Not everything in wine tasting is good and glamorous. Sometimes one has to taste really bad wine, actually quite a lot of the time one is tasting really average wine!
Well this week was no exception with our Pinot Noir Tasting held here in Grey Lynn. There was a small line up of ten wines and some of which I was really looking to tasting again.
We started with Wines of Ara 'Resolute' and we were off to a very bad start. There wasn't anything subtle or delicate about this wine. It had lost its fruit and was all acid and oak that just look like Pinot Noir. OK it was their 2005 vintage and, from memory, I think it was their first vintage. I have tasted this wine before and it was acceptable. Now however, I will award this wine 85 points.
Maude Central Otago 2007 was next and this faired no better. There was obviously more fruit and complexity relative to the first glass but only just. It had a beautiful robe of ruby/crimson and on the nose there was spice and burnt cherries dominated by oak. The palate displayed that there was fruit but the overall impression was over ripe fruit and oak. 86 points.
Pisa Range Estate 2006, Wild Earth 2007, Wooing Tree 2007, Beetle Juice 2007 (second label from Wooing Tree), all scored 88 points.
The clear winner, which surprised me, was Cloudy Bay 2005. This wine was very refined on the nose with hints of ripe blackberries and star anise. The oak was evident but well managed and the fruit not over ripe nor green. The palate was layered with great texture and showed some good minerality. A quality example of New Zealand Pinot Noir after close to 4 years in the bottle. Who said NZ Pinot Cannot age gracefully? Well it was me!
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