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 This
evening we celebrated the wide range of excellent wines from New
Zealand. In attendance to this event was Consul General Anne Chappaz
and Colleen
Wilkinson who supports New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. We started
the event with Karl Kliparchuk, who briefly covered the history
of wine making in New Zealand and then had Paul Watkin who led
us through the tasting of our wines.
Our
reception wine was the Lindauer Brut NV.
It is made from pinot noir and chardonnay grapes that are grown
in Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Marlborough, and matured on it's
lees for 18 months. It had a biscuity and citrus aroma. The bubble
was small and elegant. There was citrus and biscuit flavours.
 We
started our tasting with five different white wines. The first
two wines were sauvignon blanc, but not the most typical when
you think of this varietal. Most sauvignon blancs are very citrusy,
zesty and pungent. The first wine, the Wairau
River Sauvignon Blanc 2000, was an aged sauvignon blanc.
This sauvignon blanc comes from the famous Marlborough region
on the South Island. It is 100% stainless steel fermented. As
this is an aged sauvignon blanc, the wine was golden in colour.
A younger sauvignon blanc would be a pale straw colour. It had
vegetal, honey, and apricot aromas. It had some acidity and a
nice round mouthfeel. Due to the aging, it also had a woody/nutty
flavour. There was some discussion about this wine, due to it's
age. It was noted by Paul, that the sauvignon blanc is one of
the two main grapes in Bordeaux and these wines are aged. This
wine worked well with the prawn appetizer. The second wine was
the Matua “Paretai” Sauvignon
Blanc 2005. Paretai is a Maori word for river bank. This
wine scored 93 points and is listed in the TOP 100 WINES in Wine
Spectator (Dec 05 issue). Bill and Ross Spense started the Matua
winery in 1973. One of their greatest achievements was the production
of the first New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc! In 2001, the Australian
conglomerate Beringer Blass bought controlling interest. This
was was pale straw in appearance but left big legs in the glass.
It had a petrolly, citrus and pine needle aromas. There was nutty,
citrusy and oily flavours.
 We
then enjoyed the Pegasus Bay Riesling 2004.
These grapes come from the Canterbury/Waipara region on the South
Island. This wine was pale straw in appearance. It was very aromatic
with petrol, perfume and spice. On the palate it had a nice balance
between sweetness and acidity. There was flavours of petrol, apple
and nutmeg. Overall a very tasty wine. This wine also went well
with the prawns.
The next wine was the Brancott “Patutahi”
Gewurztraminer 2002. The grapes for this wine come from
the Patutahi region of Gisborne, North Island. The wine had lychee,
rose petal and honey aromas. It had flavours of citrus and woodiness,
and had a tangerine finish. This wine went well with the vegetatble
tart.
Our last white wine of the evening was the Wither
Hills Chardonnay 2004. The grapes come from the Marlborough
region of the South Island. The wine is 100 per cent barrel-fermented
and lees stirred, remaining in oak for 12 months. Part of the
wine underwent malolactic fermentation to add smoothness to the
wine. The first vintage was 1992. This wine had tropical fruit,
oak and vanilla aromas. It had a round mouthfeel, with spicy,
apple and peach flavours. This wine went well with the proscuitto
and with the cheese.
 We
started our red wines with the Sileni Saginee
Rose 2005. This wine is a merlot-dominant blend, grown
in Hawke's Bay, North Island. The winery is named after the Sileni
who featured in Roman mythology alongside Bacchus, the God of
Wine. They celebrated good wine, good food and good company. The
juice spent 48 hours on its skins, then was run off to barrels
for fermentation and three months' oak-ageing. The wine had a
light red, candy coloured appearance. The bouquet was primarily
of cherries, with some earthy aromas. There was a bit of spice
and acidity to this wine. It had cherry flavour and a short finish.
The Nobilo Merlot 2005 was our next
wine. The grapes come from the Auckland area on the North Island.
This wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks. A portion of
the wine was then transferred to French and American oak for 10
months of maturation. A portion of the wine also underwent malolactic
fermentation. This wine had a medium cherry red appearance in
the glass. It had a bouquet that was flowery with some light cherries.
This wine was smooth on the palate, continuing with cherry flavours.
Our last red wine of the evening was the Voss
Estate Pinot Noir 2002. This wine comes from the Martinborough
area. It had a wonderful bouquet with hints of violets, cherry
and candy. On the palate there was nice acidity and smooth tannins.
One tasted cherries and strawberries.
We completed the evening with the Konrad
and Co. Late Harvest Riesling 2001.
This
is from the Marlborough region. The winery was founded and owned
by German immigrants, Konrad and Sigrun Hengstler. This wine was
golden orangy in the glass. It was crammed with aromas of peach,
honey, botrytis and apricot. The wine had a good balance of sweetness
and acidity.
 Tasting
Selection
Our favourite white wine was the Pegasus
Bay Riesling 2004.
Our favourite red wine was the Voss
Estate Pinot Noir 2002.
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