Stonyridge Larose Vertical - Glengarry wines

Being as I am a member of the Glengarry Team, I have the chance to sample the upcoming wines at our monthly staff tasting (with free pizza).

This time we were in for a bit of a treat:  a ‘vertical tasting’ of Stonyridge’s famous Bordeaux blend - Larose.

This was pretty special because most of the tiny output from Stonyridge’s 25 acre plot on Waiheke is snapped up en primeur – I.e. even before it’s bottled as a speculative buy based on past history.  Hosted by Ethan MacDonald, assistant winemaker, the tasting took us through three consecutive vintages of Larose – 2008, 2009, 2010.

Nobody knows exactly what the blend of wine is but grape varieties in the Larose mix are Cabernet Sauvignon (predominantly), Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.  They also grow other French varieties – Syrah, Merlot, Grenache and Mourvèdre. 

Okay…

Larose 2008
Crimson red and dense colour.  Aromas of pot pourri black berry fruit and spice.  Flavours - dry and tannic, with cherry, black fruit, plums, herbs, and savoury spice.

Larose 2009
Garnet/ruby red.  Herbal and spice aromas.  Flavours of vanilla spiced oak with firm tannin, yet full and ripe. Herbs and game, black pepper and liquorice.  Yum.

Larose 2010
Ruby red, ripe and firm.  Still very young and a bit edgy with black currant, plum and spice flavours.

With cellaring potential of 6 to 7 years we were sampling some babies, and no doubt tannins will soften and drop out over that period. 

Still my pick is the 2009.

When he's not a retail sales assistant at Glengarry wines Grey Lynn, Phil runs wine tours in Auckland