Dream
Team Selection
Some truly impressive, gorgeous wines this month. From premium South Island producers to an Aussie rosé, four classic French fine wines, and the very first English sparklers that I have ever sampled. I love my job.
Rockburn Central Otago Fumé Blanc 2022 $32
Oak
ageing has added softness and complexity to this 100% sauvignon blanc. Gooseberry
flavours and roasted red bell pepper. Flinty and mineral with creamy medium
acids and a nudge of sweetness on the finish.
Available: Glengarry rockburn.co.nz
Penfolds
Adelaide Hills Max’s Rosé 2022 $35
Light
and delicate. With watermelon, raspberry, red skin apple and herbaceous
passionfruit. Bone-dry.
Available: Liquorland.
Esprit Gassier Southern France Rosé 2021
$24
Very
savoury and bone-dry Provence style. A blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and
Rolle grapes. Slightly funky flavours of baked meat, but also cherry,
strawberry, mushroom, and truffle.
Available: Dhall & Nash, Fine O Wine, blackmarket.co.nz
Domaine Tetsut Chablis Vielles Vignes 2021 $40
Fab
wine. 100% lightly oaked chardonnay from the traditional Chablis region of
Burgundy in France. Vielles Vignes translates as ‘old vines.’ Creamy, rich and
very approachable as a young wine. Ripe
apricot and peach, with a hint of Manuka honey and a mineral, tangy long
finish.
Available: Dhall & Nash, Fine O Wine, blackmarket.co.nz
Domaine Tetsut Petit Chablis 2022 $35
Restrained and elegant, compared to the Vielles Vignes. Produced from the
Masalles clone of chardonnay. Mineral, crisp and yeasty with lemon citrus,
fresh cut pineapple, and a hint of herbal thyme.
Available: Dhall & Nash, blackmarket.co.nz
Pegasus
Bay North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2021 $57
Ripe,
gorgeous and inky. Dark berry fruits, with crème de cassis and dark chocolate.
Umami soy and truffle/mushroom savoury flavours, with fruitcake spicy lengthy
finish.
Available: Pt Chev Organic wines, Fine O Wines, pegasusbay.com
Pegasus
Bay North Canterbury Cabernet Franc 2020 $35
Another
stunningly good wine from the South Island. Cab franc is normally blended into
Bordeaux style reds, but it is emerging in NZ as a single variety wine. Spicy,
ripe, full-bodied, and generous with plum, savoury umami, black berry fruits,
medium tannins, and a lengthy finish.
Available: vinofino.co.nz
pegasusbay.com
Pegasus Bay North Canterbury Merlot Cabernet 2020 $35
And ….other ripper from Pegasus Bay. Ripe, generous, bold and spicy. Earthy
mushroom and a hint of truffle. Ripe blackberry, boysenberry, Cuban cigar,
raspberry, spicy anise, black olive, and fruitcake.
Available:
Fine O Wines, Pt Chev Organic wines, Caro’s blackmarket.co.nz pegasusbay.com
Digby Fine English Vintage Reserve Brut 2013 $98
From
southern England. I kid thee not. Frothy mousse of fine bubbles, with delicate
melon and straw, crisp lime citrus acidity and a big hit of yeasty brioche, and
a creamy dry finish. Highly recommended.
Huzzah!
Available: Dhall & Nash
Charles
Le Bel ‘Inspiration 1818’ Champagne NV Brut $84
Delicate and elegant dry style, with a restrained palate of poached apple,
yeasty croissant, a hint of rock melon and lemon curd.
Available: Dhall & Nash
Digby
Fine English Vintage Leander Pink NV Brut $98
Savoury
aromas, with a hint-of-a-tad of smokiness on the palate. Strawberries &
cream, and bone-dry with sour cherry, almond and yeasty tangy finish. Jolly
good.
Available: Dhall & Nash
Rockburn
Central Otago Tigermoth Riesling 2022 $30
A sweet
dessert style at 10% alcohol. Flavours of beeswax, ginger in syrup and apricot,
with a crisp lemon citrus finish. Creamy medium acids and a lengthy finish.
Available: Glengarry rockburn.co.nz
Phil runs wine & food tours in Auckland New Zealand
