Pinot gris can be lush and medium sweet, but some of the most interesting ones have a proportion of barrel fermentation or lees contact which gives a hint of creamy nuttiness and texture to what can often be a fairly boring wine.
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective.
These are personal recommendations.
Alexia Wairarapa Pinot Gris 2010
$18.
Jane Cooper makes an attractive range of well-priced wines and this lush, fruity pinot gris oozing pears and sweet tropical fruit salad with a hint of manuka honey on the finish is no exception.
3 stars (out of 5)
Good value
$22
Ripe juicy pears, lush tropical and citrus fruit are supported by some texture and a crisp, intense finish.
3 stars (out of 5)
Average value
$27
An intense, textural wine with sweet pipfruit and underlying hints of mineral and creamy, nutty caramel, mouthfilling with a long finish.
3 stars (out of 5)
Average value
$29
Lush sweet pears with an underlying hint of mineral, this wine is medium sweet, hot in the mouth but with a crisp, textural finish.
3 stars (out of 5)
Average value
$35
Montana has rebranded itself as Brancott Estate, and this is its premium pinot gris.
Lively suggestions of pear are tempered with a hint of butterscotch, which brings interest and texture to this big, powerful wine.
3 stars (out of 5)
Below average value
$25
A hint of caramel and cashews underlies the ripe, spicy pears and brings texture and balance to this stylish, mouthfilling wine.
3 stars (out of 5)
Average value
ANOTHER GLASS
Toitoi Brookdale Vineyard Reserve Marlborough Pinot Gris 2009
$24
This is a simple attractive wine, hinting of pear and peach with a milky undertone.
3 stars (out of 5)
Average value
Framingham Marlborough Pinot Gris 2008
$25
An older, mellowed pinot gris with enough fruit weightto support the undertones of burnt milk and nuts, and a long, textural, powerful finish.
3 stars (out of 5)
Average value
Opawa Marlborough Pinot Gris 2010
$23
resh and floral, with a hint of pear and a dryish, hot finish.
2 1/2 stars (out of 5)
Below average value
