Craig,
Many thanks for organising the Auckland offline last night. La Bocca was a great venue for the group.
All those brilliant wines that everyone brought along too and even though the menu seemed more white than red wine friendly, it was neat to taste them all.
Here's the list from memory - I expect Craig to score with points out of 109.
Te Mata Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc 2005, Hawkes Bay - excellent with the sun-dried tomato and goats cheese tartlet.
Dry River Selection Gewurztraminer 1990, Martinborough - Deep bronze yellow and full of honeyed apples on first tasting, but it just got better and better in the glass with the intrinsic spicy characters of GW coming through. I held some of the back to taste with my veal masala - and who would have though, but this sweeter wine worked well with that tangy sweet wine sauce.
Elephant Hill HB Viognier 2007, Hawkes Bay - apricot scented and a rich full-bodied palate with a spicy vibrant finish. Excellent with the smoked salmon on the antipasto plate, but avoid prosciutto with this wine.
Kerpen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2001 from the Mosel. Long and sweet, poised and elegant with gorgeous purity. Just 8% alcohol.
Ata Rangi Lismore Pinot Gris 2004 from Martinborough. Rich, powerful, low acid with hints of creaming soda perfume. I found it a little cloying, but others loved it.
Herons Flight Sangiovese 2004 from Matakana, north of Auckland. A personal favourite, with reasonable acidity from the wild berry fruit underlying the meaty oak. Lots of layers and power. I wrote about half a page on the aroma alone.
St Nesbitt 2002 from Karaka, south of Auckland city. Another stunning red from Auckland joining the likes of Puriri Hills and Stonyridge with an outstanding expression of Bordeaux-styled red - but at half the price of those two. A blend of Merlot (60%), Cab Franc (15%) and Petit Verdot (25%), this tastes sweet-fruited, creamy and voluptuous with a classic, cedary, cigar box nose.
Tenuta San Guido "Guidalberto" 2002 was served blind and I went France, thinking it was Bordeaux, but when it was revealed as Italy, it could only be a Super Tuscan. Lot of Bdx-like characters, cedary and savoury with dried herbs, leather and fruit sweetness.
Roccato Rocca delle Macie 2000 - Another super Tuscan style, a 50/50 blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, this was a monster compared to the previous wine. Big, rich, spicy,powerful and massive.
Four Vines 'The Heretic' Petite Syrah 2005 from California. Wow, purple coloured, fragrantly scented and sweet, rich, powerful flavours with loads of spice and mocha. I thought it quite New World Syrah-like, others compared to a big, sweet-fruited Pinot Noir.
Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah 2002 from Hawkes Bay. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. An amazing, sweet-edged, concentrated beast. My Wine of the Night.
Chasse-Spleen 1996 - thanks to Martin who bought this over from England with him, it shows the refined texture that top quality Bordeaux wines can achieve. Smoky and savoury with a delicate floral, violet and dried herb scent, in the earthy, mellow palate there's hints of leather and sweet vinous complexities and it's rather long. Neil gave me a taste of his fillet steak to try the wine with, and it went to an extra dimension with the right food.
Edited to change Cape Crest vintage and the name of the first Super Tuscan styled wine.
A big thanks to CraigNZ for jacking up the Auckland offline
A big thanks to CraigNZ for jacking up the Auckland offline
Last edited by SueNZ on Wed Dec 05, 2007 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'd also like to add my thanks to Craig for organising, and to all the other attendees for bringing along some very interesting wines. It was an excellent evening, although it has led to me being rather slow off the mark this morning!
I didn't take any notes, but I generally agree with Sue. I was one of those who liked the ATa Rangi Pinot Gris, and the St Nesbitt was outstanding. I was somewhat over-awed by the Le Sol, however. A definitive beast!
Good company, good food, great wine - all in all a very enjoyable occasion, and we must do it again sometime!
Martin
I didn't take any notes, but I generally agree with Sue. I was one of those who liked the ATa Rangi Pinot Gris, and the St Nesbitt was outstanding. I was somewhat over-awed by the Le Sol, however. A definitive beast!
