What should I not miss at the tri nations tasting

[ACG]

The awesome tri nations tasting is on in a week or so and I decided to have a peruse of the invited wines - Its a seriously fine lineup of wines, but, with several hundred on offer and only a few hours to taste, I don't want to miss out on some lesser known highlights.

So of the list (Here: http://www.trinationswine.com/Web%20Tri%20Nations.xls ) any not to miss? Particularly from the lesser known Kiwi's and any of the South Africans (of which I have very limited knowledge).


Andrew

[Red Bigot]

I can't answer your question but I'll be at a tasting with about 1,300 wines to taste. (The NWS tasting day is on 21 November too).

This little doc was interesting too:
http://www.trinationswine.com/Screw%20Caps.doc

[Irregular]

Looks good, when's it on Andrew?

[ACG]

Sydney Friday 21st November at the Four Seasons.

More info at the website:
www.trinations.com

[Loztralia]

Sydney Friday 21st November at the Four Seasons.

More info at the website:
www.trinations.com

You mean http://www.trinationswine.com/

[Curt]

Hi, wish I was going ... Kiwis of interest / worth trying would include Vinoptima GW & Late Harvest, Pegasus Bay Sav Sem, Neudorf PG, Rockburn Pinot, Trinity Hill Homage is fantastic, Man O War Ironclad, Benfield & Delamere Bdx blend, Puriri Hills Reserve. Also worth a try the Ken Forrester Chenin's from South Africa

[Craig(NZ)]

An amazing line up of wines including many of which I have higlighted on kwfc over the last 12-18 months and a number which are on my draft woty write up.

Kate who writes for kiwi wine fan club will be there and using this opportunity to help us lock down finalists for our wine of the year. The line up is that good! She will be writing it up which is a bonus as she can spell and make sense way better than i can

"Dont miss" wines are many. ALL of the kiwi syrahs are amazing - top notch, ata rangi pinot, neudorf moutere chardonnay, ata rangi craighall chardonnay, vinoptima gw and sweet wine, john forrest collection noble riesling, mt diff mansons pg, stonyridge larose, puriri reserve, mills reef reds, mt diff riesling, astrolabe awatere sauvignon blanc, st clair sb's unison selection, the john forrest collection reds, kumeu river mates.....etc etc etc

its a stunning line up, very strong. id pay the admission just to try the kiwi wines. they are that good. Id expect nz to do well in the results.

Have fun. id love to be there

Its just a shame its a slurp and spit fest. So many of those wine have amazing subtleties and complexities and are amazing to drink. Take as much time as possible to evaluate and enjoy!

[cuttlefish]

An amazing line up of wines including many of which I have higlighted on kwfc over the last 12-18 months and a number which are on my draft woty write up.

Kate who writes for kiwi wine fan club will be there and using this opportunity to help us lock down finalists for our wine of the year. The line up is that good! She will be writing it up which is a bonus as she can spell and make sense way better than i can

"Dont miss" wines are many. ALL of the kiwi syrahs are amazing - top notch, ata rangi pinot, neudorf moutere chardonnay, ata rangi craighall chardonnay, vinoptima gw and sweet wine, john forrest collection noble riesling, mt diff mansons pg, stonyridge larose, puriri reserve, mills reef reds, mt diff riesling, astrolabe awatere sauvignon blanc, st clair sb's unison selection, the john forrest collection reds, kumeu river mates.....etc etc etc

its a stunning line up, very strong. id pay the admission just to try the kiwi wines. they are that good. Id expect nz to do well in the results.

Have fun. id love to be there

Its just a shame its a slurp and spit fest. So many of those wine have amazing subtleties and complexities and are amazing to drink. Take as much time as possible to evaluate and enjoy!

Hey, what is it with Vinoptima and their 04 Gewurz ? It's been around forever. Did they only make one vintage ? Can't sell it ? I keep expecting to see '05 or even '06, or '07 appear, but it's still all about the '04...

[Grant]

Make sure you try the Dombeya Chardonnay ! Will be interested in your thoughts.

Cheers

[Craig(NZ)]

vinoptima 05 was a small difficult vintage
vinoptima 06 i think has been released
04 was obviously a large sucessful vintage still for sale. gw not the trendiest of varieties and vinoptima is a big operation.
07 will be one to await. Top vintage in Gisborne!

Things I question about the NZ selection:

Why not a single Te Mata wine was entered?
Pinot. Why so few classic labels? Seems to be a chase of the latest
Chardonnay. No Elston? No Sacred Hill?
Riesling. Why so few?

overall not a bad set of picks though. I reckon if I was charged with picking the kiwis half of them would be exactly the same

[Peter NZ]

ALL of the kiwi syrahs are amazing - top notch

Agree -- can't really see anything missing other than Bilancia La Collina -- will be very interesting to see how these perform against the competition. More generally all the NZ line-up looks to be pretty well up there, barring a few obvious omissions (Dry River, Te Mata, Felton Road, Kumeu ... )

Cheers
Peter

[Grant]

The awesome tri nations tasting is on in a week or so and I decided to have a peruse of the invited wines - Its a seriously fine lineup of wines, but, with several hundred on offer and only a few hours to taste, I don't want to miss out on some lesser known highlights.

