Latest Tastings & Reviews

I have been incredibly busy of late and have had a number of bottles sitting here to be tasted and reviewed so my humble apologies for the tardiness – here goes with a catch up post…

Q Wines Waitaki

Q Wines Rose 2013
Gorgeous bright strawberry pink in the glass, soft nose of melon and summer berries / cherries on the palate it’s crisp and off dry, with great fruit concentration and the time spent fermenting in French oak has resulted in a lovely rounded textural mouth feel – full of flavour and character and I would most certainly recommend this now that summer has arrived – great food wine…
http://www.qwine.co.nz/

Sherwood Estate

Sherwood Estate Signature Family Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough
Soft lemon lime colour with lovely tropical and citrus fruit notes in the nose, lucious citrus limes and tropical fruit on the palate and a great backbone of zingy acidity… Nice length…

Sherwood Estate Signature Family Riesling 2012, Waipara
Pale straw with hints of green in the glass – lots of lime and citrus aromas with hints of beeswax in the nose with quite concentrated lemon / lime flavours on the palate, nice acidity cutting through, fresh and juicy finish.

Sherwood Estate Signature Family Pinot Noir 2011, Waipara
Bright dark plum red in colour – floral, summer berries and spice in the nose, medium bodied with quite tight tannins and spicy oak balanced with bright red sweet fruit on the palate – easy to drink and showing promise with another year or two perhaps!

Sherwood Estate Signature Family Integro 2012, Waipara
Unusual Nose, mandarin, floral, quite deceiving as usually you expect one variety, but getting mixed aromatic characters in the nose was interesting… Fresh and fruity simple palate, again none of the varieties stand out, little bitter grapefruit acidity, interesting – not sure about this! My palate’s a little confused!
http://www.sherwood.co.nz/

Mahi Wines

Mahi Marlborough Chardonnay 2012
Lovely yellow gold colour in the glass, lots of stone fruit in the nose with a tiny hint of oak, and some funkiness, many layers of stone fruit on the palate, oak influence contributes great textures on the palate, it’s complex and delicious!

Mahi Twin Valleys Chardonnay 2011
Love this chardy – it’s rich complex and elegant with citrus, stone fruit and a whiff of nuttiness in the nose, on the palate it’s gorgeous, with lots of layers and textures incredible balance of fruit, oak acid & alcohol, a pleasant but not too imposing malo / creaminess just finishes it off – a great example of a very well made Chardonnay – Thanks Brian!
http://mahiwine.co.nz/

Omaka Springs

Omaka Springs Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013
Tasted the first pressed juice during harvest in the winery and initial reaction was WOW! luscious concentrated juice… The wine is pale lemon straw in the glass with vibrant tropical notes with a hint of herby (is that a word?) tomato leaf/stalk in he nose – softer than expected acidity on the palate and overall quite rounded / balanced: “fresh and juicy!”

Omaka Springs Pinot Gris Marlborough 2013
Very pale onion skin almost crystal clear in colour. Summer stone-fruit spice & pear on the nose leading into a succulent palate of white peach, pear & ginger spice,  well balanced, great fruit intensity, nice length – great with Asian food… http://www.omaka.co.nz/