Good company, good food, great wine - all in all a very enjoyable occasion, and we must do it again sometime!
Martin
Ok, here are my rough and ready notes. Will tidy it up a bit, add pictures and publish on kwfc, so have a gander later. I managed reasonable scribbings all things considered. Enjoyed the night, good venue and no dud wines. Great variety and not a single aussie shiraz. 
Most of all great to meet all the faces and we all got on really well which is fantastic.
Version with pictures here: http://www.kiwiwinefanclub.co.nz/content/view/347/42/
2005 Te Mata Estate Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc. Something to kick the night off with. This was definitely one of the best Sauvignon Blancs of the vintage. Still light in colour this wine had a deep and complex nose, layered, mealy and slightly smoky. The palate was gentle and broad with hints of cape gooseberry, funky, mealy notes and a shade finty. It is a complex wine that is beginning to mellow. Well integrated and a long persistant finish. Not overt or fleshy but reserved and refined. Stylish and interesting wine that always had promise to mature, though I think I preferred it a little more on release. 95/109
1990 Dry River Selection Gewurztraminer. The slightly sweeter selection of this famous estate. Someone has done extremely well to keep this under wraps for so long. Shining gold in the glass the nose shows an array of deep gingerbread, pecan and slightly musky characters. It is obviously very rich and opulent. The palate is immensely weighty and rich with power right through the palate. Palte is a shade golern peach, ginger and ginger loaf with a kick in the form of a peppery finish. This wine was extremely popular. The only draw back for me was it had lost a little structural refinement and definition. Although very much still alive I have a feel it could have seen even better days. 96/109
2001 Kollektion Kerpen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese. I wont ever complain about the spelling of New Zealand wines again. My notes for this wine are a little bare, though I remember it as a multi layered and silk textured wine with fantastic fruit, definition and flavours of white peaches and honeysuckle. Immensely interesting and so drinkable it certainly had grace and interest. It is sitting in a lovely point of its development. 97/109
2007 Elephant Hill Viognier. A new and well funded Hawkes Bay venture. The nose of this wine was certainly riddled with spice. It is a very clean wine with a definite structure supporting a gentle palate. I didn’t write anything about the flavours but it definitely needs time in the context of the three older preceding wines. It is a bit raw and begs time to integrate and gain some more texture. It did show a bit of heat on the finish as well. 91+/109
2004 Ata Rangi Lismore Pinot Gris. Another wine from an icon NZ estate. Still very young looking and has a youthful feel to it all. The palate is creamy and shows fantastic texture with flavours of pears, hints of ginger and an almost peppermint like bite (minus the mint flavour) on the finish. This is an incredibly stylish wine that shows immense potential to develop further 96+/109
2002 St Nesbit Merlot Cabernet Franc Petit Verdot. This was one of the great cult wineries of the late 80’s/ early 90’s. South Auckland based, the this is the wineries first release since the 1991 due to forced replanting on the back of vine disease. This is a fantastically stylish wine. The colour is just starting to develop. The nose is extremely perfumed with red currants, bramble and laid back nutty elements. The palate is softly textured. After an initial slightly spicy attack on the entry this wine is all raspberries and cream with red currants and the standard Auckland earthiness and savouriness showing through. Gorgeous sweet fruit to the fore though, silky and classy. Excellent 98/109
2004 Herons Flight Sangiovese. This is the same wine we presented at our mid winter red wine tasting. Although my notes are short on this wine I remember it seemed totally different to 6 months ago. It has plenty of savoury bacon like notes attached to a core of very dark fruit. Smoky savoury and quite complex, but it seemed just a little disorganised tonight. Some liked it more than others. 92/109
2002 Tenuta San Guido "Guidalberto"The sibling of the icon Super Tuscsan Sassaciaia. A powerful, dark wine with plenty of complexity showing hints of leather, dark fruit confectionary all held together in a bold frame. It is quite an unusual wine and I didn’t really have enough time to sit with it to decide if I really liked it or not. Still, this is an extremely interesting wine yet again and one to ponder over. Should age very well. 93/109
