The walk-in wine seems to be Champagne, and yet again the NV
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin ‘Yellow Label’ really delivers. As volumes have grown under the LVMH umbrella,
the wine has remained remarkably one of quality. Freshness is a little more apparent than the
days of old. A little less autolysis and
aldehyde. Maybe even a tad lighter in
weight too. Some may see this as a
change for the better, others, a little older in years, might say it’s less
characterful. I tend ever so slightly
toward the latter camp.
With the creamy seafood pasta dish came two
Chardonnays. Brucie and the Bassinet
Babe brought the 2005 Bret Brothers Pouilly-Fuisse ‘La Roche’, for a white
burgundy distinctly more New Worldy than expected with ripe white and yellow
fruits and noticeable oak spicing. An absolutely
up-front and delicious expression. Sitting in both camps of tradition and modern,
and working well for it. It was paired
with a 2006 Martinborough Vineyard Chardonnay.
Much bolder and fuller win weight and richer in flavour. Plenty of oak
in comparison with the Pouilly-Fuisse, but totally in style with the powerful
flavours. For a wine with 6 years of
age, this looked youthful still, too. The
Bret Brothers was overwhelmed by the creaminess of the pasta sauce, but the
Kiwi wine coped and in fact dominated a little.
The red bracket with the lamb racks promised much. A pair Pinot Noirs led by a 2008 Hudson ‘John
Henry’ Martinborough wine. Fulsome and
broad with plenty of savoury flavours, quite secondary, but sweet with
fruit. Very typically Martinborough with
its structure. Arguably the star wine of
the night was the 2009 Felton Road ‘Block 3’ Central Otago wine. Black fruited and plenty of floral aromatics,
it was the vitality and richness of the fruit that was the feature. Great concentration, finesse, suppleness and
incredibly detailed and long on the finish.
This is a keeper for sure.
Then onto a pair of Bordeaux varietal wines. The 2002 Craggy Range ‘Sophia’
Merlot/Cabernet anoth dark coloured and dark fruited wine with a lifted
component. VA and oak lift detracting
somewhat, but at the core great richness and drive. Density allied to finesse. Then the oldie. A 1986 Stonyridge ‘Larose’ Cabernet Sauvignon
dominant wine from Waiheke Island. The
crop size was bigger. Goldwater
declassified their wine into Nob Hill.
This Stonyridge was lighter, but an improvement over the inaugural 1985. But it was not a patch on the 1987 that made
the world stand up an notice. Now 27
years down the track, a lot greener and acidic, lighter too. But still with integrity, flavour flow and
proper structure and proportion. I know
it’d look good against most other 1986s that we’ve tried to date. Lovely cleanliness of fruit and no extraneous
funkiness that can mar early winemaking efforts .
There was a plethora of dessert wines, but the final two are
what I’ll note. A commercial offering that
punches above its weight was the 2011 Selaks ‘Heritage’ Gewurztraminer/Riesling
blend rom Gisborne and Waipara. An
ungodly mix? Maybe, but it worked with
its fizzy, muskiness, identifiably Gewurz, but with a clean floral cut. Then the finale, a 2002 Church Road Noble
Semillon from Hawke’s Bay. Deep golden
with VA lifted toffee and caramel.
Oaking absorbed, and now with secondary savoury flavours and an unctuous
texture just hinting at drying out now.
This was a bold and robust beast in its early days, and still is, just
with the edges knocked off.
Our dinners with The Eventress and the rest of the crew
maybe going up a level. That’s what
happens when you build.
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