Donaldson Family Pegasus Bay 1999 Finale (Waipara) From 375 ml. My last, and best, bottle, exploding with spicy complexity, rich bronzed peach, and luxuriant texture. Fabulous. (9/09)
Brajkovich Kumeu River 2000 Chardonnay (Kumeu) Nowhere near maturity, and not due to the longevity-increasing qualities of screwcap, either; this ones under cork. Peach has blue-shifted slightly to apricot, orange to pear, and theres an ever-so-slight emergence of both tan earth and light spice, but with the fruit still mostly primary and the good structure still firmly in place, the only real sign of movement so far is a reduction in the textural presence of oak (though as noted earlier, the aged and spicy component thereof is still quite shy). Id let it rest for another five years, at least, before venturing another taste. (9/09)
Donaldson Family Pegasus Bay 2006 Riesling (Waipara Valley) Lake, rather than river, riesling...by which I mean theres a tranquility, and the mineral/structural underpinnings rest placidly rather than race past. Ripe apple, sweet lime, and a sunny acidity also play their part. A very engaging wine, still in the flush of youth. (8/09)
Fromm La Strada 2002 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) As with previous bottles, somewhat at war with its structure. The tannin is layered and ripe, but heavy for the wine (which is darker and more brooding than many pinots, and certainly almost all other Marlborough pinots), and even the usual counterpoint of fat doesnt quite cut through the muscle. I dont know if this will hold long enough for the structure to abate, and so my inclination is to drink up over the short term. All this warning and layering of caveats aside, the wines dark berries, earth, and autumnal hardwood aromas are still present and powerful. (8/09)
Dog Point 2004 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) One of the holdouts against screwcaps in New Zealandand, of course, corked. (10/09)
NewHarbor 2008 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) A whiff of reductive stink at first unscrewing, but after a dozen minutes or so it blows off. The fruits plummy, but arid rather than rich, with a diagonal plane of tannin thats nearly but not completely transparent (the effects are more prominent late in the game). Theres earth, and theres vinyl, plus a touch of burnt tire. Just a tiny bit green, but also purplishthe wine would be better-served in all cases by a little more attention to the middle. Its not bad, though its not great either. (8/09)
Boekenhoutskloof 2008 The Wolftrap (Western Cape) A syrah/mourvdre/viognier blend. The viognier (or some viognier-aping aromatic yeast) is aromatically dominant, but otherwise this is sweet, sweet, sweet fruittoo sweet for my tastes, with ripeness in the slightly candied blueberry and sticky plum pudding realm. Patently grasping for mass appeal, and failing to be of more than anti-academic interest as a result. Boekenhoutskloof, while decidedly New World in style, can make much better wines than this elsewhere in the range. (9/09)
Meerlust 2000 Pinot Noir (Stellenbosch) Though it shows none of the obvious signs, theres every likelihood that this has undergone long-term storage damage, so read what follows in that context: tired, yet still huge, with powdery tannin dominant and a syrah-like smoky leather component about all thats left of the appealing side of the heavy fruit. Still dark mahogany, ranging towards purple, and pretty solid throughout in both color and weight. An intact bottle might be better. (8/09)
Rosemount Estate Diamond Label 2005 Riesling (South Eastern Australia) Solidly made, clean and simple, with a good acid/sugar balance and flavors that hover in the lemongrass-grapefruit range. Theres not all that much of anything, but theres enough for well-chilled quaffing. (8/09)
Brajkovich Kumeu River 2000 Chardonnay (Kumeu) Nowhere near maturity, and not due to the longevity-increasing qualities of screwcap, either; this ones under cork. Peach has blue-shifted slightly to apricot, orange to pear, and theres an ever-so-slight emergence of both tan earth and light spice, but with the fruit still mostly primary and the good structure still firmly in place, the only real sign of movement so far is a reduction in the textural presence of oak (though as noted earlier, the aged and spicy component thereof is still quite shy). Id let it rest for another five years, at least, before venturing another taste. (9/09)
Donaldson Family Pegasus Bay 2006 Riesling (Waipara Valley) Lake, rather than river, riesling...by which I mean theres a tranquility, and the mineral/structural underpinnings rest placidly rather than race past. Ripe apple, sweet lime, and a sunny acidity also play their part. A very engaging wine, still in the flush of youth. (8/09)
Fromm La Strada 2002 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) As with previous bottles, somewhat at war with its structure. The tannin is layered and ripe, but heavy for the wine (which is darker and more brooding than many pinots, and certainly almost all other Marlborough pinots), and even the usual counterpoint of fat doesnt quite cut through the muscle. I dont know if this will hold long enough for the structure to abate, and so my inclination is to drink up over the short term. All this warning and layering of caveats aside, the wines dark berries, earth, and autumnal hardwood aromas are still present and powerful. (8/09)
Dog Point 2004 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) One of the holdouts against screwcaps in New Zealandand, of course, corked. (10/09)
NewHarbor 2008 Pinot Noir (Marlborough) A whiff of reductive stink at first unscrewing, but after a dozen minutes or so it blows off. The fruits plummy, but arid rather than rich, with a diagonal plane of tannin thats nearly but not completely transparent (the effects are more prominent late in the game). Theres earth, and theres vinyl, plus a touch of burnt tire. Just a tiny bit green, but also purplishthe wine would be better-served in all cases by a little more attention to the middle. Its not bad, though its not great either. (8/09)
Boekenhoutskloof 2008 The Wolftrap (Western Cape) A syrah/mourvdre/viognier blend. The viognier (or some viognier-aping aromatic yeast) is aromatically dominant, but otherwise this is sweet, sweet, sweet fruittoo sweet for my tastes, with ripeness in the slightly candied blueberry and sticky plum pudding realm. Patently grasping for mass appeal, and failing to be of more than anti-academic interest as a result. Boekenhoutskloof, while decidedly New World in style, can make much better wines than this elsewhere in the range. (9/09)
Meerlust 2000 Pinot Noir (Stellenbosch) Though it shows none of the obvious signs, theres every likelihood that this has undergone long-term storage damage, so read what follows in that context: tired, yet still huge, with powdery tannin dominant and a syrah-like smoky leather component about all thats left of the appealing side of the heavy fruit. Still dark mahogany, ranging towards purple, and pretty solid throughout in both color and weight. An intact bottle might be better. (8/09)
Rosemount Estate Diamond Label 2005 Riesling (South Eastern Australia) Solidly made, clean and simple, with a good acid/sugar balance and flavors that hover in the lemongrass-grapefruit range. Theres not all that much of anything, but theres enough for well-chilled quaffing. (8/09)