White Wines 101

7 March 2008

We had a great crowd of sixty members at our first tasting of the year. Mita had a lovely line up of wines of which the last two were served blind to see just how well we had concentrated on the various styles. All in all a great introduction to the main white varieties grown in New Zealand.

Vidal Marlborough Riesling 2006, $14.99 on special

Although this wine was two years old it showed very little development of ageing character. It had a bright lemon green colour and a very citric nose. The palate showed good ripe fruit and lovely acid. This was an elegant vibrant wine which will develop very well over a few years.

Stoneleigh Marlborough Chardonnay 2007, $15.99 on special

The colour was pale gold and the nose showed obvious oak balanced with good chardonnay character. Some stone fruit character on the nose and the palate was lively with powerful ripe fruit, light oak and a long finish. This was a very young wine showing al the characteristics of a wine that will age well over several years.

Waipara Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007, $13.99 on special

This wine was a classic example of Marlborough sauvignon blanc, the signature wine style of New Zealand. Very pale but with a powerful nose of gooseberry and cut grass. Showed the vivacity that makes this style of wine so popular.

Mills Reef Gewürztraminer 2006, $16.99 on special

Lots of spicy gewürztraminer character and starting to show a bit of development. Made with a little residual sugar (10gms/litre) to fill out the palate this style of wine needs some time to integrate and show its style. This had the rose-water or lychee characters with the “hard” and long finish that is the hallmark of gewürztraminer made with good ripe fruit. Very good wine at such a bargain price. Also capable of ageing for some years yet.

Montana Reserve Pinot Gris 2007, $12.99 on special

This was a particular bargain with a normal retail of over $21, and it showed. Powerful ripe fruit on the nose and on the palate was beautifully balanced by just a touch of residual sugar and nice acid. It was of course still very young, but despite obvious care in winemaking demonstrated by the “oily” texture, this is one for early drinking. For me it was a pleasure to have a New Zealand Pinot Gris that was not made with too much residual sugar.

Morton Estate White Label Viognier 2006, $17.90

Hawke’s Bay seems to be the best spot in New Zealand for this increasingly popular variety. This wine, unlike so many, was pretty much true to the winemaker’s notes. A number of members commented on the citrus character and it definitely had an unctuous feel in the mouth. The wine had a nice long finish with plenty of intensity of fruit.

Wairau River Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007, $13.99

Judging by the fact that nearly all of us picked this wine correctly when it was served blind it must have been a very typical sauvignon blanc. I certainly though it was with very much of the same lively acidity and gooseberry character. It did not have quite the same depth of fruit as the Waipara Hills wine but a nice drop nonetheless.

Montana Reserve Marlborough Chardonnay 2005, $12.99 on special

This was another great Woollies bargain for a classical Marlborough Chardonnay. With three years ageing this wine was showing some developed colour and complexity. Compared to the Stoneleigh wine this had been made to exhibit more complexity and less obvious fruit. Together with the extra age this showed up in the blind tasting where we were nowhere near as unanimous in picking it as a Chardonnay. I think this was the pick of the wines for the night but with a range of styles just about all the wines had some supporters for best wine.