Drinking windows - paging Kiwi gurus..

[via collins]

Afternoon,

Picked up a six pack at duty free in a jet-lagged haze this morning, and would love a bit of advice on drinking windows if you're familiar with the below:

- Pegasus Bay 2007 pinot noir
- Craggy Range 2006 Sophia
- Mills Reef 2007 Elspeth

Really appreciate any wisdom on any of these. What an astonishing range Auckland duty free offers!

[Loztralia]

It would definitely go longer but I had a magnum of the 2006 Pegasus Bay in August and it was stunning.

[Craig(NZ)]

- Pegasus Bay 2007 pinot noir - Personally id drink it over the next year or so
- Craggy Range 2006 Sophia - 5-10 years from vintage - perhaps even longer but a bit hard to tell at this stage as no track record in the cellar for that long yet
- Mills Reef 2007 Elspeth - Which variety?? They do a whole range of elspeths!

[via collins]

C'mon Craig, give a jetlagged digger a break! Trust Vineyard.
Thanks for the opinions to date, really appreciate.

[Craig(NZ)]

hehe, i know what duty free can be like!!

07 MR Trust Vineyard Cabernet to me *needs* time. Good vintage but it isnt showing as well as the 06 last time I tried it (yet). On paper the 07 should be better eventually. I would hide it away for at least 5 years and I would imagine it will cellar probably 15. It is a very structured wine, quite austere at the moment.

[Paradox]

Picked up a six pack at duty free in a jet-lagged haze this morning, and would love a bit of advice on drinking windows if you're familiar with the below:

- Pegasus Bay 2007 pinot noir
- Craggy Range 2006 Sophia
- Mills Reef 2007 Elspeth

Yep - very familiar with the Pegasus pinot. I'm finishing up my 04 and 05's now and they're still great. 2004 may be just over its peak but 05 is drinking beautifully. 06 will last a bit longer and I'll be drinking the 07's over the 2-4 years. IMO Pegasus is the most Burgundian of any SI Pinot and ages better than most, which in NZ means it might get up to 10 years. However generally NZ pinots are at their best when young (2-3 yrs is ideal), and I'd drink sooner rather than later.

The 2006 Sophia is drinking beautifully now but as Craig says it's a young label and it's best drinking windows are unclear. I'm going to let mine sleep for a few more years and pick them up at 8-10 years - I think they'll be fine, but as I've tasted a couple of bottles already I can afford to wait. In your shoes I'd open one now and decide about the other based on that.

Re MIlls Reef - there's both a Trust Vineyard syrah and a cabernet.... ??

[Craig(NZ)]

Re MIlls Reef - there's both a Trust Vineyard syrah and a cabernet.... ??

Very true!! I forgot about the Syrah even though ive tasted it a couple of times!! The TV Syrah seems a very long lived wine too and i reckon that would easily go 10 years. Very dense well structured wine. Top Hawkes Bay Syrahs again it is a bit hard to tell with lack of evidence but 15+ years doesnt seem out of the question for many of them

[via collins]

Jolly decent of you blokes to help out, much appreciated.

The Wines of NZ section at Auckland airport is a bit tasty, if not a bit pricey after reading all of Craig's killer pick-ups around town! But at least it has a healthy cross-section of what the country offers.

[via collins]

oh, the Mills Reef was a syrah, and I'm really putting lots of faith in it...

[Loztralia]

Would anyone be able to offer similar thoughts on a couple I just returned from Wellington with? I'd love to hear thoughts on:
- 2009 Terravin Eaton Family Vineyard Pinot Noir.
- 2006 Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir.

Thanks in advance for any guidance...

[Craig(NZ)]

Would anyone be able to offer similar thoughts on a couple I just returned from Wellington with? I'd love to hear thoughts on:
- 2009 Terravin Eaton Family Vineyard Pinot Noir.
- 2006 Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir.

Thanks in advance for any guidance...

caveat i havent had any experience with cellaring these labels but knowing their style id tend toward drinking both of these young so peg bay prima donna now - next 2 years and terravin over the next 2-4 years