Regular readers will sympathise with the editorial staff assigned the role of laying out the various articles for the Fresh section of the newspaper. 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 Price RRP $40 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. www.spyvalleywine.co.nz NV No 1 Family Estates Methode Traditionelle Rose Price RRP $49 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. www.no1familyestate.co.nz 2022 Quartz Reef Bendigo Gruner Veltliner Price RRP $45 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. www.quartzreef.co.nz 2022 Mt Rosa Gibbston Pinot Blanc Price RRP $40 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. www.mtrosa.co.nz 2022 Mt Rosa Gibbston Rose Price RRP $35 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. www.mtrosa.co.nz 2022 Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Rose Price RRP $26 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. www.mtdifficulty.nz 2022 Hawkshead Central Otago Rose Price RRP $36 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. www.hawksheadwine.com Ara Zero* Marlborough Rose Price RRP $18.99 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. www.arawines.co.nz
