Te Mata's deco-themed offices

Te Mata winemaker, Peter Cowley, dropped around with samples of their latest release wines. It’s easy to become dazzled by flagship Coleraine and ignore some of the other wonderful and often innovative wines in their range. Te Mata quietly makes a number of truly outstanding wines, relying on word-of-mouth and critic endorsements rather than wine shows for promotion.

Quality appears to be as high as ever for most wines in their range and yet the price of some have been cut back in the last year or two. Elston Chardonnay has throttled back to a competitive $33 ($29.90 at Glengarry) from $38 while Woodthorpe Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Gamay Noir, Syrah and Merlot Cabernet offer great value at around $21 (some are available at $17.90 through Glengarry). Glengarry are offering Coleraine for $64.90 by the bottle or $59.90 by the case in an advert today that shows the RRP as $80 (the winery are selling it for $69 by the bottle or $62 by the case) while Caro Wines have it for $59.99 per six bottles (may be a mixed half-dozen).

I’ve listed all releases, with scores, on my database but here are a few brief comments on some of the highlights:

Cape Crest 2009 Sauvignon Blanc $27 (diam) Gently aromatic wine with a wonderful texture and mouth-feel that reminds me of a good white Bordeaux. Oak is evident but it works well. Classy dry white wine that’s a snip at Glengarry’s price of $23.90 (if I seem to be favouring Glengarry it’s because their prices are listed as the lowest on www.wine-searcher.com ).

Woodthorpe 2008 Chardonnay $21 (screwcap) This is a classy little Chardonnay at a great price ($17.90 at Glengarry). Attractive grapefruit and mealy lees flavours with a seasoning of spicy oak.

Elston 2008 Chardonnay $33 (diam) A burgundy look-alike with mineral, grapefruit/stone fruit and toasty oak characters. Restrained, elegant wine with subtle power.

Zara 2009 Viognier$27 (diam) Te Mata pioneered Viognier in this country. Rich, fleshy wine in a totally dry style (many are not dry) with layers of apricot, lees and subtle spicy oak flavours.

Woodthorpe 2008 Syrah $21 (screwcap) Includes 5% Viognier. Deliciously spicy, supple easy-drinking red with lovely berry and floral flavours. Cracker value$17.90 at Glengarry).

Awatea 2008 Cabernets/Merlot $33 (cork) Dense wine with plump, sweet fruit flavours including berry, plum, floral, tobacco and bay leaf. Very approachable wine offering excellent value$29.90 at Glengary).

Coleraine 2008 ($ see above) Has there ever been a more deliciously approachable Coleraine? This many not appeal to the purists, who should spend their money on the more typical 2007, but I love it the wine’s bright, berry fruit, floral and spice flavours. Supple, elegant wine that will age well despite it’s present approachable nature.

Te Mata's talented winemaker Peter Cowley

New look for Esk Valley

Villa Maria/Esk Valley/Vidal owner, Sir George, and Esk Valley winemaker, Gordon Russell, dropped around to show off the new Esk Valley label design and share some of the new release wines. The label is a great improvment on its rather old-fashioned replacement (Reserve label shown above – regular label is similar without the numbers and without the word “Winemakers” which replaces “Reserve”).

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was pleasingly intense although just a tad too sweaty to earn a top score from me. I particularly liked Esk Valley Verdelho ($22.99), a wine I’ve been fairly lukewarm about in the past. Quite complex, dry and with a pleasing mineral character. It was significantly better than a Spanish Verdelho opened alongside it (Valdeorras Godello 2008 Gaba do Xil – weighty but too phenolic and drying). A dry-ish Marlborough Riesling 2009 ($22.99) also impressed. Nice purity, great acidity (how do you descibe acidity that is the opposite of hard? Somehow “sweet” doesn’t quite work. The acid was quite strong but pure and taut – it made me shiver slightly and salivate gently – I liked it very much). A weighty and cleverly balanced Pinot Gris 2008 ($22.99) followed. A touch of barrel fermentation added extra interest to a rich, velvet-textured wine that Gordon describes as his best yet. I’ve always liked the Esk Chardonnay and the 2008 regular label ($22.99) didn’t disappoint although it was out-gunned by the deliciously complex Esk Valley Winemaker 2008 Chardonnay.

On to the red wines starting with a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec 2007 ($22.99) that punched well above its weight thanks to a cracker of a vintage. Very Bordeaux-like wine with dusty tannins and an attractive sappy complexity. Syrah 2007 ($22.99) was a wine that Gordon accurately describes as a “Shiraz for Pinot Noir drinkers” – a peppery, supple wine with silky tannins. There was certainly nothing Pinot Noir-like about Esk Valley Winemakers Syrah Gimblett Gravels 2007  which was as bold as its $60 price tag. This is a powerful red in a peppery Rhone-like style with masses of fruit supported by subtle, classy oak.

Esk Valley is in good shape under the enthusiastic stewardship of Gordon Russell.

