Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2011
Johanneshof Cellars
Top Wine of the Tasting
Johanneshof Cellars is a small artisan winery producing wines from hand harvested grapes, sourced only from their own vineyards and selected growers in Marlborough. Johanneshof is jointly owned by Edel Everling a fifth generation winemaker from Ruedesheim in Germany and Warwick Foley from Marlborough. Both winemakers trained in the Rheingau, before setting up Johanneshof Cellars in 1991.
A good day at Johanneshof is a very good day indeed and they can be relied upon for some of the most luscious Gewurztraminer and Riesling wines around. This wine is full of aromas of jasmine and white flowers. Off-dry in the mouth, the palate is rich and deliciously oily in texture with impressive palate concentration and depth of flavour. Those flavours are nicely varietal with spicy notes, clementines, rose petal and a lick of vanilla. This wine’s very good balance and very good length of flavour are both notable qualities.
Reviewed by Colin Ford
This tasting note was originally published in Wine NZ Magazine.
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WineNZ Magazine's Best Value Chardonnay
Church Road Chardonnay 2011
Pernod Ricard
Best Value Chardonnay Over $25
Church Road Winery is one of the oldest in Hawke's Bay was founded in 1897 and then totally renovated in 1989. Now part of the huge Pernod-Ricard empire, the team at Church Road produce some excellent wines - especially from their Reserve range.
Church Road is always there or there-abouts when it comes to really good value Chardonnay and have regularly featured in our tastings. This 2011 example from Hawke’s Bay shows powerful toffee and lemon characters on the nose with tons of oak and citrussy fruit. The palate is somewhat more refined; not quite so explosive, with a light lemon-honey or honeycomb note that is deliciously rich and nutty. This is a wine of good concentration, focus and length and you’ll often see it around at less than $29.
Reviewed by Colin Ford
This tasting note was originally published in Wine NZ Magazine.
To View and Order: Click Here
Boizel: Over-Delivers for its Price Point
Champagne Boizel Brut Reserve NV
Maison Vauron
Founded in 1834, five generations later the house is still run by the family. The non-vintage from Boizel is a rich, complex style that spends at least three years on lees in the cellar - when the law requires only 15 months. Boizel undoubtedly over-delivers for its price point.
Mid yellow in colour. Displays an elegant nose; fresh and youthful but with good doughy autolysis. The palate is ripe and rich, slightly mushroomy and quite full bodied with nice, elegant balance.
Reviewed by Colin Ford
This tasting note was originally published in Wine NZ Magazine.
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A Very Stylish Example of this Variety
Te Mania Nelson Pinot Gris 2010
Lace Fine Wine Merchants
Nelson's Te Mania are one of the leading wine producers in their region. Their wines are typified by purity of fruit and very good balance, making wines that are simply great to drink.
This is a style of Pinot Gris that, I believe, shows a genuine understanding of the variety by the winemaker. The aromatics are restrained, even subdued, showing a light fragrance of pear. The palate however is wonderfully textural and shows excellent balance of fruit, acidity, alcohol and phenolic components. There is a smooth, polished core of flavour with minerality and a firmness of texture that lends this wine to accompanying food. The palate has moderate length, but all in all this is a very stylish example of this variety.
A couple of glasses of Te Mania Nelson Pinot Gris proved to be a delicious, satisfying match with our rustic casserole of pork and fennel sausages with cannelli beans.
Reviewed by Colin Ford
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