Joining me on the tasting panel today were Dunedin wine enthusiasts Alastair McLaren and Ricky Collins.
The tasting involved a group of current release wines from Central Otago which are mostly from the 2013 vintage, along with a couple from 2012.
I raided my cellar for a back vintage of one of the wines to offer perspective.
The pleasure level here was very high with the wines showing well across the board, with a couple performing particularly well.
The wines were all served blind in completely randomised order, though in an unexpected quirk of these things we discovered that the back vintage wine emerged served alongside its younger counterpart, while all the 2013 wines ended up side by side.
They are reviewed in the order they were tasted.
Price: Priceless (may be available at auction)
Rating: Outstanding
Mellow nose, maturity? Smoke, sage, wild herbs, dark cherry and savoury notes. Real complexity and sumptuous richness; a sweet core of fruit. Excellent length and fabulous mouthfeel. Aeration brings notes of forest floor and tilled earth with a tinge of leather. Stunning wine, drinking extremely well.
Price: About $100
Rating: Excellent
Spices and barrel influence, young and vibrant. Dark fruits and plums with a sweet core of raspberry. Powerful palate: the finish is more about the structure for now. Not fully integrated yet but everything is there. Savoury notes come with aeration. Hints at its future complexity.
Price: $44-$47
Rating: Very good
Hint of mint, with toasty char. Oak notes quite dominant. Plummy fruit with cherries in the mouth. Powerful grip' fruit a little lighter mid palate. Touch of lead pencil on the finish. Some whole bunch stalkiness comes with aeration while the firm palate opens up.
Price: Around $42
Rating: Very good
Rich and ripe on the nose, brooding with hints of dark chocolate. Very powerful in the mouth, rather tight and unyielding yet, though with an excellent finish. Monolithic wine that needs time and food to reveal itself fully. Some cranberry, savoury notes and herbs come with time in the glass.
www.forrest.co.nz/collections/tatty-bolger
Price: $31-$33
Rating: Excellent
Floral, fragrant with typical Central bright cherry notes. A finer boned style in a positive way. Light on its feet with lovely flavour persistence and excellent balance. Approachable and very appealing wine with hints of underbrush and herb and fine tannins. Excellent length. Strawberry notes with time in the glass.
Price: $45-$50
Rating: Outstanding
Subtle nose with wild notes, dark cherry and a seasoning of oak. Gorgeous palate with vibrant, ripe sweet fruit, savoury touches and wild herbs. Layers of flavour here with great complexity and intensity. A complete wine with marvellous flow through the palate. Long finish with good tannic grip. Delicious
Price: About $40
Rating: Excellent
Perfumed notes on first sniff, (rose petal?) followed by lovely sweet dark cherries. Has the yummy factor. Open for business right out of the blocks. Quite a linear wine, while at the same time ripe, pure and very appealing. Seamless flow through the mouth.
Price: $46-$49
Rating: Outstanding
Very appealing nose, fragrant with oak notes. The palate reveals spices, wild herbs and cherries. A very complete and integrated wine with lusciousness and excellent mouthfeel. Hints of minerality and tilled earth. Good tannic grip. A very complex wine with a silky finish. Delightful.