Sir George (left) and Gordon Russell

Trinity HIll prefers to lead rather than follow. Manager/winemaker John Hancock has a history of testing the boundaries in his 35 years involvement with wine. Trinity HIll pioneered Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional in this country and was one of the first producers to grow Arneis, Montepulciano, Roussanne and Marsanne.

Hancock celebrated the release of the 2007 vintage of Montepulciano with a vertical tasting of seven vintages at a lunch featuring Spanish dishes and a presentation of Flamenco dancing by one of Spain’s top groups of dancers and musicians. Lead dancer, ex-patriot Kiwi Francine Sweet, gave a brilliant and stirring presentation.

Here’s a picture of Hancock (who has become an overnight enthusiast of Flamenco dancing) and Francine (past student of my wine diploma course).

John Hancock (right) cuddling up to Flamenco dancer Francine Sweet

Here are my brief tasting notes for the seven vintages of Trinity HIll Tempranillo with scores (earlier ratings in brackets).

2002 77 – Savoury, earthy wine with hints of fruit but drying out and now well past its best. Historically interesting.

2003 80 (93) – Tannic and drying out. Earthy, savoury wine that’s also past its best (although other bottles were apparantly better than mine). Vestiges of fruit and spice provide character and a hint of what the wine once was.

2004 90 (83) – My first impression was not favourable but as the wine sat in the glass it displayed an attractive floral and spice character that won me over. Still has some fruit sweetness and length. A delicate, pretty wine – this is what I chose to drink with lunch.

2005 88 (93) – Might have had a rush of blood to the head when I tasted this wine two years ago. Alternatively I may have been a bit tough two days ago. It’s a dense and fairly tannic wine with savoury, earthy bitter chocolate characters. I like the wine’s rich texture a lot. Needs food and will develop well.

2006 93 – Delicious, accessible wine that is easy to love. Plenty of fruit sweetness (assisted by 7% Malbec and 3% Syrah in the blend) with spice, floral/violet, plum and berry characters all supported by manly tannins. Good length.

2007 90 (88) – Attractive mixed spice (or “Asian spices” as Parker jnr says) with appealing savoury complexity. Classically varietal although I’d like to see more floral characters. Dense and powerful red.

2008 94 – (barrel sample) Plump, rich and fruity wine with plum, spice floral and classy oak flavours. Very intense and powerful Tempranillo – Trinity’s best yet. Blend includes Touriga 10%, Malbec 2%, Viognier 1% – the Viognier is co-fermented.

Michael Daymond-King owner of Hatton Estate

Sorry, couldn’t resist using the first line of theme tune from the film “ladies Night”. It just seemed to fit for a vertical tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon blends back to 1998 from Hawke’s Bay producer, Hatton Estate.

Hatton Estate is a 16-hectare vineyard and winery in the Gimblett Gravels region of Hawke’s Bay. They make a range of impressive wines including Tahi-One, A Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend. Michael invited me to a vertical tasting of seven vintages of Tahi-One, because: ” Our top wines are typically described as “closed tannic monsters, requiring age”- and instantly dismissed as they are normally tried too young and we believe this vertical will provide some good perspective as to what we have been trying to achieve. The wines end up elegant expressions of a Hawkes Bay Bordeaux blend, and apart from a mad trip down the US market palate in 02 and to a lesser extent in 03 we have remained true to the fruit and subtle oak aging.”

Although I have tasted a number of Hatton Estate wines, and particularly liked the Gimblett Road Reserve, another Bordeaux blend, I had never previously tasted their flagship wine, Tahi-One. Here are some very brief tasting notes (it was a hurried affair, I only had 15 minutes to review all wines – my fault because I had a wine course to run).

2006  (93 points) My favourite wine (not due for release until 2010). Very Bordeaux-like with fine tannins and an array of delicate (and complex) fruit, spice and floral flavours. More about structure than fruit – will age.

2005 (89 points) Attractive wine in a very different style to the 06. A classically New World style with gobs of berryfruit plus an undercurrent of spicy notes. Bigger and more obvious – easy to appreciate. Will age but accessible now.

2004 (85 points) Quite mellow wine with sweet fruit and obvious smoky oak. Dusty tannins. A bit too simple but shows nice concentration.

2003 (83 points) I was surprised to see a wine from this very frost-affected vintage. Few wineries released a top red in 2003. Quite herbal with raw, peppery flavours that contrast with riper fruit characters.

2002 (80 points) Lean, savoury wine with a thread of hardness from VA. Interesting savoury characters but a tad too much VA for a better score.

2000 (88 points) Quite bright and youthful. Still showing plenty of primary fruit flavours. Elegant and accessible. Not greatly complex but a very satisfying drink.

1998 (84 points) A bit of a curate’s egg. Slightly fecal, reduced nose (the wine, like all in the range was sealed with a cork) together with an array of developed berry and savoury characters. Hard to score – if I was in a panel and the others wanted to give it a much higher mark I wouldn’t object strongly.

Conclusion: the wines do age and the superior later vintages will age very well indeed. New winemaker, Frenchman David Ramonteu, made the 2005 and 2006 vintages. The future looks particularly bright under his stewardship.