Tagged with 'chardonnay'

NZ versus the Rest of the World

Tasting Notes 18 July 2018
New Zealand versus the Rest of the World
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind

 
Simonnet Febvre Petite Chablis 2013 - France 
The fresh, steely, orchard fruit bouquet of this light matte gold hued wine hints of Chardonnay, which indeed it is and the taste is crisp, malic, earthy and lemony with a suggestion of mountain pawpaw and honeydew melon. It's unoaked yet pleasingly textural with a chalky dryness and a long lasting finish. 12.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $25.99.
 
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2017
Light yellow gold in the glass. Inviting aromas of ripe peach, toasty oak, and vanilla. Tasty, mouthfilling, malty, mealy flavours with gunsmoke, spicy oak, underlying flint and gobs of juicy tropical fruit that lingers tantalisingly. Exudes class all the way through. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $31.99.
 
Sebastiani North Coast Chardonnay 2015 – California, USA
Citrine gold. Restrained at first on the nose but later tropical fruit rises to the fore. Full, fat and juicy in the palate with sizzled butter, vanillin oak, caramel and cream brûlée. Mouthfilling, easy to open with the screwcap and easy to drink. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Framingham Classic Marlborough Riesling 2016
Light gold hued with an initial whiff of rubber band that succumbs to more intensely aromatic yellow citrus, heritage apple and delicate floral scents. Bright and zesty in the palate with refreshing tart apple acidity that's tempered by a touch of sweetness on the juicy quenching finish. 12.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Kerpen Alte Reben Wehlener Sonnenhur Spatlese Feinherb Riesling 2015 – Mosel, Germany 
Light gold in the glass. The fragrant bouquet of honey and botrytis has a fascinating earthy aura like wet potters clay and flavours full of tropical and citrus fruits with a tickle of spritz to the texture and only moderate sweetness. A classic example of the great wines of this region. 10.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $33.99.
 
Guigal Côte du Rhône 2014 – Rhone, France
Dark tamarillo skin red. The bouquet is earthy, a little rustic and slightly metallic with  a hint of cranberry, liquorice and tobacco. Fine flowing and vinous in the mouth with silky tannins, a suggestion of leather and a long savoury finish underpinned by well balanced acidity with fruit sweetness lingering. Made from predominantly Syrah with Garnacha and Mourvedre, this is excellent value. 14% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $20.99.
 
Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Hawks Bay Syrah 2016
Deep crimson black. Warm comforting chocolate cake and cherry bouquet. Full-bodied, mouthfilling, spicy and peppery with juicy blackberry, mulberry and cherry fruit framed by savoury oak. The firmly structured tannins are still tight and youthful but the potential is clearly there. Patience will reward. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $30.99.
 
Pepperjack Barossa Shiraz 2016 – South Australia
Inky black red with crimson edges. A rich berry chocolate nose and more chocolate in the sweet-fruited, creamy, silky-tannined, succulent palate together with cherry, vanilla, mocha, liquorice and hazelnut that meld into a mouthfilling delight. The firm finish is accented with spice and pepper and dry savoury notes linger. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Rockbare Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 – South Australia  
Dark pinky red with moderate density. Eucalypt and chocolate dust fill the bouquet and there's a warm fine chocolatey coating to the texture with fine tannins, mint, leather, cedar, vanilla and ripe blackberry and blackcurrant fruit underpinned by nicely balanced acidity. Smooth and velvety all the way through. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Crossroads Talisman 2014 – Hawkes Bay
Glossy rich dark red with an intense and attractive bouquet of cedar and brambles laced with chocolate and cherry. Beautifully poised as it floats across the palate. Finely structured tannins, concentrated red and black berries, savoury oak and cake spice are some of the descriptors that come to mind. A classy wine made from a secret blend of classic and rare red varieties that grow in Hawkes Bay. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $44.99.
 
Beach House Noble Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2016 
Deep yellow gold. Citrus blossom and honeysuckle nectar fill the bouquet and sweet honeyed citrus of the mandarin / orange spectrum in the palate with grapey muscat-like notes and a zingy brightness. A sweet yet refreshing desert wine that’s lightly viscous with a silky smooth flow. 12% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $16.99.

New Arrivals, New Vintages

First Glass 11 July 2018
New Arrivals, New Vintages
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were mostly tasted blind

 
Beach House Hawkes Bay Selection Chardonnay 2016
Golden hued with toasty oak and a just out-of-the-oven nut biscuit scent. Nutty and creamy in the palate with peach and polished toasty oak. Smooth and long with a bright tasty finish. Terrific socialising wine. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $18.99.
 
Champagne Delaplace Brut NV
Straw yellow with a frothy foam when poured. Quite a broad yeasty scent. Vibrantly effervescent at first in the mouth but when the bubbles subside the texture is creamy. A mouthfilling, nutty, mellow Champagne with attractive yeast autolysis and richness to the lingering finish. Gold NZIWS. 12% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $42.99.
 