2000 Roccato Rocca Delle Macie. Another Super Tuscan. Wow this is an amazing wine. It has incredibly large proportions. It in fact reminded me of the structure of a Wendouree. It is pristine, powerful and choc full of perfectly ripe black fruits, black liquorice, cassis and blackcurrants. It is held together with gentle drying tannins and clearly will last decades. This is regal wine of great authority, and can only improve. 99+/109
2005 Four Vines Heretic Petit Syrah. A Californian wine began our brief foray into warmer climate styled wines. This is an incredibly fruit driven wine with just gobs of black fruit. It is plush, warm and seamless with blackberry, touches of dark confectionary. It is smooth, quite elegant, warm and inviting. I may have picked this as a Victorian Shiraz blind. Then again I may have picked it as a Sauvignon Blanc so rusty are my wine options skills! 94/109
2002 Craggy Range “Le Sol†Syrah. This wine wins the award for most insane act of infanticide. This is an absolutely massively proportioned wine and for a long time until it opened up in the glass I could hardly cope with it. It has a gloriously rich nose of dark fruits, florals, and flashes of a more red cherry nature. Once the palate opens up it reveals very deep set and dark fruit. It is beautifully pure and pristine. The highly concentrated fruits border upon cassis but are dominantly blackberry, vanilla, and black liquorice with hints of deep Christmas like spices and definite shades of cloves. It is an absolute monster and I really think it needs a decade in the cellar before broaching. 97+/109
1996 Chateau Chasse Spleen Medoc. Of course one of the better non classified left bank reds. This wine suffered for me after I stupidly drank it after the Le Sol. Im sure I would have scored it better earlier in the night. This wine is still quite tight and taut, with gentle brambly fruit driving the flavours. The structure seems to sit on acids instead of warm tannins which compromises its texture a little. Difficult to say whether this wine is going anywhere though its in no danger of falling over soon. Some commented that it is not a wine to have without food and I would have to agree. It needs something to compliment it. 92/109
Most of all great to meet all the faces and we all got on really well which is fantastic.
Version with pictures here: http://www.kiwiwinefanclub.co.nz/content/view/347/42/
2005 Te Mata Estate Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc. Something to kick the night off with. This was definitely one of the best Sauvignon Blancs of the vintage. Still light in colour this wine had a deep and complex nose, layered, mealy and slightly smoky. The palate was gentle and broad with hints of cape gooseberry, funky, mealy notes and a shade finty. It is a complex wine that is beginning to mellow. Well integrated and a long persistant finish. Not overt or fleshy but reserved and refined. Stylish and interesting wine that always had promise to mature, though I think I preferred it a little more on release. 95/109
1990 Dry River Selection Gewurztraminer. The slightly sweeter selection of this famous estate. Someone has done extremely well to keep this under wraps for so long. Shining gold in the glass the nose shows an array of deep gingerbread, pecan and slightly musky characters. It is obviously very rich and opulent. The palate is immensely weighty and rich with power right through the palate. Palte is a shade golern peach, ginger and ginger loaf with a kick in the form of a peppery finish. This wine was extremely popular. The only draw back for me was it had lost a little structural refinement and definition. Although very much still alive I have a feel it could have seen even better days. 96/109
2001 Kollektion Kerpen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese. I wont ever complain about the spelling of New Zealand wines again. My notes for this wine are a little bare, though I remember it as a multi layered and silk textured wine with fantastic fruit, definition and flavours of white peaches and honeysuckle. Immensely interesting and so drinkable it certainly had grace and interest. It is sitting in a lovely point of its development. 97/109