So of the list (Here: http://www.trinationswine.com/Web%20Tri%20Nations.xls ) any not to miss? Particularly from the lesser known Kiwi's and any of the South Africans (of which I have very limited knowledge).


Andrew

Andrew,

Of the South Africans, I think the following are worth a look,

Chardonnay

Ataraxia
Hamilton Russel
Mulderbosch

Semillon/Sauvignon + Blends

Quoin Rock
Cape Point
Steenberg

Reds

Morgenster
Raats Cabernet Franc (for something a little different)

Cheers

[Daryl Douglas]

I can't answer your question but I'll be at a tasting with about 1,300 wines to taste. (The NWS tasting day is on 21 November too).

This little doc was interesting too:
http://www.trinationswine.com/Screw%20Caps.doc

Seems to me that most Oz wineries have resolved the reductive, rubbery characters that drew criticism not so long ago. I'm taking an aged red to the Brisbane offline - and a young screwcapped back-up. I noted the Brian, look forward to your reports of those you do get to taste.

Cheers

daz

[ACG]

The awesome tri nations tasting is on in a week or so and I decided to have a peruse of the invited wines - Its a seriously fine lineup of wines, but, with several hundred on offer and only a few hours to taste, I don't want to miss out on some lesser known highlights.

So of the list (Here: http://www.trinationswine.com/Web%20Tri%20Nations.xls ) any not to miss? Particularly from the lesser known Kiwi's and any of the South Africans (of which I have very limited knowledge).


Andrew

Andrew,

Of the South Africans, I think the following are worth a look,

Chardonnay

Ataraxia
Hamilton Russel
Mulderbosch

Semillon/Sauvignon + Blends

Quoin Rock
Cape Point
Steenberg

Reds

Morgenster
Raats Cabernet Franc (for something a little different)

Cheers

Thanks Grant - I remembered your South African connection and was meaning to ask for your recommendations - It is surprisingly hard to find SA wine reviews online.

So what do you think of the SA selections? I noticed no Vergelegen (which seems to get plenty of attention) and a couple of wineries seem to dominate the entries...

Andrew

Andrew

[Grant]

Andrew,

I have to say that I'm not familiar with all of the wines, so I can only comment on the ones that I have tried. There are some really impressive wines there, I think SA is doing some great stuff with the white Bordeaux blend style, Cape Point in particular, and the Chards are also very interesting.

Eagles Nest Shiraz 2006 won the Trophy for best wine at this years big wine show (Trophy Wine Show) and is also there, but there has been some talk about bottle variation under screwcap with this wine so I'll let you make your own mind up on that.

Vergelegen weren't there as the winemaker considers the Tri-Nations tasting to be a competition to see "who can make the best Australian wine" and as such apparently didn't want his wines entered this year.

Proportionately, SA seemed to be under-represented in some classes, not sure why. Anyway, there are enough wines there for you to be able to form an opinion as to where SA stands in the order of things.

All the best

[Craig(NZ)]

The three judges choose seven wines in each of fifteen categories making 315 wines in total to be judged. The wines are entered by invitation only making these awards unique by world standards.

yeah 'invitation' only

damn why dont they just choose em and buy em? pull back the cost through ticket sales to a tasting. All these competitions are always 'best of the rest'. No forum seems to wanna spend a few bucks on making a selection complete or as strong as poss.

Why no Grange? No HOG, no amargh bla bla.

This is my main criticism with shows and the like. As it is the winery that benefits from the result no doubt people think they should bare some cost.

Maybe this is why there is no te mata estate? No doubnt thats why there is no dry river

[Craig(NZ)]

Vergelegen weren't there as the winemaker considers the Tri-Nations tasting to be a competition to see "who can make the best Australian wine" and as such apparently didn't want his wines entered this year.

sounds rather precious to me. the judging panel is represented by all three countries

[Lorraine]

From what I understand, wineries are invited to enter their wines and then pay an entry fee to do so.

[rooman]

The Ataraxia Mountain Vineyards chard has been one of my favourite wines over the last years from all 3 countries in question. An absolute must. Pristine structure with excellent finesse in the handling of the fruit.

[rooman]

Andrew,

I have to say that I'm not familiar with all of the wines, so I can only comment on the ones that I have tried. There are some really impressive wines there, I think SA is doing some great stuff with the white Bordeaux blend style, Cape Point in particular, and the Chards are also very interesting.

Eagles Nest Shiraz 2006 won the Trophy for best wine at this years big wine show (Trophy Wine Show) and is also there, but there has been some talk about bottle variation under screwcap with this wine so I'll let you make your own mind up on that.

Vergelegen weren't there as the winemaker considers the Tri-Nations tasting to be a competition to see "who can make the best Australian wine" and as such apparently didn't want his wines entered this year.

Proportionately, SA seemed to be under-represented in some classes, not sure why. Anyway, there are enough wines there for you to be able to form an opinion as to where SA stands in the order of things.

All the best

Grant

Good call on the Cape Point. IMO this is the best sav blanc coming out of SA and also well worth the try. Pity there is none of the very good Haskill wines.

