available for order online (within NZ) at $35 per bottle. It happens to be the very first item listed on their order form.
Forrest retailers within NZ, who might have stock (or not):
http://www.forrest.co.nz/retailers.asp
There happened to be some Americans there who said they were there specifically to buy it after having enjoyed it on their flight the day before.
Some bottles were also available at the little "airshop" at the Woodbourne (aka Blenheim/Marlborough) airport.
It's also available for order online (within NZ) at $35 per bottle. It happens to be the very first item listed on their order form.
Forrest retailers within NZ, who might have stock (or not):
http://www.forrest.co.nz/retailers.asp
#14
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 366
That's exactly the issue I had. I followed the Wine Guide when trying to source the same bottle in NZ, but Forrest do not use the "Noble Riesling" name on the bottle. The picture in the current wine guide does show the "Botrytised Riesling" label design, but just too small to read the words.
FORREST
NOBLE
RIESLING
2009 Marlborough
New Zealand Wine
NOBLE
RIESLING
2009 Marlborough
New Zealand Wine
#15
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350