2007 Elephant Hill Viognier. A new and well funded Hawkes Bay venture. The nose of this wine was certainly riddled with spice. It is a very clean wine with a definite structure supporting a gentle palate. I didn’t write anything about the flavours but it definitely needs time in the context of the three older preceding wines. It is a bit raw and begs time to integrate and gain some more texture. It did show a bit of heat on the finish as well. 91+/109
2004 Ata Rangi Lismore Pinot Gris. Another wine from an icon NZ estate. Still very young looking and has a youthful feel to it all. The palate is creamy and shows fantastic texture with flavours of pears, hints of ginger and an almost peppermint like bite (minus the mint flavour) on the finish. This is an incredibly stylish wine that shows immense potential to develop further 96+/109
2002 St Nesbit Merlot Cabernet Franc Petit Verdot. This was one of the great cult wineries of the late 80’s/ early 90’s. South Auckland based, the this is the wineries first release since the 1991 due to forced replanting on the back of vine disease. This is a fantastically stylish wine. The colour is just starting to develop. The nose is extremely perfumed with red currants, bramble and laid back nutty elements. The palate is softly textured. After an initial slightly spicy attack on the entry this wine is all raspberries and cream with red currants and the standard Auckland earthiness and savouriness showing through. Gorgeous sweet fruit to the fore though, silky and classy. Excellent 98/109
2004 Herons Flight Sangiovese. This is the same wine we presented at our mid winter red wine tasting. Although my notes are short on this wine I remember it seemed totally different to 6 months ago. It has plenty of savoury bacon like notes attached to a core of very dark fruit. Smoky savoury and quite complex, but it seemed just a little disorganised tonight. Some liked it more than others. 92/109
2002 Tenuta San Guido "Guidalberto"The sibling of the icon Super Tuscsan Sassaciaia. A powerful, dark wine with plenty of complexity showing hints of leather, dark fruit confectionary all held together in a bold frame. It is quite an unusual wine and I didn’t really have enough time to sit with it to decide if I really liked it or not. Still, this is an extremely interesting wine yet again and one to ponder over. Should age very well. 93/109
2000 Roccato Rocca Delle Macie. Another Super Tuscan. Wow this is an amazing wine. It has incredibly large proportions. It in fact reminded me of the structure of a Wendouree. It is pristine, powerful and choc full of perfectly ripe black fruits, black liquorice, cassis and blackcurrants. It is held together with gentle drying tannins and clearly will last decades. This is regal wine of great authority, and can only improve. 99+/109
2005 Four Vines Heretic Petit Syrah. A Californian wine began our brief foray into warmer climate styled wines. This is an incredibly fruit driven wine with just gobs of black fruit. It is plush, warm and seamless with blackberry, touches of dark confectionary. It is smooth, quite elegant, warm and inviting. I may have picked this as a Victorian Shiraz blind. Then again I may have picked it as a Sauvignon Blanc so rusty are my wine options skills! 94/109
2002 Craggy Range “Le Sol†Syrah. This wine wins the award for most insane act of infanticide. This is an absolutely massively proportioned wine and for a long time until it opened up in the glass I could hardly cope with it. It has a gloriously rich nose of dark fruits, florals, and flashes of a more red cherry nature. Once the palate opens up it reveals very deep set and dark fruit. It is beautifully pure and pristine. The highly concentrated fruits border upon cassis but are dominantly blackberry, vanilla, and black liquorice with hints of deep Christmas like spices and definite shades of cloves. It is an absolute monster and I really think it needs a decade in the cellar before broaching. 97+/109
1996 Chateau Chasse Spleen Medoc. Of course one of the better non classified left bank reds. This wine suffered for me after I stupidly drank it after the Le Sol. Im sure I would have scored it better earlier in the night. This wine is still quite tight and taut, with gentle brambly fruit driving the flavours. The structure seems to sit on acids instead of warm tannins which compromises its texture a little. Difficult to say whether this wine is going anywhere though its in no danger of falling over soon. Some commented that it is not a wine to have without food and I would have to agree. It needs something to compliment it. 92/109
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
Thanks also to Craig for organising this. An excellent night & great to meet everyone. Just a pity it was followed by a work day ....
