When I first really started to get into wine it was back in 1993. I was at University in Christchurch and I got a job waitressing at a restaurant on Cashel Street. It was called Bardelli’s and it was the place to be seen. A dark, broody, moody space it was and with the entire back wall filled with hundreds of dripping red candles, it was seriously cool and the place heaved. On my first day I was given the so-odd-I’ll-never-understand-it nickname of “Dogboy” by the kitchen crew, one of whom went on to become one of the original WETA special effects guys before embarking on a highly successful film production career (just thought I’d throw that in there). Despite cringing every time he yelled “Dogboy!” over the pass, he did introduce me to the art of awesome antipasto platter production and for that I’ll be forever grateful. Stoneleigh Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was all the rage that year and our customers couldn’t get enough of it. I insisted the barman pour me a taste after a lunch shift where literally dozens of bottles had been emptied, and it was a wow-moment. That punch in the face of passionfruit, the grip of grass and gooseberry, the clash of cats pee and peach – I’ll never forget it. It was so pure.
For the few years that’s all I wanted; pure, clean, uncomplicated, fruit in a glass please. I wanted to know exactly what I was getting in my chardonnay, my sauvignon, my riesling, gris and everything else. It was fine, I was happy, until it got boring. Not more peachy chardonnay I moaned. Not another gooseberry-garnished sauvignon blanc I grizzled. Not another riesling that tasted like lemonade, urgh. My sipping habits had become too simple, saccharine and sigh-inducing. Then like light in the darkness, I happened across Sacred Hill’s barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc called ‘Sauvage’. It was another wow-moment and it set me on the path of seeking out wines that were a wee bit different. Whether it was weird and wacky varieties new to New Zealand or wines that pushed the envelope and showed what a bit of oak aging, wild fermenting, lees-working and blending can do. A whole new world opened up, especially when it came to finding wines that worked wickedly well with food.
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TW Wines Gisborne Verdelho 2014 $25 (3.5 stars)
Anita Ewart-Croy is a bit of a verdelho vixen if I do say so myself. Extremely rare in New Zealand, it’s a variety that’s the signature white grape of Portugal and it’s used to make those awesomely ageworthy, luxuriously sweet Madiera’s. Anita however, turns the Tietjen Witters fruit into a dry and mineral-focused style with marzipan, hay, lemongrass and peachy complexity. Serve chilled with salty cheese – yum!
www.twwines.co.nz
Leveret Estate Reserve Barrel Aged Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017 $29 (4 stars)
How is it that a sauvignon blanc can be fresh, frisky and citrusy, but also buxom and bodacious at the same time? When it’s the Leveret Reserve style, that’s how. Displaying all that juicy passionfruit, pineapple and lime loveliness we expect in Marlborough sauvignon, yet somehow morphing the herbaceousness into a soft, smoky spectrum of flavour – it’s a new favourite for sure.
For stockists email: fionam@wineportfolio.co.nz
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The crimson tide cometh!
Forbidden Vines ‘Weeping’ Marlborough Rosé 2017 $14.95 (4 stars)
Despite the fact that I normally want to run screaming from bottles with packaging like this, the wine inside is actually really good! With raspberries, watermelon, buckets of cherry and berry flavours abound, it’s seriously fruity and boasts naturally balanced sweetness and a long, textural finish.
www.babichwines.com
Opawa Marlborough Rosé 2017 $22.50 (4.5 stars)
From the talented team at Nautilus esate comes this generously proportioned and classically built rosé. I love how it erupts with melon, raspberry, creaming soda notes and cherry-berry flavours, plus it has a beautifully-tuned palate balance and a looooong, crisp finish. Superb stuff.
www.finewinedelivery.co.nz
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Rosé 2017 $23.99 (3.5 stars)
Pink diamond in the glass and made from 100% merlot, this wine is gutsy, plummy and packed with personality. Highly textural and juicy to drink, it also has a savoury element that will appeal to those that prefer their rosé on the crispy-dry side.
www.millsreef.co.nz
