by Anto Coates
Those little stickers on the outside of wine bottles may
have the aesthetic appeal of a high tensile pylon but the simple fact is they move
wine. Gold medals offer an island of certainty in a sea of doubt and are a convenient
substitute to empirical research (lord knows why you’d want a substitute for
that but there you go…)
Wine show judging is an occupation that seems a lot more
glamorous from a safe distance. Most who engage in it see it as a privilege but
certainly not a jaunt. The focus required to suitably judge 100+ wines in a day
is far removed from the Bacchanalian aspirations of the end user.
One who has judged more wines than nearly any other New
Zealander is Geoff Kelly, who has been a senior wine judge since 1981, as well as running an independent wine evaluation website for many years. Sensory
evaluation is a lifestyle for him and many of the tasters present were
astonished at Geoff’s knowledge of the distinct aromas of obscure flora. Geoff
was a judge again at the 2011 Royal Easter Wine Show and took time out to
organise this tutored tasting of a selection of the gold medal and trophy
winners.
Geoff started off with some valuable insights into how best
to appraise a line up of wines, such as nosing each and every wine before
tasting any, because once your taste buds are engaged it inhibits your sense of
smell. He also went over some of the vagaries of the show system, such as the
excessive focus on gold and trophy wines, meaning the lesser wines to avoid are
swept under the rug. With Geoff’s quick caveat about not knowing the identities
of the wines while judging, and hence absolving himself of responsibility for
any potential duds, we were off and running with two bubblies: the Nautilus
Estate Methode Traditionelle NV and the Hunters Miru Miru Reserve Methode
Traditionelle 2007.
The Nautilus NV (19.0-/20) was a pale straw gold, with a
delicate bready nose and a marmite yeastiness. The palate was vibrant and
citrusy, perhaps lacking a little finesse, while the finish developed some very
pleasing faint white button mushroom complexity from the 75% pinot noir. I
think this is a wine that will be very interesting to revisit in 5-7 years,
where its class will be even more evident. The Hunters Miru Miru Reserve 2007
(18.5+/20) had, at first, the most delicious feminine nose of perfume and
talcum powder, so I was tempted to rate it above the Nautilus, but for some
reason the nose dissipated somewhat, leaving it looking a little flat after a
while. The palate though was energetic sherbert, nougat and warm bread, with
excellent acid structure and a long finish. Two very good sparkling wines that
are great value for money.
Next was the trophy-winning Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2010,
which was a masterstroke and perhaps my standout white of the night (not often
I say that in such illustrious company about a stainless steel Marlborough
Sauvignon!). The Whitehaven (19.0+/20) had a nose and that evoked gooseberries,
black passionfruit, feijoa and roasted red capsicums, while the palate
continued the theme but with an acidity that really set the wine apart – fresh
but so rounded off by what was doubtless a little residual sugar that the wine
was immaculately balanced. Certainly the best Sav I’ve tried to date in 2011.
Another revelation was the Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot
Gris 2010 (18.5+/20). The wine looked stunning with a pale, pink gold colour,
an Alsace
nose of cinnamon spice and pretty pink fruit. The palate is rich, seamless and
structured, without being overly phenolic, and the 11grams of residual sugar
has been judged to perfection. It has what so many Kiwi pinot gris lack –
focus. Great effort from Matt D and co at Mount D!
The Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2010
(19.0/20) is a serious wine with a pleasingly flippant price tag. The wine has
some obvious barrel ferment complexity on the nose, showing notes of wet woolen
carpet, but they don’t overpower the essential fruitiness of the wine, showing
baked apples, apricot and essential oils in a nice nod toward Condrieu. Don’t
drink this one too cold and enjoy over the next 3-5 years.
The final white of the flight was the Vidal Hawke’s Bay
Reserve Chardonnay 2009 (19.0-/20). This is an excellent wine that evokes the
spirit of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet over the New World
and as such I worry that many chardonnay drinkers might overlook its quality.
It’s a light yellow gold, with delicate nectarines, white flowers and oranges
on the nose aided by judiciously applied vanillin oak. The palate is
characterised by the purity of fruit and lacks the overt mealiness of the
bigger Hawke’s Bay styles, which is perhaps where I think it could go
unappreciated. Those in the know will see this delicacy as a boon though,
preferring the subtlety to the ubiquitous ‘gutsy’ style. It’s a good sign for
chardonnay in this country that this won trophy.
The Akarua Pinot Noir 2009 (18.5-/20) was something of a let
down for a trophy-winning Central Otago Pinot. Light boysenberry ruby in
colour, there was certainly an alluring nose with plenty of licorice, red
fruit, cloves and pepper spice, leading to a red and dark berry palate with
some brambly complexity and fruits of the forest, though not with perhaps the
depth I would expect. The finish was only medium length – hence a wine that
promised a lot but slightly under-delivered. Of course, that’s only to say that
it’s not quite what I would regard as a trophy wine…it is still superb value
and its good balance should mean it has plenty of good years in it.
The Villa Maria Cabernet/Merlot Reserve 2008 (19.0+/20) was
my red wine of the night. The wine was purple with blood red edges and the nose
was unmistakably cabernet – cassis and cedar. The palate was freshly acid, with
tobacco leaf and smooth blackcurrants, soft tannins and a subtle silken finish.
Beautiful stuff. We have the 2009 in stock which given the outstanding vintage
should be even better.
The Church Road Cuve Merlot is fast becoming a cult wine,
with its second trophy in as many years. The latest release, the 2008 (18.5/20),
trumped all comers at the Royal Easter Wine Show and it’s not hard to see why.
Maybe it’s because the Cuve is an experimental wine that I think the wine seems
fairly playful, but it’s incredibly more-ish. The nose shows notes of spice
box, plum and (maybe not ideally) hints of rubber, but the palate is soft and
rich with plums and dark cherries and the wine finishes with a crowd-pleasing
creamy vanillin finish. Very yummy stuff and a nice balance between a serious
table wine and an approachable medium red.
Matua Valley Malbec Matheson 2009 (17.5+/20) was a well-made,
rich but fairly non-descript wine that appeared to be in there more for its
instructional value than anything else. Malbec is Bordeaux’s ‘cousin that nobody talks about’
and is being plucked out faster than a mono-brow at a high school reunion. This
is a reasonable rendition but I’m not sure it’s as rustic and savoury as I
would expect if I was buying a top-end Merlot, and with so much good stuff
being grown for 5/8s of bugger all in Argentina, I can only assume this
wine was made for reasons other than its commercial viability.
The Villa Maria Reserve Syrah 2009 was voted Champion Wine
of Show, and Geoff revealed that it got his vote as well. For me, the deep
purple-ruby 2009 (18.5+/20) needed perhaps a little more air time than it was
given, since it was looking a little closed on the night, being quite reluctant
with bestowing its violets, pepper and cassis. It was certainly a very good
syrah, you could see that structurally, but I wasn’t quite as rapturous about
it as Geoff was.
The final wine of the night was the Riverby Estate Noble
Riesling 2009 (19.0/20) with an astonishing 175 g/l of residual sugar. The wine
was white-gold in appearance and the nose was grapefruit skin and lime, with
honeysuckles and lemon tart. The incredible thing was the limey acidity that
actually made the wine taste quite sweet/sour for a fleeting second at the end
of the palate – a sure sign the acid levels are up to snuff. Many of the
tasters found the glass-coating sweetness a bridge too far but I think in the
context of a plate of assorted cheeses they would change their tune quicker
than a drunk singing Waltzing Matilda in the Taumaranui tavern.