Lawson Dry Hills Reserve Marlborough Chardonnay 2016 
Lemon yellow in hue with a full-on rich, fat, mealy, inviting Chardonnay scent then toasty and savoury in the mouthfilling palate that's layered with gunsmoke, spicy oak, lemon biscuit, peach and a touch of caramel and culminates in a long, dry, roasted nut finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Vega del Rayo Rioja Reserva 2011 – Rioja, Spain 
There’s a touch of tawny to the fading ruby hue. The bouquet offers up cherry and blueberry jam and it’s quite dry at first in the savoury palate with earth, game, mushroom and leather then juicy succulent redcurrant jelly-like fruit wells up from within with a whisper of spice and soft mellow oak. Subtle, understated and long with well-structured silky tannins and a linger hint of jaffa. Gold NZIWS. 13% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
Honoro Vera Garnacha 2016 – Calatayud, Spain 
Bright ruby in the glass with touches of crimson. Fresh, bright and youthful both on the nose and in the silky-textured palate where cherry and raspberry fruit is framed with red pepper, leather and spice and the finish lingers with succulence and charm. 14.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Giordano Reserva Primitivo Di Manduria Riserva 2015 – Puglia, Italy
Inky black red with crimson edges. Sweet smoky oak fills the bouquet with blueberry and chocolate coasted raisins. Full-bodied, powerful, succulent and juicy with a curvaceous body and a velvet cloak texture. Full of ripe fruit, sweet oak and underpinned with spice and pepper, it is definitely seductive at this stage in the tasting. 14.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
I Muri Primitivo 2017 – Puglia Italy 
Bright red black in the glass. Crushed dark chocolate biscuits and jammy red fruits shimmy through the slightly rustic scent with underlying savouriness, a touch of earth and plum and dark cherry fruit in the fine silky-textured palate. Oozing with succulence and flavour, a new vintage of a perennial favourite that delivers what you expect from this label. 13.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $17.99.
 
Red Knot Classified McLaren Vale Shiraz 2016 – South Australia 
Inky purple red in the glass. Blackberry and dark chocolate fill the bouquet then in the firmly structured, full-bodied, mouthfilling palate there’s savoury oak, vanilla, touches of pepper, hints of anise, concentrated mulberry and black cherry fruit and succulence to the spicy finish. Made by Shingleback. Winestate Shiraz Wine of the Year. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Reilly's Clare Valley Shiraz 2016 – South Australia
Inky black red with crimson edges. There’s a floral allure to the sweet nutty oak and spice-infused scent with spice quite prominent in the silk-edged velvety textured palate with dry (but not drying) tannins and a juicy succulence to the bright creamy finish. A dense, concentrated, tight-knit wine that would benefit from cellaring at this stage of its life. 15.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Mouton Cadet Reserve Sauternes 2014 – Bordeaux, France
Deep yellow in the glass with a nectar-like scent and lightly viscous and honeyed in the palate with an intriguing earthy savouriness that brings the delectable sweetness into check. Orange honey, candied orange peel, candied fennel seeds, dried tropical fruits and lanolin all combine for a glorious finish. Made from 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Delicious. 13% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $49.99 for a 750-ml bottle. 

Felton Road Wines from Central Otago with Blair Walter

First Glass 4 July 2018
Felton Road Wines from Central Otago with Blair Walter
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were not tasted blind

 
Felton Road Dry Riesling 2017
Straw in colour with a delicate lemon sherbet aroma and a crisp, dry, steely, green apple fresh taste. There’s a flinty undercurrent, a shimmer of salinity and a pleasing touch of honeysuckle that tempers the racy acidity and brings succulence to the lingering finish. 12.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $32.99.
 
Felton Road Bannockburn Chardonnay 2017
The bouquet has an understated chablis-like nutty, creamy, malo elegance with the most subtle nuance of caramel and the most delicate toasty savouriness. In the mouth this is a wine of body and texture with tingly acidity punching though the creamy flow with neutral oak, a flinty / earthy undertone, fruit reminiscent of loquat, melon and just ripe apricot and softness to the long graceful finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $42.99.
 
Felton Road Block 2 Chardonnay 2016
The bouquet evokes a soft sense of chardonnay long before revealing yellow fruit and light nutty scents. Immediately vibrant and tasty with sweet oak, bright tropical fruit and a touch of apple with underlying flint. From a warm vintage this is fine and elegant with a long, full, mouth-coating finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $52.99.
 
Felton Road Block 2  Chardonnay 2010
Smoky, fumé scents are joined by sweet nutty tones and the taste is full-bodied, creamy and nutty with fruit reminiscent of custard apple and pawpaw with slight peppery tingles and a touch a caramel corn on the mouthfilling finish. The vibrancy of the acidity is quite remarkable in that brings life and liveliness to this 8-year-old wine that exhibits finesse and elegance all the way through. From a vintage similar to 2017, this is quite delicious. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: NA
 
Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2017
Bright ruby garnet, deeply translucent not opaque. Intense aromatics of bottled cherries with leafy notes, refined savoury oak and subtle chocolate tones. Bright, fresh and tasty with a sensuous savouriness, a youthful edge to the fine textured silky tannins, a touch of spice and game, succulent cherry fruit and a ‘sucking on a cherry stone’ feel to the remarkably long finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $58.99.
 
Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2017
There’s a touch of violet to the deep ruby hue and immediate opulence to the scent that oozes fruit, savouriness and pinosity. Concentrated and spicy tasting with ripe cherry and blueberry fruit, a touch of chocolate, lovely savoury oak tones, a tingly undercurrent from the youthful acidity, a flourish of anise and subtle lilac-like florals. Full and satisfying with a fine velvety texture and loads of flavour and flare. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $69.99.
 
Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2014
Good depth of colour and alluring mellow savoury notes to the scent where a touch of rusticity comes through. Full-bodied, rounded, mouthfilling and tasty, deeply savoury and gamey with silky tannins and a fine textured flow. It’s a slightly funky wine with body, texture and layers, fruit like old bottled cherries, and has a spicy vibrancy to the sweet-fruited succulent finish with a touch of smokiness as it lingers. Drinking superbly now - a great example of why you buy young and cellar even if only for 3 years. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: NA.
 
Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir 2017
Deep rich ruby with a flush of pink. The bouquet is so evocative with its sensuous oak, plump perfectly ripe cherries, a slight leafy/herbal nuance, black forest chocolate and spice. This is old school pinot - an earthy, gamey, savoury pinot - a dense and concentrated pinot with vibrant red and purple fruit, a voluptuousness to the texture and a long satisfying finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $94.99.
 
Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir 2013
There's a touch of tawny to the garnet hue and a white mushroom nuance to the scent together with cherry jam and mellow savoury oak. Spicy and tingly to the taste indicating the acidity is still a defining factor in this wine yet there is a fullness and roundness with fruit, oak, savouriness and subtle anise spiciness all in harmony and a lingering aftertaste that delightfully persists. Beautifully structured and still evolving. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: NA.

All Whites

First Glass 30 May 2018
All Whites
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind

 
Sensi 18K Prosecco Brut NV - Italy 
Pale straw with a salted apple nuance to the lightly floral scent. Vibrantly fizzy with a soft stewed apple, tart zingy apple and muscat grape-like taste. Light and easy going with a creamy finish. Looks fantastic and tastes nice too. 13.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $25.99.
 
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2017
Glossy lemon gold with an attractive toast and grilled peach scent. Quite savoury at first then juicy tropical fruit and stonefruit flavours burst through and the soft oak finish lingers with a spicy zing. Not too heavy, terrific socialising wine and top value for the money. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $15.99.
 
Te Mata Elston Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2016
A rich savoury wine with a light citrine hue; vanilla biscuit, gunflint and mealy aromas and more of the same in the palate. Quite tingly in its youth with the acidity subsiding to reveal ripe stonefruit and nectarine, savoury earthy notes (as in potters clay) with a creamy oak sweetness to the persistent full-bodied finish. 13.5% alc. Diam cork. First Glass Price: $33.99.
 
Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay 2016 - California, USA
Bright yellow gold, touches of tropical fruit with suggestions of caramelised banana on the nose and rich and oily in the palate with a ton of butter and vanilla underpinned by sweet citrus acidity and all of that rich ripe fruit making for a delicious wine. Fans of Californian Chardonnay will love this wine. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $25.99.
 
Mr Riggs Watervale Riesling 2012 – Clare Valley, South Australia
There’s a waft of kero to the scent together with apple and lime in this archetypal dry Riesling that’s quiveringly fresh and steely but with enough juicy apple and citrus / barley sugar sweetness to round out the edges while a touch of tarragon emerges as the long finish lingers. Still youthful with many years ahead of it.  11.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $11.99.
 
Kahurangi Estate Mt Arthur Reserve Nelson Riesling 2016 
White gold in the glass with aromas of lemon, quince and roasted apple and a spritzy tingle to the texture. A richer style that is just off dry with a toasty character starting to develop and a lingering taste of quince and apple and a very agreeable touch of sweetness. 12% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $14.99.
 
Albert Mann Pinot Gris 2016 - Alsace, France
Pale straw with a moderately shy aroma that hints of spiced apple that is a little more obvious in the very dry, steely, flinty and slightly nutty palate. A contrast to the lusher sweeter styles we often see from Alsace, this fleshes out for a much fuller finish with ripe orchard fruit and a very alluring suggestion of anise. Youthful with potential. Intriguing wine. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $34.99.
 
Spy Valley Single Vineyard Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2016
Light yellow gold with a heady bouquet of lychee, Nashi pear, crystallised violet and Turkish Delight, and ripe, concentrated tasty flavours with a touch of rose musk adding to the charm. Powerful yet with a lightness to its step, it’s just off dry with a seamless lightly oily texture and a sprinkle of ginger and white pepper. Trophy Easter Show. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Schoffit Cuvee Caroline Alsace Gewurztraminer 2014 - France
Golden hued with intense aromas of candied tropical fruit, beeswax and nectar and a medium sweet taste that’s spicy and rich with an oily smooth texture and flavours of apricot honey with pepper and ginger-like tingles and fresh acidity imparting a clean balanced finish. 13% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $33.99.
 
Villa Maria Reserve Noble Marlborough Riesling 2016 
This delicious sweetie has a deep yellow gold colour, a scent of toffee apple and unbelievable concentration in the palate. There’s ginger marmalade, tropical fruit, apricot and candied orange with the sweetness honed in by crisp fresh vibrant acidity. Gold NZIWS. 10% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $28.99.
 
Osborne Pedro Ximinez Very Sweet Sherry - Jerez, Spain
It’s the colour of dark mahogany with a transparent green tinge to the edges. The bouquet is like muscatel raisins and treacle and it is warm and spiritous in the decadent palate with a thick almost syrupy texture and a luscious toffee grapey sweetness. 17% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $29.99.

