Four Wines from Mt Difficulty – Mt Difficulty has long been synonymous with very high quality wines from down in Central Otago.
Begun in the late 1990’s when the owners of five newly-planted vineyards in Bannockburn, Central Otago, shook hands and became Mt Difficulty Wines Ltd in 2004. As a result, Mt Difficulty Wines Ltd now owns some of the oldest vineyards in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago in New Zealand’s rugged South Island. A detailed account of their history is here on their Our Story page.
Mt Difficulty have a diverse portfolio of wines from the popular Roaring Meg range (4 wines,) a Pinot Noir & a Chardonnay in the Growers Series, the Mt Difficulty Bannockburn series (7 wines including a Rosé,) and 3 Pinot Noirs and 3 whites from the Single Vineyard Series including a Chenin Blanc.
I was particularly interested in trying was the Long Gully SV Chenin Blanc, few of which are made in New Zealand, and I was not disappointed so thanks to Jacqui for sending up these samples for me to taste and review…
The Four Wines from Mt Difficulty tasted were in order…
Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Savvies from Central are always interesting and quite unique (nothing like the usual grassy Marlborough examples) and this was lovely – pale green-gold in colour, intense tropical fruit and green / savory notes in the nose, tart green gooseberries and luscious fruit on the palate, dry as a bone but with great fruit concentration, finished well and lingered… A/V 14.5% RRP $26.00
Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Gris 2012
Soft Onion skin / pink in colour, with a floral and stone-fruit driven nose, fresh stone-fruit and citrus on the palate with firm acidity leading into a creamy textual mouth feel – more rich fruit flavours come through and lead into a persistent warming finish. A/V 14% RRP RRP $26.00
Mt Difficulty Long Gully Bannockburn Chenin Blanc 2012
Pale straw-gold coloured in the glass, I got tropical fruit, rock melon and citrus notes on the nose, more succulent stone-fruit flavours on the palate, rich sweetness with wonderful intense citrus acidity cutting through the 50gl residual sugar – great length & finish – loved it – note to self – must try more New Zealand Chenin Blancs A/V 11.5% RRP $26.00
Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2011
Gorgeous red cherry in colour, with soft floral, berry, earth and spice notes in the nose. Fine tannins immediately getting the juices flowing, with bright red and black berries and spice on the palate. Indigenous yeast, malolactic fermentation and subtle oak (12 months) provide nice textural elements. This wine is still quite young and another year or two will most certainly improve it… Absolutely delicious at present though… recommend with Roast Lamb on Xmas Day A/V 14% RRP $45.00
For more information visit their Website, like the Mt Difficulty Facebook Page and like them on Twitter.