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Hot Hawkes Bay Reds (Mega-TN Time) - Printable Version

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- Skeeter - 06-17-2008

Busy, busy, busy! This last month has seen me signing up for a new vino-related job (Wine sales via telemarketing… could be interesting.) The training did involves two weeks of 7am starts, however, right at the start of an Auckland winter. My timing is impeccable. The upside was a number of wine education sessions with wine writer Vic Williams, which also involved tasting the products we’ll be selling. There’s always a silver lining.

I was still working my other three part-time jobs, meaning a couple of 60+ hour weeks. Which didn’t stop me attending the “Hot Hawke’s Bay” tasting. 29 wineries, close to 200 wines open… and all of them red. My palate still hasn’t forgiven me for that one. And with Job#1’s monthly staff tasting tonight, I thought I’d better get some notes done now while I have a few seconds spare.

From the Hot Hawke’s Bay tasting first of all, and I'll list the TN's by winery. Pack lunch, we're going in!

Abbey Cellars

2005 “The Graduate” Merlot Cabernet: From a tiny, relatively new winery first. A nice middle-weight style, slightly brambly with soft tannins. A good way to ease into the ocean of red to come.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: More tannins that the Merlot/Cab, the fruit seemed a little shy. I wondered at the time if it needed more time, but looking up notes it seems to just have been the vintage.

2005 “The Cardinal” Cabernet Sauvignon: Very smooth mouthfell for a straight Cab Sav (A dying breed in New Zealand it seems…) It’s drinking pretty nicely already. Good.

Alpha Domus

2006 Syrah: Distinct nose of liquorice and black jellybeans, both of which follow through on the palate along with redcurrants and spice. Very nice. Big Tick o’ Approval.

2004 Navigator: Beautiful, warm and balanced with nice red fruits and mellow oak. Drinking really well now. Big Tick number 2!

2002 Aviator: Interesting nose… I called it “gravelly”. (So, like Tom Waits voice, then?) Very elegant, mellowing well. The tannins are still there, but the time in bottle means they’re not overpowering. Great length. Excellent. Big Tick.

Clearview

2006 Cape Kidnappers Merlot: A step back, power-wise, light, well-fruited and fine tannins. Good easy drinker.

2006 Two Pinnacles Malbec/Merlot: Smooth, mouthfilling and rich. Very nice wine.

2006 Reserve Cab Franc: Quite a dry style, well-structured and long. Very nice as well. Clearview was proving very consistent.

2006 Old Olive Block: Then this Merlot/Cabernet/Malbec stepped up and hit one out of the park. A slightly porty nose, smooth, complex and spiced. Lasts for days after you’ve swallowed it. Uh, spat. I’m sure I spat. Probably. Big Tick.

2005 Enigma: Tons of time left for this one, too. Rich fruitcake on the palate, concentrated and complex. Big Tick yet again. (I think most wineries brought their A-Game to the trade tasting.)

2006 Sea Red: The one “alternative” red on offer. A dessert red, no less. An excellent sweet wine, not too sweet and sticky, just balanced and full of beautiful red berry flavours.

Crossroads

2004 Merlot/Cabernet: Very ripe-tasting, easy tannins. Working well.

2005 Syrah: Quite a tannic hit up front, but the wine itself is a fairly subtle style. The flavours almost creep up on you. Good mid-term celleraing potential.

2005 Talisman: Six grapes, including “Grape X”. Ooh, a mystery grape! (They seriously won’t reveal it.) Whatever it is, they should keep growing it. Full, long and mouthfilling. Very supple, slightly spiced. 10 years worth of aging isn’t out of the question. Excellent. BToA.

Craggy Range

2006 Block 14 Syrah: Finally, I get to try this well-respected syrah. And it’s way too young, of course. Still rounded, elegant and smooth. Felt mid-weight, but there’s years before it hits it’s peak. 2016 good for you?

2006 Merlot: 14% Cab Franc in there too. Long and super drinkable, with a nice savoury finish and restrained oak.

2006 Sophia: And I thought the syrah was too young. This is all about potential. Tight, closed nose. And that’s all I got. But there’s gold in them there hills. It’ll just take a while to dig it out, methinks.

20 wines in and my palate was already flagging. It’ll take something serious to get through the tannic tounge-burn.

Trinity Hill

2007 Syrah: Hello! Light-bodied, fruit-driven and exceptionally drinkable. I know about cleansing the palate… who knew you could do it with more wine? BToA. Super stuff at a super price.

2007 Tempranillo: Fruit-driven, but with nice herbal notes and good structure. A refreshing change from the parade of Merlot and Syrahs.

2004 Cab Sav/Merlot: Classic Cab/Merlot, cedary and earthy on the nose, firm, full, well-structured blackcurrant-juice for grown-ups on the palate. Smoky on the finish, too. Bring back Cabernet!

2005 “The Gimblett”: Dry and tannic with lots of room to open up. Some brambly herby characters, too. I didn’t go as ballistic over this as most wine critic do, though.