Value Wines Shine

First Glass 9 May 2018
High Price Low Price
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind




Sebastiani North Coast Chardonnay 2015 – California, USA
A  medley of tropical fruit, roasted persimmon and pannacotta fills the bouquet and it’s creamy and buttery in the palate with bright, fresh, almost pineapple-like acidity and a smooth, lingering aftertaste reminiscent of Macintosh Harrogate toffees. 13.9% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Simonsig Chardonnay 2016 – Stellenbosch, South Africa
The bouquet is fresh, acid driven and there are hints of apricot to the citrussy taste that's very dry with a dusty, mellow note and a mealy savoury undercurrent to the fruity finish. 13.5% alc. Cork/Screwcap. First Glass Price: $20.99.
 
Bogle Reserve Chardonnay 2016 - Clarksburg, California, USA
There’s a suggestion of crushed brazil nut and hazelnut on the opulent, rich, toasty bouquet and the creamy taste is seamless with an ornate frame of spicy oak encapsulating  juicy stonefruit and a flamboyant caramel-coated finish that lingers for ages. A meal in a glass. 14% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $29.99.
 
Greystone Sand Dollar Waipara Pinot Gris 2016
Scents of poached pear and peach crumble radiate from the glass and it’s cool and fresh in the steely palate that slowly reveals its textural complexity with touches of tarragon and spice lingering. Technically dry (just 3 g/l residual sugar) with a wild yeast, barrel component, it recently came 3rd in Decanter’s World’s best Pinot Gris buys. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Rapaura Springs Reserve Marlborough Pinot Gris 2017
Bright and tropical fruity with a light tingle of spritz, hints of musk and Turkish delight. An off-dry to medium style that hits the sweet spot with fleshy stonefruit and a brightness to the attractive finish.  Ripe, lush and immediately likeable. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $14.99.
 
Lawson's Dry Hills Marlborough Riesling 2015
The bouquet is like classic dry Riesling with lime, talc and a vague suggestion of kero. Searingly dry in the slightly spritzy palate with racy apple and citrus acidity nicely rounded out by a touch of toastiness that’s accrued with bottle age. Drinking beautifully now. Multi awarded. 12.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $17.99.
 
Pegasus Bay Waipara Riesling 2015
There’s a suggestion of grapefruit and mandarin zest on the nose and loads more in the palate that has a lightly viscous texture. It’s ripe and zesty with well balanced sweetness and suggestions of hokey-pokey on the lingering finish. Fulfilling and expressive. 12.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $29.99.
 
Te Kairanga Martinborough Pinot Noir 2016 
Bright ruby with pinky edges. The bouquet is sweet-fruited, inviting, with spiced cherries and a hint of cedar and the firm, dry taste is foremost savoury and gamey than fruity – but the fruit is of course there – bittersweet fruit – wild strawberries, morello cherries - and its silky in its flow with mouthfilling richness to the finish. Gold NZIWS & NWWA. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Pegasus Bay Waipara Pinot Noir 2014
Garnet red, a little browning on the edges. The bouquet is savoury with woody herb notes and a touch of chocolate-coated cherry and the wine as a whole has a mellow aura and complexity that comes with a little age. Fruit is reminiscent of stewed tamarillo with underlying prickly acidity and savoury bretty / leathery notes giving a European impression. Tannins still noticeable on the magnanimous finish with hints of chocolate and rounded mouth-coating pinosity as it lingers. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $47.99.
 
Cape Barren Native Goose McLaren Vale Shiraz 2016 – South Australia 
Shiny black red in the glass. Juicy red berry scents laced with vanillin oak fill the bouquet and its lifted and spicy in the palate that seems so velvety smooth and flowing. Full of dark plums and chocolate, it is immediately approachable with a mouth-coating finish.  14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
E & E Limited Release Black Pepper Barossa Shiraz 2014 – South Australia
Rich red black with translucent edges hinting of a little age. The bouquet is overflowing with opulent dark berries, spice and savoury notes and the taste is rich, creamy and velvety. It's voluptuous yet structured with a tantalising vanilla and nut chocolate oak frame, underlying savouriness, touches of chicory and anise, lots of pepper and a long firm finish that leaves a memorable impression. 15.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $99.

Australia versus New Zealand on ANZAC Day

First Glass 25 April 2018 
Australia versus New Zealand on ANZAC Day
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind

 
Kirrihill Regional Selection Clare Valley Riesling 2016
Golden coloured with a bright lime-scented aroma and a hint of toastiness to the quiveringly dry taste. This is classic Clare with flavours of lime, talc and honeysuckle florals, a touch of oiliness to the texture and concentration to the finish. 11.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $16.99.
 
Mount Pleasant 'Elizabeth' Hunter Valley Semillon 2016 – NSW, Australia
Straw gold with wispy floral aromas infused with the slightest hint of apricot, and a touch of salinity to the flinty taste with yellow apple joining the delicate apricot that imparts the finish with fruit sweetness. A subtle style and very different to the ones held for 5 years before release, this begs to be accompanied with seafood. 10% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
Aronui Single Vineyard Nelson Albarino 2016
There's a hint of beeswax and toast to the scent of this light yellow gold hued wine. It’s tropical fruity and creamy with mealy, leesy notes and a honeyed nuance to the full, smooth finish.  13.5 % alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $17.99.
 
