A couple of terms may confuse the novice wine enthusiast: horizontal and vertical wine tastings.
I should set the minds of the uninitiated at rest by confirming these do not relate to the after-effects of too much imbibing, nor to any peculiar seating arrangements, but rather, they refer to the vintages tasted.
At a horizontal tasting one might try a grouping of the same type of wine and vintage (e.g. 2014 Hawke's Bay merlots), whereas at a vertical tasting one would taste the same wine, from the same producer, over a number of different years.
Vertical tastings can be a fascinating exercise in exploring various facets of a wine.
Naturally, you get to see how well the wine ages, but you may also get a better idea of what sort of age in the wine you prefer.
While the younger wines may show the increasing influence of vine age, the changing vintages may also show variability in winemaker input as they become more attuned to what their particular site will give them, year after year.
Similarly, the changing climate each year and the steps the viticulturist and winemaker have taken to work within those confines will leave its own imprint on each wine.
On a work trip to Central Otago last year, I had the opportunity to sit down with Phil and Mike at Grasshopper Rock at Earnscleugh and taste a vertical of every pinot noir they had produced.
There was a clear family line running through the wines. Vine age and finely tuned viticulture naturally played their roles in the developing vintages, but the fascinating thing was the differences imparted by each growing season (illustrated by Phil's growing season graphs). It was a rewarding and hugely educative tasting.
A rummage in the cellar produced a mini-vertical of rieslings.
Price: About $33
Rating: Excellent to outstanding
A subtle nose, moving from white flowers, spice and musk to floral notes. Intense sweet fruit on the palate with honey, apple and stonefruits leading on to a textural, chalky, pithy element. Youthful and powerful, the flavours build to the long, citrusy finish. Mouthfilling, neatly balanced, with that zingy acidity bringing it all together.
Lovely now, yet with time ahead of it.
Price: N/A
Rating: Outstanding
Honey and wild flowers, citrus and savoury and a whisper of kero: wet stones come with time. Delightful creamy entry to the honeyed palate with cooked apple, apricot and stonefruit. Rich and supple up front before a laser beam of acidity courses through the wine, bringing marvellous freshness.
Sheer delight in a glass.
Price: N/A
Rating: Very good to excellent
Spice and honey, barley sugar and an umami character. Fruit sweetness yes, but drier than one might think, with the honeyed elements more reminiscent of beeswax and comb honey. Initially more compact on the palate (perhaps age or vintage?), this fleshes out, the finish lengthens and the acidity sweeps in.
Tasty drinking now, unlikely to improve.
