Dwindling columns until the break meet a backlog of wines yet to be published.
A quintet of Waitaki Valley wines that are well overdue are joined by a Central buddy today. Te Kano winemaker Dave Sutton is the current head of the Waitaki Valley winegrowers body and is striving to further the visibility of this tiny wine region with regular mail-outs of wines to writers.
A Waitaki/Central blend riesling joins a rare muscat, a pinot gris and two roses to showcase the diversity of the region, sharing the honours with a Central rose.
Muscat a Petit Grains
Price RRP $25
Rating Excellent
Delightfully fragrant, fresh cut grapes, musk, spice, fresh, bright and engaging.
With time, lemon verbena and a wisp of struck match.
Carries those characters on to the palate, adding preserved lemon.
Deliciously different, fruit sweetness, closing just off-dry.
An almondy bittersweet note adds to the finish, bringing that dryness.
I’m won over by its immediacy and its charms.
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Pinot Gris
Price RRP $39
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Fragrant, the fruit quietly in support, grape and red apple with a touch of spice, a hint of struck match later.
Cool and fresh, crisp acidity, picking up lemony citrus and a little almond bittersweet quality with a cooling feel to the close.
A drier style that with its bright acidity should make a nice accompaniment to food.
Price RRP $35
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Exuberant and inviting nose, dried strawberry, peach, fruit pastille, a little spice too, immediate appeal, youthful.
There’s some nice grip to this, fine tannins, riffing on the fruits with a stony/gravelly aspect in the background, developing a touch of orange zest on nose and palate with air.
Excellent flavour depth, great balance, elegant, finishing nicely dry.
Valley Pinot Rosé
Price RRP $30
Rating Excellent
The nose suggests tanginess and dryness, subtlety but quite a bit going on.
The palate moves between stonefruit and red apple, minerally too, allied with that tangy quality and very fine tannins.
Deceptive power under the hood with lovely length.
Certainly can be enjoyed on its own, but likely to be an excellent food partner too.
Nicely expressed.
Pinot Noir Rosé
Price RRP $22.99
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Fragrant nose, quite expressive, hard candy and red berry fruits.
Sweetly fruited front palate, medium-weight with savoury touches, perhaps a little spice.
There’s juiciness and crunchiness to the palate which is quite engaging, adding to the freshness.
That contrast between candied sweetness versus zestiness works very well on the close.
