A small flock of decent Kiwi’s

A small flock of decent Kiwi’s

Firstly, please forgive the flock pun. It’s poor, I know, but my Codral Cold & Flu tablet addled mind can’t muster up a more clever title right now (though it is growing on me).

These were all tasted at a recent mini Kiwi wine-fest. Of note is just how good that St Clair Reserve Sauv Blanc is. If you’re going to buy Marlborough Sauv you’d be hard pressed to find a better example, though you’ve got be a fan of the nettles + passionfruit, ‘I love Marlborough Sauv’ style (which I’m not actually, but there’s no denying the quality of this).

St Clair Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Marlborough, NZ)
Lots of latent power here. Intense, almost overtly grassy nose in true varietal/regional form. Dry, super powered, tangy palate. Seriously intense, long and quite weighty palate of length and form. Absolute top shelf Sauv. 18.5/94

St Clair Pioneer Block 9 ‘Doctors’ Pinot Noir 2009 (Marlborough, NZ)
Now this I like. Marlborough Pinot to a tee. Bright, juicy, open and lovely spicy/cherry nose in an almost cuddly style, though the late acid hit brings everything back to reality. Lovely fleshy, cherry Pinot style with proper form behind it. Nice nice. 18.3/93

Vavasour Awatere Pinot Noir 2009 (Marlborough, NZ)
Not quite on the St Clair level, this looked a little subdued and sullen, even if it was edged with candied and rather ripe stewed fruit. Palate is again juicy, if just a little caramalised. In the wash though it’s actually a rather nice, lighter style drink that was just overshadowed by the St Clair. Good. 17.3/90

Alpha Domus Aviator 2007 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
The only odd wine out in this lineup. Looked very raw, far too young and edged with hard oak tannins. It may well integrate but looked very brutal and unsubtle in this context. 15.8/87+

Bridge Pa Louis Syrah 2007 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
I’ve had this wine numerous times now and have simply decided that the reason why I don’t like it is a stylistic disagreement. To be even more honest I just don’t like the way it smells. There’s just this herbal, peppery meaty sweatiness to the nose that I can’t quite get past. Digging underneath the nose though and this is clearly a wine of some power and structure (finishing seriously firm to boot) with a smattering of gold medals to prove just how good it might look in certain contexts. In the end I’m just sticking to a ‘goodish’ rating as i think there might be merit in there. Though, hold on, it does have a slightly bitter finish…. 16.4/88