While tasting this Pinot Gris lineup with my colleague Mr Collins, we had considerable discussion about one of the wines: he initially struggled with the style, whereas I was a fan.
Its hue and texture suggested time on skins, there was a hint of oxidative handling, it ticked some different boxes.
Mr Collins is a consumer advocate and ventured the comment "would the average consumer think this is ‘correct’ and/or typical of the variety?"
Typicality is something that many consumers aspire to; past experience leads to an expectation of what you get in a bottle/glass of wine.
Yet winemakers pushing the envelope while embracing being atypical can bring its own rewards.
2024 Rockburn Central Otago Pinot Gris
Rating Excellent
Deeper colour. Red apple,
pear, a light toffee note,
flirts with savoury notes,
white flowers florality more
perfumed as it opens. Not
your "typical" Gris,
quince, apple, preserved
lemon, a sense of
development, then a
rapier-like bolt of
acidity. Dry, a grainy
quality, quite different
mouthfeel with a chalky
aspect. If you’re looking
for standard Gris, look
away, if you seek
something fascinating,
jump in boots and all.
2024 Martinborough Vineyard Te Tera Pinot Gris
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Attractively fragrant,
apple and apricot,
generous and engaging.
Fatness and viscosity in
the mouth, just a
whisper off-dry yet
freshness too and
bright lift on the close.
Rounded, dry honey,
classically appealing
Gris. With time the
nose is more subtle,
by contrast the palate
more exuberant and
if you’re a Pinot Gris
fan this will be bang
on the money.
2024 Roaring Meg by Mt Difficulty Central Otago Pinot Gris
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Bright, youthfully expressed
nose, pears poached in
honey, perfume, a wisp of
herb in the background, a
little stony mineral perhaps.
Sweetly fruited palate,
candied fruits, fruit
pastille, lime zest, this
runs the fruit sweet path
rather than being overtly
sweet. Nice grip and
refreshing acidity on the
close adds to the whole.
Very nicely done.
2024 Mt Difficulty Central Otago Pinot Gris
Rating Very Good to Excellent
An impression of being
drier. Subtly attractive
notes of nectarines and
citrus, wisps of lanolin
and herb with air. The
palate offers fruit
lozenge fruit sweetness,
countered by juicy
apple, a hint of
bittersweet apricot
kernel continuing the
drier theme. With time
gently nutty aspect to the
nose, while a seashell
nuance adds contrast to
the palate. Builds nicely
in the glass.
2023 Misha’s Vineyard Dress Circle Central Otago Pinot Gris
Rating Excellent
Musk leaps out of the glass,
rose, spices, nectarine,
lovely fragrance. Creamy
texture, carrying the
characters from the nose
to the palate, that spicy
quality really evident, a
mineral note, closing on
lime zest. A drier style
with impeccable
balance, air sees this
flesh out, the fruit
sweetness now clear to
see yet still closing dry.
In a really good place to
enjoy now.
2024 Pegasus Bay Whole Bunch Fermented Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Excellent
Bold nose with nettle, cut
grass, smoke, orange rind,
gooseberry joining in too.
Nice vibrancy in the
mouth, sweetly ripe fruit,
melding that ripeness
with the classically
green herbal tanginess,
again a cooling quality
on the long, crisp
finish. This is all in
super balance, fleshing
out further with air, the
flavours even more
intense, filling the
mouth.
