New Zealand gewurztraminer is typically fragrant with rose petals, ginger, cologne and lychees, but sometimes it's made in a more savoury style with texture and complexity balancing the sometimes outrageous fruit.
Best Value
Three stars (out of five)
Good Value
A generous, mouth-filling wine oozing luscious aromas and fruit - jasmine, cologne, rose petals, ginger, mint, lychees - a bit like an odalisque's boudoir, hot and full-on, but nevertheless with just enough restraint to keep within the bounds of good taste.
Three stars (out of five)
Average Value
Pungent with herbs and flowers - mint, cologne and velvety rose petals, a slightly savoury, textural undertone and a well-balanced finish.
Three stars (out of five)
Good Value
Effusively fruity and aromatic, with overtones of mint, basil, lime, cologne, lychees, ginger, roses, peaches and mangos, this is nevertheless balanced by a bright, firm finish.
Deliciously over the top.
Four stars (out of Five)
Average value
Fragrant with roses and lychees, but also textural with savoury, slightly nutty undertones, concentrated, long and harmonious. A sophisticated wine that will benefit from bottle age.
Four stars (out of five)
Average Value
A lush wine, oozing lychees, tinned peaches and rose petals with hints of cologne and ginger, oily-textured, sweet and mouth-filling, but balanced by a clean, long finish. Another wine to benefit from bottle age.
Three stars (out of five)
Average Value
From Dhana Pillai and Mark Hesson's vineyard above Alexandra, this is not a gewurztraminer but a rosa muskat (also known as schonburger).
It's an off-dry, full-bodied white, fruity and mouth-filling. Good with food.
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
