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 This
event was supported under the kind auspices of the New Zealand
Consulate. Our reception wine was the 2001 Framingham Marlborough
Dry Riesling. Of note, this bottle has a screw top cap, which
brought some laughs to those of us pouring the tasting wines when
we passed a corkscrew to people asking them to open the bottle.
There has been much discussion on the differences between screw
top and cork for bottles, and we were informed by Mr. Hertscheg,
that while the cork is used to let a wine age, some wines, e.g.
whites, do not benefit significantly from aging and are suitable
for a screw cap top. The Framingham Riesling had a nice nose with
limes and honey, and has good acidity.
Harry
began the tasting by giving us some background on the general
style of white wines crafted in New Zealand. He pointed out that
the white wines, typically the Sauvignon Blancs have very green,
crisp, clean flavours. They would be good with salads due to the
acidity of these wines.
Our
tasting proceeded by tasting each of the Sauvignon Blanc wines,
talking about the wines and voting on our favorite and second
favorite. We did the same for the Chardonnays and the Pinot Noirs.
 The
Sauvignon Blancs varied in style from very intense, tart apples,
lemons, passionfruit and high acidity to wines with less bouquet,
but still having a green apple and lemon/grapefruit taste, and
lower acidity. The first choice was the Staete Landt Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc which falls in the latter category while the second
choice goes to the Stoneleigh Vineyards Marlborough Sauvignon
Blanc and is characteristic of the former style.
Our Chardonnay's varied in style from the typical oak scented,
smooth, low acid style against a style with more apple/citrus/floral
bouquet and taste. The exception to this was the Sileni Estates
Chardonnay which had a very distinct bouquet and taste. There
was a mix of peach, melon fluit flavours, combined with smoky
oak and crisp acidity. The bouquet was very strong. Some people
that initially tasted this wine did not rank it highly, but later
decided that it went well with the food served. The favorite Chardonnay
was the Clifton Okahu Estate Chardonnay with its oaky bouquet
and notes of spice, and pleasant smooth mouth feel. The second
favorite was the Staete Landt Marlborough Chardonnay which had
some oak, but also spice, lemon and nectarine flavours.
 The
last set of wines we tasted were the Pinot Noirs. The Morton Estate
comes from the North Island and the Shingle Peak comes from the
South Island. We were expecting the North Island Pinot Noir to
be more intense due to the warmer climate, but we found the opposite
to be true. The Morton Estate Pinot Noir was medium red in colour,
and had oaky, earthy, and cherry flavours with good tannins. The
Shingle Peak was more intense. The colour was deep purple. There
was oak, mint, leather and cherry tones to this wine. The favorite
Pinot Noir was the Shingle Peak Marlborough Pinot Noir.
 Tasting
Selection
Our favourite Sauvignon Blanc wines:
1. 2001 Staete landt Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
2. 2001 Stoneleigh Vineyards Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
Our
favorite Chardonnay wines:
1.
2000 Clifton Okahu Estate Chardonnay
2. 2000 Staete Landt Marlborough Chardonnay
Our
favorite Pinot Noir was the 2001 Shingle Peak Marlborough Pinot
Noir.
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