Having recently attended and thoroughly enjoyed the Waitaki Wine Week roadshow at Vino Fino, I am working my way through a number of wines from the region including this selection from Pasquale Viticultura. (Thanks James!) Here are the first four wines – I’ll add the others later as I review them… To find out more and purchase these wines visit the Pasquale Website.
Village Reserve Chardonnay 2010
Only 430 cases of this were made, fermentation and aging taking place in mature oak barrels for 15 months with lees stirring. Bright lemon / gold in colour, with a biscuity / butterscotch / sweet fruit / subtle oak in the nose, then lovely apricots and stone fruit on the palate with a soft textural acid, mouth-watering oak and buttery, creamy warming finish. 14.5% Alc RRP $30.00
Pasquale The White Rose 2011
Interesting blend of hand picked Pinot Noir and a tiny amount of Dolcetto, made in a gentle way free run juice and very little skin / colour extraction, cold ferment and minimal fining. Very pale pink almost white onion-skin in colour, with a beautiful floral perfumed, but slightly herbal nose. Nice minerality and bone dry / crisp with a fresh citrus acidity in the finish. Different but most enjoyable. 12.5% Alc RRP NZ$32.00
Pasquale Pinot Grigio Waitaki Valley 2011
Even rarer with only 133 Cases made – 100% Pinot Gris made in the Grigio style with a blend of tank and barrel ferment, with both natural and inoculated yeasts used. Bright clear wine with an interesting herbal nose with a hint of pear and citrus evident. Dry mineral palate with less than 2 gms rs, quince, dried herbs & tart grapefruit / mandarin pith on quite a lengthy finish. 13% Alc RRP. $34.00
Pasquale Riesling 16 Riesling Waitaki Valley 2010
Hand harvested at 20.1 brix and resulting in a finished wine with 16.5gms rs, this wine is a stunner: bright clear pale green in the glass with sweet floral nose that’s full of lemon limes & granny smith apples. A bit of pip fruit and grapefruit with even more citrus & green apple on the palate, a fresh acidity and mineral backbone lead into a long zesty citrus finish, the most ‘citrusy’ (is that a word?) Riesling I think I have ever tasted YUM! 11% Alc RRP $27.00
Pasquale Arneis Hakataramea Valley 2011
Not tasted many Arneis in my wine tasting life, but this is really nice – clean bright straw gold in the glass with a mix of herbs, stonefruit, citrus and apples notes in the nose. Quite dry with nice acidity, and an earthy, flinty, mineral backbone through the palate leading into a tart “citrus pith” and ginger finish. I think I could get to like this Arenis and so glad kiwi wineries are exploring a wider range of aromatics now. 12.5% Alc RRP $34.00
Pasquale Pinot Noir Waitaki Valley 2010
Dark opaque black-cherry coloured in the glass, earthy / gamey in the nose with slight lifted florals. Wonderful mouth filling red & black berry fruit on the palate, with fine silky tannins, nice integrated oak balanced again with that limestone minerality sensual long fruit finish. An excellent wine which I am so glad to have been given the pleasure to experience. I loved this wine at the Waitaki Wine Week placing it in my top 4 Pinot Noirs of the evening. Thanks to the wonderful team at Pasquale! 13.5% Alc RRP $49.00
Pasquale Passito (Straw) PG / Riesling Waitaki Valley NZ 2011
This an Italian specialty made here in New Zealand. Pinot Gris and Riesling grapes are picked early and naturally dried to concentrate the flavour. The wine was light golden yellow in the glass, with a sweet nose of honey & citrus, quite lush on the palate with more honey and marmalade? not cloying with some nice residual acidity balancing the 128 gms r/s… Lovely long lingering finish – we had some white chocolate too which was a rather nice match. 12.5 Alc RRP $25.00
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