Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand – Canterbury & Waipara  18+/20
Brilliant straw-yellow colour with slight golden hues, pale on rim. A fine but concentrated and penetrating bouquet of ripe nectarines, herbs and smoke develops to reveal aromas of nuts and flint and minerals. Medium-bodied and elegantly proportioned, bright and concentrated flavours of nectarines, gooseberries and herbs are complexed by subtle flint and mineral elements on palate. Oaking is barely perceptible in taste, but adds to the fine textures that underline the fruit sweetness. This has good acid tension and a driven core, leading to a long, lingering finish with lush notes of ripe stonefruits and piquant herbs. This is an elegant Sauvignon-based wine with delicate complexities and subtle richness. Match with herb-influenced seafood and poultry dishes over the next 3-4 years. Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon picked late, fermented separately by indigenous yeasts, the Semillon in old French oak, to 13.5% alc., the wines aged on lees 6 months before blending. 18.0+/20 Aug 2012 RRP $27.95
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Chardonnay from New Zealand – Canterbury & Waipara19+/20
Fruit from own-rooted 25 y.o. Mendoza clone, fermented in 30% new 500 L French puncheons with indigenous yeasts to 13.5% alc., the wine then aged 12 months in puncheon on lees with partial MLF, then aged in large oak before bottling 20 months after harvest. Brilliant straw-yellow colour with light lemon-gold hues, pale on edge. This has a very powerfully packed and concentrated nose with a complex amalgam of ripe stonefruits, peach and grapefruit interwoven with layers of flinty and nutty oak. Full-bodied, the weight and depth of flavours is impressive, with ripe citrus and stonefruits, flinty lees, and nutty oak all unfolding in waves. This is a mouthfilling and generous wine with real depth, some alcohol warmth adding to the volume. The flavours blossom on the finish with mealy, flinty, smoky nuances lingering. This is a mouthfilling and concentrated Chardonnay with layers of complexity. Serve with poultry, pork and veal over the next 5-6 years. 19.0+/20 Aug 2012 RRP $35.95
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Sweet Wine from New Zealand – Canterbury & Waipara19/20
Bright lemon-golden straw in colour, the bouquet is finely intense and up-front with complex wave of aromas of exotic jasmine and tangerine fruits, intermixed with honey-talc botrytis and some secondary toasty notes. This is beautifully opulent and showing graceful development interest. Very rich and sweet, lush and nectar-like flavours of wild honey, limes, exotic florals and apricots form a melange that unfolds on the palate. The mouthfeel is smooth, near unctuous, yet there is good acid backbone, and a spritzing tingle that carries the richness to a very long, lingering finish. Riesling fruit picked over multiple passes and fermented to 10.0% alc. and 102 g/L rs. 19.0/20 Feb 2013
A sweet wine made from fruit selected with approx. 30% botrytis shrivelled grapes, cool-fermented to 10.0% alc. and 119 g/L rs. Bright, light golden-hued lemon-yellow colour, lighter on rim. The nose is well packed with an array of ripe citrus fruit, savoury marmalade, wild honey and crystalised fruit aromas showing very ripe fruit with complexing botrytis, Sweet to taste, this has good weight and presence of ripe apricots, citrus fruits and marmalade with layers of exotic fruits and honey filling the palate. Excellent acid underlines the near unctuous sweetness and decadent flavours, providing tension and drive, and some spritzig tingle cuts through the residual sweetness providing lively mouthfeel. The wine has a lingering finish of marmalade and honey with a soft dryness. Serve on its own as a pick-me up or with moderately rich fruit desserts and blue cheeses over the next 4-5+ years. 18.5+/20 Aug 2012 RRP $36.95
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