In her 1959 recording Dinah Washington sang ''What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours'' ... so just imagine what two or three years would do?
Would it be as the Rolling Stones opined, that ''time is on my side'', or just simply as Bob Dylan might have penned in a wine-infused moment, that ''the wines, they are a changing''?
I dragged the trusty tasting duo of Collins and McLaren out of their January torpor to help me taste this trio of pairings in which time definitely seemed to be on their side!
Price: $19
Rating: Excellent
Pungent and powerful nose that offers cut grass, citrus, sweat and tropical fruit. Supple and soft entry, becoming zesty in the mid palate, adding gooseberry to the cut grass and tropical notes.
A cracking overall package offering good freshness and a long carry: perhaps softening a little on the close, but this delivers the goods.
Price: Not for sale
Rating: Excellent to outstanding
Perfumed and sweetly fruited with hints of seashell and fresh peas. Creamy and rich palate, an enticing, crisp, zestiness underpins the wine, which is fleshed out with gooseberry, pea puree and ripe fruit. Beautifully balanced, drinking superbly with a long, fresh, zesty finish.
Time has been kind to this wine.
Price: $22
Rating: Very good
Subtly perfumed at first, showing tropical fruit notes and citrus, gooseberry popping its head up with time. Richly textural palate, grassy, citrusy and a little peppery with a touch of salinity showing on the close. A powerful, crunchy, zestiness builds in the wine and runs through to the close.
A nice food choice.
Price: $22
Rating: Excellent
Asparagus and smoke, grass, passionfruit — the latter becoming more evident over time. The rich and creamy palate is brimming with flavour interest, adding nashi pear, tropical fruits and pepper to the peanotes, with a refreshing crispness bringing it all to a close.
Another wine that belies the adage that you shouldn’t age savvy.
Price: Not for sale (2017 vintage is $30 at cellar door)
Rating: Very good
Subtly perfumed with bruised apple, straw, and pea puree that quietly grows on you. A rush of sweetness floods the palate which offers ripe apple, straw, peach and pineapple notes.
For now, the sweetness seems quite marked and is sitting on top of the wine, but this may well integrate into the wine with more time.
Price: Not for sale
Rating: Excellent
Fragrant nose with smoke, bramble, peapod, straw and apple. In the mouth, this moves to canned pea, red apple, pineapple and straw; developing an alluring honeyed note with time. The sweetness here is neatly balanced by a surge of acidity drawing you through to the fresh, citrus-infused finish.
Nicely balanced and drinking well now, but I suspect, more to give.