Wolf Blass Gold Label Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2015 – South Australia
There’s an appealing sense of vanilla and malt on the nose that follows through to the palate that’s full, fat and rounded with a mealy richness, sweet ripe fruit reminiscent of white peach and apricot, underlying flinty notes and a spicy zesty zing to the long, mouthfilling finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
Mission Jewelstone Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2016
Golden in the glass with hints of roasted pineapple  / pineapple wood on the nose while tropical fruit abounds in the palate. It’s oaky, sappy, and very very dry with a flinty character to the dusty finish and underlying mealy notes adding richness. Closed with natural cork again Mission believes it will impart more complexity with ageing.  13.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $35.99.
 
Akarua Rua Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
This bright, smooth, tasty pinot is a brilliant violet-edged ruby in the glass with seductive smoky nuances to the scent and touches of anise, spiced cherry and red guava in the palate with harmonious savoury gamey tones moseying about in the background where firm youthful tannins are tamed by the succulent fruit. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Tolpuddle Vineyard  Pinot Noir 2016 – Tasmania, Australia
A translucent pink garnet in the glass with a delicate bouquet hinting of dried herbs, rose pot pourri and red cherry. An ethereal pinot with fine silky tannins and seemingly subtle yet increasingly complex old-school, earthy, savoury, spicy notes with compounding richness and mouthfeel, just the right amount of fruit sweetness and fabulous length. A wonderful nod to Burgundy.  13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $58.99.
 
Take it to the Grave Langhorne Creek Shiraz 2016  – South Australia
Bright black red with crimson-pink edges. Earth, savoury and just a little tarry on the nose more akin to a cool climate wine until deep dark berry sweetness unfurls from within. Similarly in the palate it seems tight, herbal, firm and savoury then, like on the nose, the succulent fruit breaks through and all the while a bright and delicately peppered spiciness glides through. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $16.99.
 
The Landing Bay of Islands  Syrah 2013 – Northland, NZ 
This bright black-red hued Syrah is a big wine, the only indication of its age the mellow character that frames it. Green pepper and dried herb aromas mingle with the scent of chocolate-coated berries and syruppy chocolate is foremost in the firm dry palate with dark plums, pepper, mocha and vanilla adding to the sumptuous complexity with creamy oak a feature on the silky finish. Gold Easter Show. 13.7% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $35.99.
 
Coopers Creek Reserve Hawkes Bay Syrah 2016
This is a deep dark red in the glass with crimson edges. The bouquet emanates blackcurrants, leather and cedar while black pepper is harmonious in the dry yet silky, succulent palate that’s full of dark fruit, dark oak, cake spices and liquorice with a youthful brightness to the finish. Trophy AirNZ Wine Awards. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $49.99.
 
Heartland Langhorne Creek Shiraz 2014 – South Australia
Black red, silky in appearance. Super attractive bouquet of vanillin oak, spice, chocolate and cherries and smooth, creamy and juicy in the palate that’s crammed with black plums, blackberry, chocolate and vanilla with a well-balanced spicy savoury undercurrent, pillowy tannins and a long succulent aftertaste. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $24.99.

Pinot Passion

First Glass 11 April 2018
Pinot Passion
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind

 
Leveret Estate Hawkes Bay Reserve Chardonnay 2014
Tasted chilled on the first cold night of the year this four-year-old comes across as bright and fresh with a touch of oyster shell and a hint of smoke to the tropical fruit scent and more tropical fruit in the palate that's lightly creamy with a bright finish. Gold Hawkes Bay. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Mission Estate Barrique Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2016
This is a smooth, medium to full-bodied style with lemony, malo notes to the bouquet and upfront savouriness to the taste with just a touch of zest and ripe stonefruit fleshing out the very dry finish with a nice touch of butterscotch emerging to linger. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Harken Barrique Fermented California Chardonnay 2016 – California, USA
From the creamy vanilla biscuit aroma to the complex leesy full-bodied palate this oozes flavour and character. It's mouthfilling, mouth coating and mouth enveloping with tropical fruit bursts, banana bikes, pineapple and caramel with harmonious buttery oak and a creamy sweetness to the tasty finish. Verging on irresistible. 13.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Misha's Vineyard Limelight Central Otago Riesling 2014
The earthy / slatey / limey / honeyed bouquet with lashings of kero is so expressive and totally en pointe for this off dry to medium Riesling with flavours of apple, honey and touches of tarragon and a crisp clean mouthfilling finish. Complex, full, concentrated and tasty with the 33 g/l residual sugar balanced by refreshing acidity. 10.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $26.99.
 
Aronui Single Vineyard Nelson Pinot Noir 2015
Bright ruby with luminous translucency. There's richness to the cherry scent with touches of dried herb and woodsmoke, and complexity to the fruit driven yet savoury flavours with a nuance of smoky bacon coming through. It's soft and velvety and full of flavour. Upper Moutere fruit. Fabulous value. Gold Easter Show. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Main Divide North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2014
Dark ruby heading towards garnet. The bouquet offers up bramble fruit with savoury, slightly herbal nuances and it is full of ripe berry fruit flavours in the firm yet silky palate with classical savoury, smoky, earthy, gamey vibes and appealing fruit sweetness to the lively finish. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Russian Jack Martinborough Pinot Noir 2016
Brightly hued with a touch of barnyard on the nose but full of bright fruit that is a little reminiscent of raspberry in the silky palate that features sensual savoury undertones. It's still youthful with a spark of acidity and firmness to the finish. Made by Martinborough Vineyards. Gold New World, Gold Easter Show.  14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $18.99.
 
