I seem to remember Halliday giving an unthinkably rare 98 rating to a Fromm La Strada Trockenbeerenauslese 98.
Kieran
Best Kiwi Wines of all Time
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Craig(NZ).
rare
Yeah there are a few kiwi wines that are so rare that debate over them is almost pointless.
On the one hand those who have tried them are so few that there is hardly enough people to construct a public opinion
Then there is actually hardly any chance of laying your hands on it anyway so the debate becomes purely academic
Wines such as Antipodean, Providence, the rare few Marlborough 'super stickies', and the odd top pinot are examples.
eg I loved and rate extremely highly the 1993 Providence. Probably the most classy NZ merlot ive ever tried, but what is the use in discussing it? Its so rare, so expensive that only a handful of people are likely to have tried it.
Ratings often dont mean a lot. I picked up a few of the rare 98 Dry River Craighall Amaranth Rieslings that Bob Campbell gave 98 pts to at auction for an insanely cheap price. Its a classy fine wine but doesnt really put its nose in front of many other NZ classic rieslings. Id prefer the gerwurtz any day personally and im a riesling fan.
Having said all that, the fromm rieslings are definately some of the finest rieslings in NZ, especially the medium and auslese examples. They are subtle, balanced, dreamy, delicate and attractive wines.
I havent had the opportunity to try the sweeter versions which are insanely expensive - up with most of the first growth sauternes.
Rarity does have its spunk, but for 99% of my wine purchases (granted occassionally i buy just because 'i want one') I also heavily weigh up value for money. As such many of the more left field, rare, hyped or trendy wines (which may be very interesting to try) never see the colour of my money.
C.
On the one hand those who have tried them are so few that there is hardly enough people to construct a public opinion
Then there is actually hardly any chance of laying your hands on it anyway so the debate becomes purely academic
Wines such as Antipodean, Providence, the rare few Marlborough 'super stickies', and the odd top pinot are examples.
eg I loved and rate extremely highly the 1993 Providence. Probably the most classy NZ merlot ive ever tried, but what is the use in discussing it? Its so rare, so expensive that only a handful of people are likely to have tried it.
Ratings often dont mean a lot. I picked up a few of the rare 98 Dry River Craighall Amaranth Rieslings that Bob Campbell gave 98 pts to at auction for an insanely cheap price. Its a classy fine wine but doesnt really put its nose in front of many other NZ classic rieslings. Id prefer the gerwurtz any day personally and im a riesling fan.
Having said all that, the fromm rieslings are definately some of the finest rieslings in NZ, especially the medium and auslese examples. They are subtle, balanced, dreamy, delicate and attractive wines.
I havent had the opportunity to try the sweeter versions which are insanely expensive - up with most of the first growth sauternes.
Rarity does have its spunk, but for 99% of my wine purchases (granted occassionally i buy just because 'i want one') I also heavily weigh up value for money. As such many of the more left field, rare, hyped or trendy wines (which may be very interesting to try) never see the colour of my money.
C.