Favourites for me were the St Nesbit, the Le Sol & the Roccato Rocca delle Macie.
Fully agree the Le Sol was sheer infanticide, & I'll probably not open another for at least 5 years, but still highly enjoyable to drink.
Peter
Favourites for me were the St Nesbit, the Le Sol & the Roccato Rocca delle Macie.
Fully agree the Le Sol was sheer infanticide, & I'll probably not open another for at least 5 years, but still highly enjoyable to drink.
Peter
Peter
Agree re Le Sol. When it was first poured it was nigh on undrinkable to me, but after 10 minutes in the glass the fruit really started to open out and it became very drinkable. The fruit was so pristine and lovely level of ripeness. I think I actually prefer the 02 to the 05.
Was very generous of you to bring such an already iconic wine!
C
Agree re Le Sol. When it was first poured it was nigh on undrinkable to me, but after 10 minutes in the glass the fruit really started to open out and it became very drinkable. The fruit was so pristine and lovely level of ripeness. I think I actually prefer the 02 to the 05.
Was very generous of you to bring such an already iconic wine!
C
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
I would love to one day put together a selection of NZ's best bordeaux blend wines. We could panel vote a selection together, collect the wines, then in a years time get together for a blind tasting and vote for a ranking. would be educational and fun.
eg
1. Start with a list of 'entrants' from each taster (we may want to nominate a vintage eg 2005 or range of vintages eg 2004-2006 and select the best viontage for each label within that range)
2. Combine each tasters list together to give a list of possibles/probables
3. Somehow vote a dozen 'finalists' together from that list
4. As a syndicate collect together/ source the wines over a period of months. eg each person finds one of the wines or something
5. Get together for a blind taste off
eg a list could get voted from wines such as (not exhaustive list)
Antipodean
Providence
Stonyridge Larose
Goldwater Goldie
Te Whau The Point
Puriri Hills
St Nesbit
Coleraine
Terraces
Tom
Craggy Sophia
Unison Selection
Sacred Hill Helmsman
Brookfields Gold label
Seleni EV
Trinity Hill Gimblet
Vidals Reserve
Te Awa Zone whatever the number is
Benfield and Delamare
Winslow Turakirae..................
eg
1. Start with a list of 'entrants' from each taster (we may want to nominate a vintage eg 2005 or range of vintages eg 2004-2006 and select the best viontage for each label within that range)
2. Combine each tasters list together to give a list of possibles/probables
3. Somehow vote a dozen 'finalists' together from that list
4. As a syndicate collect together/ source the wines over a period of months. eg each person finds one of the wines or something
5. Get together for a blind taste off
eg a list could get voted from wines such as (not exhaustive list)
Antipodean
Providence
Stonyridge Larose
Goldwater Goldie
Te Whau The Point
Puriri Hills
St Nesbit
Coleraine
Terraces
Tom
Craggy Sophia
Unison Selection
Sacred Hill Helmsman
Brookfields Gold label
Seleni EV
Trinity Hill Gimblet
Vidals Reserve
Te Awa Zone whatever the number is
Benfield and Delamare
Winslow Turakirae..................
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
Yes, thanks to Craig for organising and great to meet everyone (Aucklanders really are human, afterall). 
Thanks also to John for carting his petit syrah all the way from the States for us to try (such a young, pure, concentrated fruit example). All wines on an even keel for mine, but the 1990 Dry River Gewurz and 1996 Chasse Spleen I particularly enjoyed.
Well done also to La Bocca. Impeccable service and perfect timing (and gorgeous, Italian waitresses...).
Cheers,
Thanks also to John for carting his petit syrah all the way from the States for us to try (such a young, pure, concentrated fruit example). All wines on an even keel for mine, but the 1990 Dry River Gewurz and 1996 Chasse Spleen I particularly enjoyed.
Well done also to La Bocca. Impeccable service and perfect timing (and gorgeous, Italian waitresses...).
Cheers,
Max
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai