This is the second of a 2-part exploration of the wonderful wines of New Zealand. Click here for the first part – Introduction to New Zealand.

I’ve attended a fair few fine wine tastings recently which have mostly included fancy wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux. It’s nice when you receive news of a high quality New World event and after the success of a recent California tasting at Roberson I was very much looking forward to their Fine Wines of New Zealand evening. In fact I ain’t the only one looking forward as The Fish decided this one took her fancy too!

As I’ve written in the previous New Zealand post I am beginning to appreciate these wines from the bottom of the globe. I’m even getting a taste back for Kiwi Sauvignon Blancs, however it’s the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rieslings that have really excited me and I was delighted that this tasting focused on a selection of grape varieties and styles.

Marc, who spent a number of years both travelling and working in the New Zealand wine trade, took us through a detailed and entertaining introduction to the wines of New Zealand before leading the tasting of 10 wines (In fact there were 11 wines as we received a glass of Cloudy Bay Pelourus fizz to get things going!)

What impressed me most about the wines were the consistent quality across the board. It has certainly encouraged me to keep exploring these exciting wines from this passionate, wine loving country. We tasted the wines in pairs of the same variety, starting with the wine that kicked New Zealand into the wine limelight:

Cloudy Bay Pelourus NV, Marlborough (£24.95)
Predominately Chardonnay blend and made using the method traditionale, this fizz is very fragrant with lots of delicate, crisp apple aromas which are backed up by a nutty, yeasty complexity from its time on lees. Lovely creamy texture with lively acidity and a good length finish. 90 points

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough (£21.95)
This is actually a very nice wine, just priced about a tenner too high! Bright and fresh aromas of gooseberry and green pepper and a vibrant palate with subtle flavours backing up the smell as well as some delicious passion fruit at the end. Searing acidity and bone dry. Very good indeed. 91 points

Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Marlborough (£28.95)
I’m a big fan of oaked Chardonnay and I also liked to toasty aromas of the Te Koko… But not the flavour. The oak masks any if the bright Sauvignon flavours and just feels heavy handed with an almost honeyed finish with very little balance. 88 points

Felton Road Chardonnay Block 2010, Central Otago (£49.95)
This was my favourite wine of the tasting. The aromas and flavours of warm oak hits you straight between the eyes at first but then ones the waves of sublime tropical fruit. Pineapple, honeydew melon and peach. It’s soft and warm and has such a wonderful balance of fruit, acid and oak, with impressive weight and texture. Fabulous. 95 points

Pyramid Valley Lions Tooth Chardonnay 2010, Canterbury (£49.95)
Crystal clear fruit of passion fruit and pineapple. The oak is more subtle than that of Felton Road and manifests itself as sweet brioche. Much lighter weight on the palate and mouth watering acidity. A very pure, even glacial wine with a delightful and long finish. 93 points

Mount Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2011, Central Otago (£50.00)
Red currant and wild strawberry armies and just a hint of slate/minerality. Delightful and elegant red fruit upfront and lively acidity but there’s a hole in the middle and the end is just flat. A real shame as it promised so much. 88 points

Dry River Pinot Noir 2008, Martinborough (£69.95)
This is much more like it! A huge nose of morello cherries, floral/violets and oh so meaty and savoury. Full bodied and huge concentration on the palate, so smooth and silky, such elegant red fruit, a touch of spice. and beautiful balance. A superb modern Pinot Noir. 94 points

Man o’ War Dreadnaught 2009, Waiheke Island (£36.95)
100% Syrah. Smoky cherries, meaty and very savoury nose… Very Northern Rhone! There’s a blast of black fruit, smokiness and just a touch if eucalyptus on the palate. This wine has wonderful roughy edges and is a wine full of personality. Deliciously rustic. 92 points

Craggy Range Le Sol 2010, Hawkes Bay (£63.95)
Another 100% Syrah. Probably my most disappointing wine of the night. There’s smokiness and plenty if dark fruit but its too stewed for my liking, a bit sickly-sweet. There’s dark fruit and spice and a lovely silky texture but its not to my liking. 89 points

Te Mata Coleraine 2009, Hawkes Bay (£49.95)
Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Delicious nose of blackcurrant, cassis, minerality and a touch in menthol/eucalyptus. There’s lots of tannin from deliciously expensive oak, blackcurrant and sour cherry fruit and lots of earthy minerality. This is an extremely polished and well made wine that would it comfortably with a top quality wine from St Julien. 94 points

Stonyridge Larose 2009, Waiheke Island (£97.95)
Voted best wine of the night by the majority… But not me! Bordeaux blend of CabernetSauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot. Lots of black then red fruit in the nose with hints if vanilla and coconut from American oak – almost Rioja-like. Plenty if grip on the palate and beautifully smooth. Needs a bit of time I think, with the oak still overwhelming the delicious fruit. 92+ points

Back in February a few of us held our first “bring a course and wine to match”. The host cooks the main course and the other two couples bring the starter and dessert. Round 1 was held at Dave & Karen’s place (toast lamb), me and The Fish took the starter (duck rillettes), while Joel & Laura took the pud (choc, nut & salted caramel tart).

Round 2 was at chez Wine Geek and I’ve been thinking about what to cook for the four months since the first event! I decided that I was going to serve Riesling as a surprise with the main course so went for dirty pulled pork rolls – a great match. But there was a problem. It appears that my Riesling preaching has been too effective. Dave and Joel both came armed with the noble grape so I was forced into a late wine change! Anyway, more of that later.

The afternoon sun dictated the kick off wine (Karen & Dave were stuck in traffic) and I went with a Demi-sec Vouvray which really hit the spot:

Clos de Nouys Vouvray Demi-Sec 2011, Loire, France (Waitrose £8.99)
Really rich flavours of ripe peaches, hint of apricot and lively acidity combine beautifully with the sweetness to provide a refreshing and balanced mouthful that makes the sun seem that little bit warmer. 90 points

When everyone had arrived we decided to pop some bubbles and what better option than the finest the UK has to offer?

Camel Valley Chardonnay Brut 2009, Cornwall, UK (Camel Valley £24.95)
Floral and elegant nose – really quite delightful. The palate is creamy with a peachy fruitiness and a pleasant biscuit-lick at the finish. This really is my favourite glass of fizz available under £30. 94 points

Joel created a delightful starter of potted crab & prawns with an egg, caper, lemon & parsley salad, served with 2 different rye breads. And boy did it taste great and set one hell if a standard. The first wine as a delicious Riesling from Western Australia and then we had a red wine from his & Laura’s recent holiday in Sardinia.

Plantagenet Riesling 2011, Mount Barker, Wastern Australia (Whole Foods £14.99)
The label says lemon but this is pure lime juice. It’s so fresh and pure, almost glacial in texture and bone dry, mouth puckeringly so! But then the acidity kicks in and the labour goes on and on and on. I could drink this with a straw, quite magnificent and incredible value for money. 92 points

Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 2009, Sardinia (Sardinian supermarket! €9.00)
We had the Wine Grapes book out to confirm that Cannonau is indeed Grenache. The wine is brambly and fruity and has good acidity. There is a ouch if tannin its not really giving a great deal of structure. Easy drinking and may well benefit from bring served chilled. 87 points

As I said earlier I went for pulled pork with a magnificent piece of pork shoulder from the Ginger Pig (thanks fir carrying the 3 kilos home Fish!). I served the pork with homemade brioche rolls, potato wedges, a carrot, cabbage & apple slaw and BBQ sauce. It seemed to go down pretty well! As we’d had a Riesling already I opted for a South African Chenin and a Pinot Noir from Wester Oz.

DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2011, Stellenbosch (Wine and the Vine £16.75)
I loved the 2010 but this is even better. Nose of melon, peaches and nuts. Lovely zing in the mouth, lots of ripe melon and a wonderful nutty, long finish. The wine just coats yiur mouth and has real body. This is very sophisticated, complex and quite stunning. 93 points

Main Ridge Estate Half Acre Pinot Noir 2004, Morninton Peninsula (House of Townend £29.99)
What a glorious aroma if sweet cherries, raspberries and wild strawberries, supported with a delightful earthiness, minerality and damp leaves. Juicy cherry juice on the palate with lovely earthy back notes. The alcohol is a little bit warm and maybe just putting the wine slightly out of balance but its very, very good. 92 points (docked a couple for that warmth)

To pudding! And what a pudding it was! Dave has been worrying about this one for months, changing his mind daily or the past fortnight but what he produced was a feat of genius baking. The most delicious raspberry Bakewell tart, with perfect icing and everything! To accompany the tart Dave brought us a Tokaji and a German Riesling (on what influence!)… That we didn’t get around to drinking!

5 Puttonyas Tokaji Aszu 2001 (M&S £19.99)
Slightly pinkish colour and a delightfully honeyed nose with fragrant sweet and dried fruit providing some real elegance. Beautiful apricot and citrus on the palate but its the mouthfilling richness, spiky acidity and delicate balance of the honey sweetness that really marks this out fir quality. So good. 92 points

For those of us who could face it, The Fish had popped into Le Fromagarie when she picked up the pig and provided us with a plate if Brie de Melun (if you have only tried de Meux then search it out), Montgomery Cheddar and a delicious French blue cheese that she forgot the name of! At the first dinner in Feb I took a Burgundy Grand Cru that disappointed (Clos de Vougeot anyone??) so I though we’d finish this dinner with a classed growth Bordeaux… But again it didn’t live up to its billing – and I thought Barton was such a safe bet!

Chateau Langoa Barton 1999 (Wine and the Vine £51.85)
The last time I had this it was delightful but just not quite delivering the concentration I was hoping for – this time it was even more frustrating. Black currant and cassis with some herbs give the wine a lovely nose. The palate promises so much but just falls off so quickly. You get the initial cassis hit but then its gone. A bit thin and a bit green. Disappointing. 87 points

Some brilliant food, a variety of wine (quality and style!) and wonderful company. I’m already planning my dessert for round 3!

I’ve been to some first class tastings recently featuring magnificent wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux in particular. This latest one was a little bit different – not about famous names with ridiculous price tags! Chenin Blanc is a magnificent grape, capable of producing a wide array of wine styles and we tasted wines from the grape’s two heartlands. In the red corner we had the New World contender of South Africa, in the blue corner, representing the Old World, The Loire Valley.

Jimmy Smith, Managing Director & Head Tutor of the West London Wine School loves Chenin. Earlier this year he and Matt Wickstead (who runs “The Cellars” wine storage facility where these tastings are held) went on a tour of the Loire and came back as excited as school kids with tales of magnificence. Jimmy is very keen to tell the world about Chenin and this was the first in a series of events in which they will do just that.

In the blog and the newsletter I often recommend Chenin Blanc as a (superior?) alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. It’s no surprise that they come from the same grape “family”, both being siblings of Savignin. Chenin has huge amounts if acidity but is balanced with delightful tropical fruit, citrus and honey. This tasting cemented my view that if I had £10 to spend on a bottle I know I’ll get far more enjoyment and interest from a Chenin.

All in all we tasted 9 wines, 5 from France and 4 from South Africa but I have written my notes in 3 sections. It starts with four wines of SA followed by the first three Loire wines, all from the Vouvray region. Then there’s the two wines from Savinieres… I’ll get to them later. My preference over the course of the evening was for the wines of Vouvray, which is handy as we’re heading out there in the summer! What you will see throughout the notes is the fantastic value for money that Chenin can offer – you can get one heck of a wine for around £15.

South Africa

Chenin is the most grown grape variety in a South Africa (@19,000 hectares), with most of it turned into a dry style of wine. What was very apparent in this tasting though is the variety of different styles being produced, from very simple, easy drinking to big, bold and complex. One of my favourite wines of 2012 was the DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin and I’ll be searching out a few more over the next months. I just think its a real shame that so many South African winemakers are turning to fashionable Rhone varieties when Chenin has so much to offer.

Kleine Zalze Old Bush Vine Chenin Blanc, Western Cape 2012 (Waitrose £7.99)
Melon and a touch of green apple on the nose – after a bit of time it opened up to reveal some citrus notes also. Honeydew melon and limes on the palate with a touch of honey. Light bodied and very easy drinking – almost like a NZ Sauvignon without the cat pee! Was voted best value wine if the night (not mine!). 87 points

Botanica Chenin Blanc, Citrusdal 2010 (The Wine Society £14.95)
Very honeyed nose, combined with tropical fruit – I’m expecting a bit of sweetness on the palate… But it’s bone dry. Very fresh, searing acid and lots of mango and guava fruit with a charming herbaceous edge. There’s a nice balance of fruit and acidity, but maybe a bit shy on the finish. 88 points

Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc, Bot River (The Wine Society £16.00)
This has delightful aromas of baked apples and flakey, sweet pastry, with lovely tropical fruit too. Lovely texture that coats your mouth and a delicious balance of mango, passion fruit and lime. A very nice wine with good concentration and nice level of complexity. 91 points

The Winery Radford Dale Renaissance Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch 2010 (The Wine Society £16.00)
This has huge aromas jumping out of the glass – toasty, with overripe melon and even some caramel. Big concentration and complexity and massive body and texture. Creamy and appley, less acidity than the preceding wines but very good indeed. So different to the Beaumont, yet just as enjoyable. 91 points

Loire Valley – Vouvray

The Loire in North West France is the heart of Chenin Blanc, and the village of Vouvray is perhaps the most famous of all. In this area you will find sec (dry), Demi-sec (off-dry/medium), Moelleaux (sweet), and some very easy drinking sparklers too. There is only half the vineyard area of South Africa (9,800 hectares) but the quality is very high. It’s fair to say that you do get what you pay for… But expect the complexity and concentration in a £20 wine that you would expect to pay double for from Burgundy or Bordeaux. Note all if theLoire wines are from biodynamic vineyards.

Domaine Vincent Careme Spring Sec, Vouvray 2010 (The Wine Society £9.95)
Honeyed nose with baked, even dried fruit. Some fig, spice and just a hint if oxidisation. Stewed apples on the palate, almost savoury note. It reminds me a bit if scrumpy cider with a sprightly acidity… I like it. The almost over developed nose might put a few off but for under £10 the complexity is quite amazing. 90 points

Domaine Huet Haut Lieu Sec Vouvray 2005 (The Wine Society £14.95)
Gorgeous nose of honey, nuts and baked apples, then comes the citrus burst and our first hint of minerality. Nit a big bodied wine, almost glacial in texture and massive acidity with apple skins and lime citrus. So pure and elegant but beautifully balanced and super length. My best value wine of the night. 92 points

Domaine Vincent Careme Le Peu Morier Demi-Sec Vouvray (The Wine Society £18.00)
Our first real sweetness of the night. Oh there’s so much fruit character on the nose – mango, orange, almost marmalade. Beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity – it reminds me of a tin of pineapple chunks. I love this style if wine and I especially love the balance and complexity of this one. Pure summer in a glass. My and the overall best wine if the night. 93 points

Loire – Savennieres

It’s times like this where I realise how much I have to learn! The wines are mostly dry, often produced in a powerful style. These wines are made to age and are very difficult to approach in their youth…. As I found out. There was an oxidised element to the wines, which is to be expected of the region and the alcohol is big. Both of the wines were decanted over 24 hours earlier to give the wines a chance to open up – at tastings in the Loire they put the date when the wines were opened, often weeks in advance! Because this is a totally new style to me, which I found difficult to get my head around, I have not scored these wines but given you the view of more seasoned observers.

Domaine du Closel Clos du Papillon Savennieres 2007 (Fine & Rare £25.70)
Nutty, figgy, oxidised nose. Lots of spice, plenty of ginger and Xmas aromas. Dry and hot on the palate with lots of concentration – I’m struggling to find the fruit. Jancis gives it 17.5/20

Nicolas Joly Coulee de Serrant Savennieres 2005 (Fine & Rare £65.00)
Nutty, spicy almost sherry-like aromas with a touch of petrol and maybe some quince jelly. Big and huge alcohol in the mouth and very toasty. Again I’m struggling to find the fruit – provably 10 years too early! 91.5 point average on Cellartracker

The night before

I had to start writing this post the night before the event as I’m so bloody excited! I’ve always loved Xmas and I still get very excited on Xmas eve. This evening feels like Xmas Eve. Tomorrow I get to try a wine from the Domaine de la Romanee Conti for the first time! A few weeks ago I got an email from Roberson with their latest raft of excellent tasting events… And this one stood out like a beacon. The wines of Vosne Romanee: The Pearl of the Côte. Even before I saw the lineup I knew I was going. When I got to the bottom of the list and read DRC Echezeaux 2000 I was certain!

I walked through the vineyards of Vosne last year and it was ethereal, almost spiritual (there’s me enjoying the moment in the famous Richebourg Grand Cru). I’ve tasted some excellent wines from the appellation but the three letters DRC bring tears of excitement to any wine lover, especially one who is a total Burgundy nut. The domaine is widely considered among the world’s greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world’s most expensive. Echezeaux is the domaine’s “entry level” wine… By that I mean when DRC put on a tasting, Echezeaux is the first wine to be tasted. The cheapest bottle I can find on winesearcher.com is £696, and less than 1,500 12 bottle cases are produced each year.

As I said, I’m excited… Only one more sleep!

The main event

The tasting events at Roberson are always excellent affairs. There is plenty of bread, cheese and charcuterie in the middle of the table and Mark is an excellent host. What I hadn’t realised was the enormity of Mark’s love of all things Burgundy… It is his passion. And boy does it show! We were talked through the history of Vosne in interesting and entertaining detail, and then it was onto the wine.

Sitting in glass number 10 was the main event. I tried to ignore it. I couldn’t. I stuck my nose in… Let’s just say I was now even more excited. But first, there were another 9 wines to get through. Did I really manage it make it sound like such a chore?!

“Vosne-Romanee is the greatest Pinot Noir village on earth.” (Clive Coates MW)

The first 4 wines were Vosne “Village” wines from 4 different producers and 4 different vintages. Truth be told I was a little underwhelmed by all but one of these wines:

Sylvain Chathiard Vosne-Romanee 2009 (£74.95)
The best of the Village wines by some distance. Lots of sweet red fruit with a hint of earthiness, some sweet spice and leather on the nose. Very young but with a lovely silky texture, good complexity and very pretty indeed. Personally I would like a bit more acid but this one has a good few years ahead of it. 92 points

Meo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanee 2007 (£84.95)
More developed on the nose with some developing animal aromas supporting the red fruit. The fruit is a bit stewed and on the taste but there’s good acidity and a lovely spicy finish. Decent, but should be far better at this price. 90 points

Hudolet-Noellat Vosne-Romanee 2096 (£39.95)
There’s plenty to smell here with lots of red fruit and a very fragrant waft of violets – reminiscent of childhood sweets. Still very closed and the tannin is hiding the fruit. There’s some exotic spice but the wine is very disjointed and unbalanced. I’m not sure any amount if time is going to right this one. 85 points

Regis Forey Vosne-Romanee 2005 (£44.95)
A great vintage but a poor wine. Very dumb on the nose but there’s not much hiding. Not worth any more words. 78 points

The second flight of wines took us up to Premier Cru level and here the jump in quality was obvious. As they say, you pays your money and make your choice…

Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru “Aux Reignots” 2007 (£150.00)
Elegant and classy aromas of deep red fruit, almost red currant with delightfully exotic spices. On the palate the wine is silky smooth and has a delicious acidity. This is a wine of real class with magnificent balance and great length. 95 points

Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru “Aux Brulees” 2006 (£95.95)
Very strange aromas… And not in a good way! It’s exotic and but the spices are out if tune and the palate is sappy and green – it tastes of pine. I’m not a fan at all and personally think its a disgrace to this great village! 75 points

JJ Confuron Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru “Beaux-Monts” 2002 (£96.00)
Some darker fruit aromas here and some delicious exotic, middle-eastern spice. There’s also earthy evolution providing real complexity. On the palate the fruit is sweeter and reminiscent of dried raspberries and the spice is beautifully elegant and balanced. Lovely weight on the palate and this is a wine that is sweet, balanced and in beautiful harmony. Delightful. 94 points

Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru “Les Suchots” 1990 (£129.95)
I just love the smell of aged Burgundy! 1990 was a fine vintage and this is certainly a fine wine. There is still an aroma of red fruit but there’s a classic and sophisticated smell of old leather and smoke. On the palate there is a backbone of sweet fruit and gentle spice, but its the forest floor and leather notes which come to the fore. Real quality and still plenty of bright acidity. Classy. 94 points

Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru “Les Suchots” 2007 (£70.00)
So how does a younger vintage of the last wine match up? Well I actually struggled to find too much in common! This is all about the smell of Xmas with aromas of satsuma, ginger and spice. On the palate its quite butch upfront but then seems to dissolve into an elegant tangerine and cranberry finish. Atypical of Vosne but still interesting and attractive. Needs time but could be something quite special. 93+

And finally the time had come. Time to break my DRC virginity. Would it match my expectations??????

Domaine de la Romanee Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru 2000 (£755.00)
I have never smelt anything quite like this… I have no benchmark! It’s so sweet, so spicy and so complex. There is so much going on but everything just fits together like a perfect jigsaw. It starts with raspberries and wild strawberries, then there’s black cherries. It just comes at you in wave after wave of beauty. The spices are many; cloves, vanilla and nutmeg. Theres a delicious herbaceous nature of thyme, the acid is perfectly pitched, the tannins are so silky they seem to clean your tongue. The real magic is the balance of masterful concentration and silky elegance. I think the magic ingredient is, well magic! Utterly sublime. The best wine I’ve ever tasted. Wow. I need a lie down. 98 points

I love not being disappointed!