Maude Estate Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016
Ruby hued, clear and bright. The deep fruited aroma suggests plum and blueberry with harmonious yet subtle spicy oak, and it’s wonderfully concentrated in the creamy palate with Christmas cake spices, bottled cherries, plums and hints of chocolate on the long, full-bodied and increasingly complex finish. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $32.99.
 
Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2016
Dark ruby hued with a  lovely savoury expression of pinot both on the nose and in the palate that’s full of dark fruit and lovely savoury gamey notes with beautifully balanced smoky oak . It's smooth and complex with silky tannins and a long firm finish. Very impressive. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Mission Estate Jewelstone 'Antione' Hawkes Bay 2016
Dark red black in hue with considerable density. The bright blackcurrant and plum aroma is infused with smoky oak and it’s full-bodied and concentrated in the palate with dark savoury notes, sappy herbs, oak spice, ripe juicy fruit, firm yet pillowy tannins and a gobsmacking succulent finish with nuances of mint adding brightness. Made from predominantly Merlot with a touch of Cab Sauv and Cab Franc, it’s stylish and memorable.  14% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $49.99.
 
A Good Dirt Barossa Shiraz 2015 – South Australia
Dark red black in hue with savouriness coming through on the nose to balance the dark, concentrated, ripe, almost jammy fruit scents and super ripe in the palate with touches of mint, savoury oak notes and iodine underpinning the succulent plum and blackberry fruit with touches of vanilla, mocha and chocolate. Velvety in its flow with a rounded finish. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $18.99.
 

Happy 19th Birthday First Glass

First Glass 4 April 2018
Happy 19th Birthday First Glass
Notes by Sue Courtney
All wines (except the Champagne) were tasted blind

 
Champagne Charles de Cazanove Stradivarius 2007 – Riems, France
This has a 24 carat gold colour, the bouquet oozes the gorgeous malty and slightly oxidative characters of bottle aged vintage Champagne and the taste is lemony, leesy, malty and savoury with tantalising salinity and brightness to the long, extra dry finish while a fine effervescence radiates all the way through. 12% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $85.99.
 
Mount Riley 17 Valley Marlborough Chardonnay 2016
This is a rich, oaky, grilled peach style of Chardonnay. It's golden coloured with an opulent toasty bouquet and a juicy taste where polished oak, gunsmoke, malty mealy notes, fig and stonefruit are all in harmony. Developing beautifully in the bottle. Gold NZIWS 2017. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
Dog Point Marlborough Chardonnay 2015
This light lemon-gold hued chardonnay is a full-on leesy, flinty, reductive style with nuances of gunsmoke, lemon, fig and cedar filling the bouquet and upfront youthful acidity in the palate with full, fat, leesy, gunflint, funky wild yeast notes taking over. Mouthfilling and increasingly complex with fruit in the lemon/melon spectrum and masterful use of oak. Still evolving so one for the cellar right now. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $32.99.
 
Lawson Dry Hills ‘The Pioneer’ Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015
This lustrous light gold wine has honeyed poached pear aromatics that are delicate and enchanting. A sweeter, lightly viscous style with a nod to Alsace, it flows beautifully across the palate and teases with it’s powerful and almost gewurztraminer-like flavours that hint of violets and ginger infused spices. Impressive. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $29.99.
 
Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses 2017 – Languedoc, France 
The most attractively bottled and romantic of any rosé on the market today, this blend of grenache, syrah and cinsault is a pale pink sapphire hue with a lightly floral / rose hip / pink candy floss aroma and tastes like it is just on the cusp of off dry. It's deliciously quenching with delicate wild strawberry, ‘rose de mai’, hints of violet and a whisper of tarragon on the refreshing finish. 13% alc. Vinolok Stopper. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014
There's a pink tinge to the garnet hue of this ripe, mouthfilling pinot with fruit sweetness infiltrating the slightly herbaceous scent and a nice touch of savouriness to the taste that brims with black cherry, plums and spice with a suggestion of woodsmoke and chocolate velvet tannins. Nicely aged expression. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Dona Paula Estate Valle de Uco Malbec – Mendoza, Argentina
This deeply coloured wine smells quite earthy and savoury with a depth of red berry fruit, and it's sappy and juicy in the medium to full-bodied palate that has a smoky, leathery, meaty, tobacco-like character, touches of plum skin, fairly firm but nevertheless approachable tannins and a long, bright lingering finish.  13.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $24.99.
 
Chalk Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2014 – South Australia 
This is an impenetrable deep dark red with an opulent bouquet suggestive of chocolate and mulberry with a haunting floral allure and a subtle suggestion of mint. It's irresistibly smooth with concentrated plum and blackberry fruit laced with mocha and chocolate, smoky oak and tingles of pepper and a mouthfilling succulent finish.  14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $23.99.
 
Grant Burge Filsell Barossa Old Vine Shiraz 2015 – South Australia
This is a bright black red with luminosity to the hue. The bouquet is close to  mesmerising with hints of dried roses, touches of chocolate, succulent berry fruit and wafts of oak and it's velvety smooth in the palate with vanillin oak, chocolate, dark berry fruit and a lovey savoury underpinning of spice that’s judiciously laced with pepper. Firm on the finish with an x-factor-like vinous sweetness that wells up and lingers.  14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $29.99.
 