2006 “Homage” Syrah: Maybe I was saving up for this? Nirvana in a bottle. (A rather pricey one at NZ$120 a pop, of course. I tried to be unswayed by the pricetag, but it really is superb.) Smooth and silky with layeres of flavour and days of persistence. Should last a decade with ease. No spitting required. Big Tick.

Villa Maria

2006 Cellar Selection Syrah: A bit unfair to this wine, having just met the Homage. Still, rich, smoky and with plenty of ripe fruit flavours.

2006 Cellar Selection Syrah/Viognier: Excellent. Great nose, firm and full with great depth of gamey flavours. We’re getting into the good stuff again.

2006 Reserve Syrah: BOOM! Deep, dark, mysterious and unfathomably good. Ripe plums, woodsmoke and dried herbs. Huge Tick… and don’t tell John Hancock I said so, but BETTER than the Homage. At half the price. (Maybe in ten years the reverse will be true, but it’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.)

2004 Omahu Merlot: A little mellow after the in-your-face brilliance of the Syrah. The drying tannins were a little more noticeable on the second sip. Should last well.

2005 Reserve Cab/Merlot: Dry and nutty, with some earthy undertones. Fruit seemed a little shy, though. Time needed.

2004 Reserve Merlot: This one hit every part of the palate at once. Gorgeous. Plummy nose, full and ripe in the mouth. Yum. Big Tick.

Wisheart

2002 Legend: This Merlort/Cabernet/Syrah elicited one of my more poetic TN’s. “This wine tastes like pipe tobacco smells”. The winemaker said he could see that, so either he liked the description or he was just being very diplomatic. Fragrant, supple and complex,, well-developed and drinking nicely now.

2005 Legend: A pre-release sample. Completely different nose than the ’02, much brighter in colour and aroma. The primary fruit is bigger in this one. I preferred the ’02, but the ’05 should drink well for another five years.

2005 Syrah: Woosh! Stinky as all get out… a whole passle of barnyards in this one. Dry and gamey. The fruit seemed a little restrained in this one.

Babich

2005 Pinotage: One of Wishearts staff told me to go try this one. So I did. Good call. Big upfront fruitbomb with full, lasting flavours. Tannins in check, hints of woodsmoke on the finish. Big Tick.

2002 Irongate Cab/Merlot/Franc: Still dark and brooding, layered and complex with a good dry finish. Great stuff.

2004 Patriach: This one’s still a toddler. Big, big nose, deep colour. Lots of oak and leathery notes with a peppery finish. Just needs time to fill in the middle a little. A serious food wine.

Church Road

2006 Merlot/Cabernet: Hello, old friend. It’s been a while. You’re still looking good, I see. Put on a bit of weight, though? Must be those tannins. Nice savouryness. Liked it.

2006 Cuvee Malbec: My notes just read “Funky, rounded”. My palate was wearing out fast.

2005 Reserve Cabernet/Merlot: I’d last tried this years ago as a red-wine newbie. As such I found it too big. Now? Big Tick! Great bite from the cabernet but with plenty of smooth, fruity Merlot characters in there. Nice plum and berry flavours. Excellent.

2002 Tom: My first time tasting one of the big guns of New Zealand wine. And my mouth felt like the inside of a barrel by now. Still, it was an intruiging wine, quite subtle on the nose with some nice smoky highlights. Very long-lasting on the palate, with tons of complexity and a touch of dried herbal characters. It’s still about five years too early to really judge it, but it was nice to try it at last.

Corbans

2005 Cottage Block Syrah: This was just delicious. Fragrant and intense on the nose, delicate use of oak to let the fruit shine through. Big Tick.

2006 Cottage Block Syrah: Two for two! Inky black, very concentrated and peppery with great gamey/earthy/smoky characters. Big Tick again!

Beach House

2006 Syrah: Great balance and harmony on this one. The plums, pepper and oak all worked nicely together. Pretty good, but I was just about done. It’d take something unbelievable to tantalise my tortured tastebuds.

Elephant House

2007 Reserve Syrah: Unbelievable! Massive, ripe, tangy and built like a powerlifter! Really pungent, savoury and spicy. Tiny winery goes big for their first release. Big Tick without a doubt.

And I was done. Taking notes, that is. I tried a few more wines, ending with Esk Valleys “The Terraces”, which had enough power to make me sit up and take notice. (Then again, at NZ$110+, it should.) My teeth had gone an attractive shade of magenta by the time I reached my night job. At the wine store.

It’s a tough life, huh?


- dananne - 06-17-2008

Yeah, but someone has to do it.

Thanks for the TNs!


- winoweenie - 06-17-2008

Great notes as usual Skeets. At this time in my life I'm more interested in the wines whos' aging potential is Tuesday afternoon rather than 10 years. [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]Naturally most of these producers juice wont see our neck of the woods. WW


- TheEngineer - 06-18-2008

Good luck with the new job. We can now say we knew you when...... when you become a big time wine celeb...