Jointly organised by Janet & Lindsay Spilman (Obsidian) and Judy Fowler (Puriri Hills).
Three person expert panel; chaired by Bob Campbell MW, with Micheal Cooper and Geoff Kelly, reviewed the wines.
Total of 19, 2010 vintage, local wines, tasted blind in three flights based on the dominant grape; Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauvignon.
Each flight also had a benchmark 2009 vintage bordeaux wine included;
Vieux Chateau Certan (Pomerol), La Conseillante (Pomerol) and Ch Lascombes (Margaux).
At the end of the 15 minutes alloted to tasting each flight, attendees were invited to vote for their "top of flight" pick.
Discussion followed, then the wines unveiled.
I dislike producing tasting notes, and even worse; inventing a score. Sort of forced too in this instance, to arrive at a flight winner.
I'm sure Geoff Kelly will post notes on the wines (eventually), so I'm going to confine myself to comments on a few wines, the number of votes for each,
and my favorites.
Flight 1. Merlot .
(i) 0 votes.
OK, tough to be the first up. Everyone cautious.
Ti Point 'One'. (Matakana) Me 85%,Cf15.
(ii) 3 votes.
Takatu. (Matakana) Me70%,Cf25,Ma5.
(iii) 6 votes.
Poderi Crisci Reserve. (Waiheke) Me100%
(iv) 7 votes. (Micheal Coopers pick?)
Cliff Edge (Awhitu) Me75%.Cf25.
(v) 24 votes. Run away top selection, myself included.
Great wine, 19+ points for me.
Added the "plus" to separate this from the next wine which was also a stunner. Craig(NZ)
has a review posted on auswine site. Provided notes say this wine will be released after 3 years in bottle.Puriri Hills 'Pope' (Clevedon) Me54%,Cf25,Car17,Ma4.
(vi) 6 votes.
19 pts from me. Great wine. How to separate from the Puriri Hills?
Chocolate notes in the nose and palate hint at overripeness, and some overt wood in the finish. Very picky distinction.
Vieux Chateau Certan. (Pomerol) Me84%,Cf8,Cs8.
RParker 99, WA#199. JancisR 18, 30Mar2010.
(vii) 3 votes.
My third preference, and a pleasant surprise when unveiled. I recently had the 2007 vintage of this label which was sub-good.
St Nesbit (Karaka) Me80%,Cf13,Pv7.
(viii) 5 votes.
Cable Bay 'Five Hills' (Waiheke) Me58%,Ma42.
Flight Two. Cabernet Franc.
(i) 0 votes.
Two schools. First; good savory character. School Two; unripe, leafy. I'm with the second.
The Gabion (Matakana) Cf80%,Me20.
(ii) 4 votes.
I find out later I'm sitting next to the winemakers wife, he's next along. They didn't pick it as their wine.
The Gillman. (Matakana) Cf63%,Me34,Ma3.
(iii) 8 votes.
[Edit: this note revised 16 Aug].
Question: How could 8 people vote for this as WoTF when I scored it so lowly?
Answer: There were over 60 people there, requiring 4+ bottles of wine, and somehow a corked bottle slipped through the
screen. Re-reading my notes, I'm convinced it was TCA affected.
Question: How come nobody, myself included, who got a taste from the same bottle, didn't start waving their arms about?
Answer: At the time I was suspicious, but nobody else seemed to have noticed so.........
<--- { TCA super-snoz monster}I've checked online, found a picture of a bottle, and it looks to be a cork closure.
Coxhead Creek Reserve. (Matakana) Cf100%.
(iv) 25 votes, clear flight winner for most. Not me.
Very good wine, second pick, but a distance back.
Duck Creek 'Messenger'. (Stillwater) Cf44%,Me36,Ma20.
(v) 14 votes.
Popular label, gets good reviews. I just don't "get it".
Man'O War 'Ironclad'. (Waiheke) Cf39%.Me30,Cs18,Ma7,Pv6.
(vi) 6 votes.
Yum,
18pts for me. My top pick. Wish I could afford some.La Conseillante (Pomerol) Me80%,Cf20.
RParker 96, WA#199.
(vii) 0 votes.
Odd nose, odd taste. Faulty?
Brett three ways I'd say.Look forward to Geoff Kelly review of this.
Providence 'Private Reserve' (Matakana) Cf50%,Me30,Ma20.
Flight Three. Cabernet Sauvignon.
(i) 8 votes.
Goldie (Waiheke) Cs50%,Me40,Cf10.
(ii) 1 vote.
Te Whau 'The Point' (Waiheke) Cs63%,Me28,Cf7,Ma2.
(iii) 4 votes.
Whoa! Gobs of high-toned red berry fruit. Lashings of VA, suspect plenty of alcohol.
All that's missing from a Rolland/Parker recipe is a few oak trees.
Out of my comfort zone.
Miro. (Waiheke) Cepage not released.
(iv) 9 votes.
18+ pts on my card, and wine of flight for me.
The "plus" once again added to decide a slim distinction.
Seduced by the black fruit characters from the Malbec component is my excuse.
Brick Bay 'Pharos' (Matakana) Ma45%,Pv36,Cs10,Me9.
(v) 17 votes.
Coffee, mocha, chocolate. Crowd favorite. 17pts.
Ch Lascombes (Margaux) Cs48%,Me48,Pv4.
RParker 94pts. WA#199. JancisR 16, 18Oct2011.
(vi) 8 votes.
18 pts. Very, very close second for me. Panel had nice words for this. I think Geoff Kelly liked.
I'm sitting next to (the other side, my left) a smiling proprietor. He thinks it's his label. Correct.
Obsidian 'The Obsidian' (Waiheke) Cs40%,Me28,Cf13,Pv13,Ma6.
(vii) 4 votes.
Awaroa 'Requiem' ( Waiheke) Cs,Me,Ma.
So, plenty of good bottles. A few not so good. When summer arrives, and cellardoors re-open, I've got a little list.......
cheers jafa