Two Hands Fields of Joy Clare Valley Shiraz 2016 – South Australia
This is a vibrant saturated crimson red in the glass. The bouquet is smoky with hints of cigar box and tobacco and the taste is juicy, succulent, silky and smooth yet with a profound berry fruit concentration with underlying youthful vibrancy, touches of pepper, herbaceous notes, hints of chocolate and an earthy, savoury finish that is dry and salivating. Lots going on. Will last for years. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $32.99.

Easter Show Trophies, Gold Medals and more

First Glass 14 March 2018 
Easter Show Trophies, Gold Medals and more
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind



Te Hana Sparkling Reserve Cuvée NV
This methode traditionelle made from a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir is yellow gold in the glass with fine bubbles and a lacy froth when poured. It evokes bacquette aromas and hints of marmite to the flavour that suggest a little bottle age. The upfront tingly effervescence subsides to reveal vibrant acidity,  malt and nut bread nuances and a dry, toasty, lingering finish. Outstanding value. Gold Easter Show. 12% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $13.99.
 
Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Emanating youthfulness with its glossy pale straw hue and with its bright breezy scent full of greengage plum, grapefruit and bright summer herbs that recur in the crisp, dry flinty palate where juicy pineapple, red capsicum, celery and fleshy peach add to the quintessentially pungent and delightful sauvignon blanc taste. Trophy Easter Show 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Whitehaven Marlborough Chardonnay 2016
The colour is lustrous lemon gold, the tantalising bouquet conjures up toasty oak, gunsmoke, malt, nectarine and peach with some reductiveness noticeable and the taste is bold, toasty and mouthfilling with lashings of peaches and cream and a long rich savoury oak finish with lingering wheatmeal and woodsmoke. Gold Easter Show 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Villa Maria Reserve Marlborough Chardonnay 2016
This light gold hued wine has a gentle bouquet with wild yeast, barrel ferment, malo, melon and gunflint scents and the taste shows lovely creaminess and restraint with melon, white peach, hazelnut and fig and a long, dry, mealy finish. Subtle, seamless and absolute class. Gold Easter Show, Gold AirNZ. Trophy NZIWS. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $32.99.
 
Summerhouse Marlborough Verdelho 2016
This barrel-fermented wine is straw gold in hue with a bouquet of gunsmoke and nuances of pear, guava, peach and nectarine – the fruit more obvious in the palate. It's dry, flinty and focussed with a refreshing acid backbone, touches of salinity, hints of manuka woodsmoke and the fruit opening up the wine for a fleshy finish. Trophy Easter Show. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $17.99.
 
Spy Valley Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2016
Light gold hued with a heady fragrance of violets, lychee, Turkish Delight and rose oil and off dry to the tingly taste with sweet ripe grape and lychee flavours, white pepper and musky spices with a powerful, toasty, smoker lolly finish that’s soft and seamless. Begs to be accompanied with Thai or and Indian curry. Trophy Easter Show. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Villa Maria Single Vineyard Ihumatao Auckland Gewurztraminer 2017
Straw gold in hue with a delicate yet fragrant perfume of lilac and strudel spices with hints of musk and vanilla poached pear. Bright and spicy to the fairly dry taste with delicate tropical fruit and mandarin and just a smidgen of honey that enhances the texture. A subtle Alsace-like style that’s not too OTT. Gold Easter Show. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Akarua Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016
This Bannockburn pinot is a rich dark ruby hue with a beguiling smoky savoury aroma infused with black cherry, vanilla and tar and its seamless in the palate that’s ripe, fruity, flavoursome and intense. Full of musky, spicy, cherry and plum fruit with hints of briar rose, pillowy tannins and subtle smoky oak with underlying acidity that will see it evolve over many years. Gold Easter Show, Gold AirNZ, Gold NZIWS. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $34.99.
 
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet 2016
Intense crimson-edged blackberry hue with an attractive bouquet of savoury oak, pencil box, blackcurrant and woody herbs that carry through to the palate where there is refreshing brightness of mint infusing the earthy savoury undertones and the succulent plum and blackberry fruit. The tannins are velvety and firm and there are hints of cigar box on the finish where the purity of the fruit and the savouriness of the oak linger harmoniously. Gold Easter Show. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $14.99.
 
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Cabernet Merlot 2016
Deep blackberry red in the glass with the bouquet revealing leathery notes overlaying plum, chocolate and spicy cedar and more leathery, earthy, savoury tones in the soft rounded silky palate that’s brimming with plums and bramble berry fruit with underlying acidity and touches of chocolate and vanilla on the long, smooth finish. Trophy Easter Show. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Riverby Estate Noble Marlborough Riesling 2015
Light yellow bronze in the glass – almost amber. The bouquet is all honey, botrytis, toffee, candied citrus and candied peach and the taste is a mouthful of sweet deliciousness. The lightly viscous nectar is seamless in its flow leaving memories of dried apricots, liquid honey, orange toffee and peach with refreshing acidity honing in the sweetness. A magnificent finish to a dinner party – or any evening when you want to enjoy beautiful wines. Trophy Easter Show. 11% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $24.99. 375ml.
 
Delgado Zuleta Pedro Ximinez Monteagudo NV - Jerez, Spain
Dark mahogany in the glass with yellow green edges. The heady scent and unctous flavours are like muscatels and sticky dates macerating for the Xmas cake with a hint of salinity that comes from the old barrels the win has age in. It’s seamless, viscous, heady and intense with absolutely amazing length. Hard to resist but a little goes a very long way. 17.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $31.99. 375ml.

Constellation Brands with Chief Winemaker Wendy Stuckey

First Glass 28 February 2018
Constellation Brands with Chief Winemaker Wendy Stuckey
Notes by Sue Courtney

 
Ruffino Momenti Prosecco Brut NV – Treviso DOC, Italy
This is a white gold hue with an attractive lacy edge. The bouquet is lightly floral and the taste is crisp and tingly fresh with tiny bubbles, underlying savoury slightly salty notes and lingering flavours of tart apples laced with vanilla creaming soda. 11% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Emperical Central Otago Gewurztraminer 2016
Made from grapes grown at Charcoal Gully in the Lowburn subregion, this light golden wine has a fine elegant bouquet of violet, spun sugar and spice and it’s warm in the mouth with a silky flow. It seems fairly dry with a primary flavour of ripe musky grapes and the merest suggestion of lychee with a lovely spicy lift and violets again together with liquid orange blossom honey on the fine lingering finish. Understated with a nod to Alsace.13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $39.99.
 
Emperical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016
Glossy citrine in the glass with a bouquet that is surprisingly quite toasty and full of butterscotch and creamy malo notes with the toastiness quite noticeable in the palate. A beautiful and subtle ‘alternative’ wild yeast barrel fermented style with warm spices, grilled peach, a fresh lemon verbena-like lift and underlying flint. From a trial that used all sorts of winemaking processes, this is from a single barrel selected from the six that survived the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Rapaura fruit. 12.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $39.99.
 
Emperical Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2015
Light yellow gold in the glass with a full on tantalising leesy bouquet filled with toasty, biscuity, nutty, lemony, mealy notes and powerful in the seamless palate yet not overpowering. It’s decadently toasty with peaches and cream, flint and gunsmoke notes and a beautifully balanced dry savoury oak finish that's long and persistent with a touch of cedary salinity. Clone 15 grapes from the Corner 50 area adjacent to the famed Keltern Vineyard. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $49.99.
 
Selaks Founders Limited Edition Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2016
This light gold wine smells dry, leesy and flinty with hints of grapefruit and nougat and it’s lifted, lemony and nutty in the smooth flowing palate with wild yeast nuances, lemon meringue and mellow toasty oak underpinned with gunsmoke. While it seems a little tight at first this long term potential wine has increasing layers of complexity and a light touch of caramel on the finish. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $19.99.
 
Kim Crawford Small Parcels Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2016
A wrap around the tongue wine thats light gemmy gold in the glass with a malty richness to the bouquet together with leesy, nutty, wild yeast and spicy savoury oak notes and full-bodied and powerful in the palate with toasty oak, touches of gunflint, dried hay, tropical fruit, citrus and juicy nectarine with a creamy malo softness and touches of caramel in harmony. Gold NZIWS. 13% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay 2014 – California, USA
Bright lemon gold in the glass with subtle buttery notes to the bouquet and restrained toasty oak floating around the fruit that seems more in the fig and melon spectrum but as the wine warms up flavours of bottled peach come through. It’s different and understated with textural complexity, refreshing acidity, a touch of salinity and a lingering savoury finish. 14.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $23.99.
 
Wild Grace Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016
A saturated deep ruby in the glass, the generous bouquet emanates rich cherry notes with roasted sappy woody herbs like thyme and rosemary and a nice touch of woodsmoke there too – all this and more in the savoury palate that has youthful velvety tannins and a peppery heat with blue-red fruit on the finish. From grapes grown around the Bendigo subregion, this pinot is still evolving and worth cellaring for a while. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $22.99.
 
Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2012 – Tuscany, Italy
Garnet red with some bricking to the hue. The bouquet is mellow and savoury with a touch of redcurrant jelly, leather and game and it’s savoury and firm in the palate where the mellow cherry-like fruit is underpinned with lifted orange-like acidity that’s in harmony with the savoury gamey notes and seasoned oak. Evolving in the glass this dry wine has a very long finish but does need to be served with rich flavoursome food – a duck ragu will do. 14.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $38.99.
 
Kim Crawford Small Parcels Corner 50 Vineyard Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet 2013
Inky blackcurrant red in the glass looking so youthful for its 5 years of age. The bouquet is positively creamy with a chocolate box scent that recurs in the soft fine-tannined palate where pencil box oak and graphite frames the mellowing fruit that’s an amalgam of plums and bramble berries with just a smidgen of mint that adds brightness. 2013 is one of the greatest vintages ever in Hawkes Bay and this stellar wine is an absolute steal. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $14.99.
 
Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon  2014 – California, USA 
The bouquet of this deep blackberry red hued offering promises a deep rich wine and the palate delivers. There's lifted woody scents that follow through to the taste – more sandalwood than cedar laced with woody herbs and spices that infuse the sumptuous blackcurrant, boysenberry and plum fruit with well balanced acidity and warmth while the tannins just meld. A heady, high alcohol wine that finishes a little sweet, it begs for a juicy rare steak. 15% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $31.99.