Well with the onset of Summer the rosé wine has started to appear on the shelves. It wasn't that long ago that New Zealand Produced only a handful of rosé wines, and most of those were very mediocre to say the least.
Now, I can report, there some fantastic examples to be found and most producers are doing one in many different styles, and from all regions.
The three main areas for rosé are production are Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, and Central Otago. The wines from Hawke's Bay tend to be made from Bordeaux varietal's, whereas the wines from Central tend to be made from Pinot Noir.
Marlborough on the other hand makes rosé from everything, as it has such diverse plantings most of most common varietal's. The wines made from Merlot, Syrah, or Cabernet Franc are generally on the dry side and those made from Pinot Noir on the sweeter end of the spectrum.
My favourites from the 2008 NZ vintage are Odyssey, Hatton Estate, La Strada, and Ata Rangi.
The wine from Odyssey shows great colour with good depth of character with plum and red current being the most obvious fruit.
There is a good amount of dryness to this wine that makes it ideal for salads and fruit dessert.
Hatton Estate was beautifully crisp and dry with an abundance of fruit and very textural on the palate and good length.
La Strada is surprisingly from Merlot rather than Pinot Noir, as one would expect from such a great producer. There is great texture associated with this wine and good purity fruit and firm and dry.
The Ata Rangi is beautifully balanced with nothing other than fruit and acid that holds this wine together perfectly. This wine is great with seafood and salads and should definitely be a wine for the summer BBQ.
No comments:
Post a Comment