Recipes, wine and beer columns, images, advertising and the like; invariably different from week to week, that all need to be wrestled into a visually cogent whole.
This allows me room for a finite number of reviews per week, so as a consequence, I frequently end up with inexact numbers of wines looking for their place in the sun.
Today acts as a roundup for them.
Enjoy the variety!
2020 Spy Valley Echelon Methode Traditionelle
Rating Excellent
Biscuity, toasty
aromas, yeast leesy
notes, underlying
that wisps of peach
and citrus. Very
fresh, crisp and
bright palate, zesty
acidity, good
mousse, rather
mouth-filling with a
wisp of jellied fruit
on the finish. Real
citrussy drive to this
in a drier expression;
would work as
neatly with food as
an aperitif. Fresh,
racy, very engaging.
NV No 1 Family Estates Methode Traditionelle Rose
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Smoky notes, a little
yeasty funk,
toastiness, fresh and
dried strawberry. Fatter,
richer in the mouth with
great flavour intensity
matched by a lovely
mousse. Those
strawberry notes
reappear, red currant,
fruit ripeness that is
snapped into line by a
laser beam of acidity.
Further exploration
shows a drier aspect
within that wonderful
depth of flavour.
Delicious.
2022 Quartz Reef Bendigo Gruner Veltliner
Rating Excellent
Appealingly aromatic,
spicy elements,
pepper, fruit pastille,
peach/tropical notes
appear. Rich,
weighty, a sense of
viscosity to this with
a chalky fruit pith
aspect adding to the
textural interest.
Driven by that texture
and rich mouth-feel,
the fatness would
make it a great food
choice. Grows in
richness, pepper
coming through, dry
close, quite serious.
2022 Mt Rosa Gibbston Pinot Blanc
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Very aromatic, floral,
rose petal, shifting to
stone fruits, pear and a
smoky nuance, quite
engaging.
Slippery oily mouth-
feel, fruit sweetness
yet finishing dry, the
stone fruit elements
leading the way, very
user-friendly and
appealing. Aeration
brings out the drier
aspect to this, picking
up almond and apricot
kernel notes on the
close.
2022 Mt Rosa Gibbston Rose
Rating Excellent
Not your sweetly
perfumed style, this is
savoury & minerally
with plum-tinged fruit.
Sweet entry though
with hard candy,
mixed berry fruits
dusted with icing
sugar, flowing to a
savoury, dry close,
again with plum.
Creamy mouth-feel,
developing stewed
rhubarb and a
bittersweet aspect
which adds freshness
and contrast. Good
length, nicely done.
2022 Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Rose
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Perfumed, strawberry
and summer berries.
Sweeter fruited entry
with hints of
confectionery, ripe
and dried strawberry,
perhaps a wisp of
melon before some
attractive chewy grip
adds to the palate
interest as it moves to
a drier close. Nice
texture, some
refreshing apple skin
tanginess with
aeration. Bang in the
slot to enjoy now.
2022 Hawkshead Central Otago Rose
Rating Excellent
Rating Subtle at first,
hints of pomegranate,
closer to raspberry
than strawberry, and a
stony aspect. Drier
palate with engaging
freshness, again
structure underpinning
this with chewy grip
on the finish: tautness
in a nice way. Good
flavour intensity and
excellent length,
aeration adding a
glimpse of musk with
a sweet/savoury
interplay. Lots to enjoy
here.
Ara Zero* Marlborough Rose
Rating Very Good
Tangy nose, apricot
and stone fruits, fruit
sherbet, a citrussy hint.
Prickly, tangy entry,
carries similar
characters as the nose
on a lighter-bodied
frame. Plays in the
sweet & sour spectrum
with stonefruit aspects
to the fore. Typical of
many of its zero alcohol
brethren in its lighter
guise; I miss the body
& weight that alcohol
provides, but fresh &
zesty drinking.