[Grant]

Rooman,

Haskell hasn't been released yet, middle of next year. Dombeya is the second brand and the Chardonnay 2006 made it in the line-up which was a bit of a buzz.

GD

[Craig(NZ)]

From what I understand, wineries are invited to enter their wines and then pay an entry fee to do so.

yeah flawed, the whole contest is flawed really

tri nations therefore decided by the country that has the most top wineries prepared to pay the entry fee???

however aside from all that its a good line up of kiwi wines to go try, you dont have to subscribe to the validity of the contest to appreciate them

[SueNZ]

From what I understand, wineries are invited to enter their wines and then pay an entry fee to do so.

yeah flawed, the whole contest is flawed really

tri nations therefore decided by the country that has the most top wineries prepared to pay the entry fee???

however aside from all that its a good line up of kiwi wines to go try, you dont have to subscribe to the validity of the contest to appreciate them

I thought the judges chose the wines. At least they did the first year of these awards when Bob Campbell MW was talking about the wines he had chosen to represent New Zealand in the competition. Likewise Michael Fridjhon chose the SA wines and James Halliday the Australian wines. Bob mentioned how he had to choose 10 wines for each class - although some classes, e.g. bubbles, sweet wines, obviously have fewer.

One of the most scintillating wines in the complete lineup is the Vinoptima Noble Late Harvest 2004. If I was going, I would head to the desert wine class first so I didn't miss out. Some definite stunners in that class, for sure.

There are certainly some heart-stopping wines to taste. But as Craig says, how do you do them justice?

Hey, what is it with Vinoptima and their 04 Gewurz ? It's been around forever. Did they only make one vintage ? Can't sell it ? I keep expecting to see '05 or even '06, or '07 appear, but it's still all about the '04...

The '03 was the first release. The '04 is a much better wine but a slow seller at NZ$50 a bottle.

Cheers,
Sue

[Craig(NZ)]

how do you do them justice?

you buy most of them like i have and drink em one by one at your leisure

[Whino]

The tri nations is NOT expensive to enter and the wines represent the best wines from each category. It may be flawed but certainly not for the reasons mentioned here. Yes wines are asked to enter otherwise it would be open to any bulk producing winery anywhere. So thankfully there are some limits placed on who will be there.

To try, well the Pinot category is always a highlight. A personal favorite is the 2006 Tuck's Ridge Pinot Noir. This wine is now consistently rated above 95 points and getting better. It may never win but it will always impress.

[Craig(NZ)]

It may be flawed but certainly not for the reasons mentioned here.

Disagree

If it is a collection of 3 countries wine writers top picks then all good

However if half those top picks are then not entered because wineries do not wish to participate the whole premise of the contest is lost

[rooman]

Rooman,

Haskell hasn't been released yet, middle of next year. Dombeya is the second brand and the Chardonnay 2006 made it in the line-up which was a bit of a buzz.

GD

Grant

The 05 Haskill Shiraz I was bringing home was confiscated at the airport. I had forgot you can't carry it onto planes. Do you know if there is anymore in existance? I was to lose the stuff.

[Whino]

Then the whole show system is flawed for all of the above reasons. Entries to all shows coast money and wine and possibly freight. So the same arguement could be levelled at all types of wine show. At least with the Tri Nations it is some of the top rated wines by catregory and selected critics that are asked to enter. To be honest the entry is not so steep and the recognition earnbed priceless for smaller producers, so the fact the the bigboys in Grange and HOG do not enter actually works for the whole industries benefit.
But just like wine that is one persons opinion so weigh it as you will.[/quote]

[ACG]

went to the tasting/presentation last night in Sydney. Was both an excellent tasting - so many highlights, but simultaneously infuriating. Only 1 bottle was provided for each wine which, given that there would have been 100-150+ people present, was just stupid. For the $40 (sold out) admission price that is woefully bad form. Hold the presentation in a hall next time, save x thousand dollars (it was held in the illustrious surrounds of one of the Four Seasons Hotel ballrooms with staff everywhere) and provide even just 2 bottles of the most popular wines. In some classes (Chardonnay, Pinot, Aromatics) there where up to 3/4 of the wines that where hoovered up in the first 45 minutes.
I still managed to get through 70 wines (notes to come when I get around to transcribing the scribble) and to tell you the truth, all the really interesting, less mainstream stuff was barely touched.

Anyway, the results are up here:
http://www.trinationswine.com/index.htm


As expected, the Aussies & Kiwis shared the spoils, with the Aussies picking up the big gongs (Best Red, Best White, Wine of Show) & the Kiwis dominated the Shiraz category once again.
Funnily enough, Australian wines also picked up Best Sauv & Best Pinot to boot....

Andrew

[Craig(NZ)]

Kate who writes for us at kwfc said quality of wines high but amount of time to try wasnt enough, speeches ruined progress etc

However should have some good notes to fill this years tasting notes. The fact she concentrated on kiwi wines would have divided any problems by 3.

One bottle per wine seems just an insult to the people who bought tickets. however to counter that for $40 its a bloody good line up. As I think i said before id pay that just to taste the kiwi entries