TN: Oyster Bay & Morgan Simpson
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 1:49 pm
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Sauvignon Blanc (Stelvin): Huge and constantly evolving nose of pretty perfumed gooseberry/lychees with hints of banana, grass with insecticide, pickled capsicum, passionfruit, and at times even aniseed. The palate is just as flamboyant, with a refreshing level of natural acidity to clean the palate on the finish. Another fantastic sub-$15 Savvy.
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Chardonnay (Stelvin): Closed nose in comparison, with some wax/citrus lurking in the very depths. The palate is more forward, with nutty oak not present in the nose balancing the grapefruit/citrus fruit and acid on the palate.
2002 Morgan Simpson McLaren Vale Chardonnay: Completely the opposite on the nose to the trans-Tasman predecessor, with very obvious nutty oak and malolactic techniques at play, and surprisingly some grassiness. The oak again influences the palate, and there’s that strange grassy/weedy character entwined with the citrus/grapefruit characters that’s offputting.
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Pinot Noir (Stelvin): Glowing raspberry red. Ripe strawberry and some meaty characters mark the nose. The palate again has overripe, almost stewed strawberry & raspberry characters & chalky tannins, leaving an impression that the wine has been forced. I think this marks the first cooked NZ Pinot I’ve tried.
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Merlot (Stelvin): Very green & tealeaf characters on the nose, with some VA and those insecticide touches I noticed in the Savvy. The palate is ripe, soft but pedestrian; I’d take the Irvine Springhill South Australian Merlot for 15 bucks over this any day.
2002 Morgan Simpson McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon: Deep, dark red/purple. The nose is very minty, with lashings of chocolate, menthol & exotic spices, and equally noticeable cowshed characters. The mint/menthol characters drive the slightly hot palate, but there’s far too much farmyard stuff going on for my liking.
2002 Morgan Simpson McLaren Vale Shiraz: Deep red colour. Again it’s a similar story; there’s some licorice and medicinal characters with the blackberry fruit, but I’m too put off by the obvious cowshed on the nose to like it.
Cheers
Ian
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Chardonnay (Stelvin): Closed nose in comparison, with some wax/citrus lurking in the very depths. The palate is more forward, with nutty oak not present in the nose balancing the grapefruit/citrus fruit and acid on the palate.
2002 Morgan Simpson McLaren Vale Chardonnay: Completely the opposite on the nose to the trans-Tasman predecessor, with very obvious nutty oak and malolactic techniques at play, and surprisingly some grassiness. The oak again influences the palate, and there’s that strange grassy/weedy character entwined with the citrus/grapefruit characters that’s offputting.
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Pinot Noir (Stelvin): Glowing raspberry red. Ripe strawberry and some meaty characters mark the nose. The palate again has overripe, almost stewed strawberry & raspberry characters & chalky tannins, leaving an impression that the wine has been forced. I think this marks the first cooked NZ Pinot I’ve tried.
2002 Oyster Bay NZ Merlot (Stelvin): Very green & tealeaf characters on the nose, with some VA and those insecticide touches I noticed in the Savvy. The palate is ripe, soft but pedestrian; I’d take the Irvine Springhill South Australian Merlot for 15 bucks over this any day.
2002 Morgan Simpson McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon: Deep, dark red/purple. The nose is very minty, with lashings of chocolate, menthol & exotic spices, and equally noticeable cowshed characters. The mint/menthol characters drive the slightly hot palate, but there’s far too much farmyard stuff going on for my liking.
2002 Morgan Simpson McLaren Vale Shiraz: Deep red colour. Again it’s a similar story; there’s some licorice and medicinal characters with the blackberry fruit, but I’m too put off by the obvious cowshed on the nose to like it.
Cheers
Ian