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So here we are – after today the world will never be the same. What will Trump do. He has certainly promised a lot of changes and there is nothing in his history to suggest he won’t carry out much of what he has said. Interesting times await.
Whatever Trump does will affect the world but here in New Zealand it’s the weather that has had an impact. The wind has just gone on and on and here in Auckland there have been only a few days which could be described as ideal barbeque weather. And it’s definitely slowed down sales of barbeque wines. There haven’t been many evenings where you could sit outside as the sun disappears. Roll on February and some summer weather.
Some of the wines that ran out before Xmas have arrived back in store – notably the two American reds that had proved so popular.
The McManis Petite Sirah 2015 $18.99 and The Crusher Petite Sirah 2014 $20.99 are the same vintages and there have been a lot of people waiting for their return.
The McManis wine was served on Wednesday evening and already we have had to reorder more cases.
On Wednesday we tasted the big brother of one of our most popular wines. We now have the Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Californian Chardonnay 2015 $30.99. Yellow gold with characters of vanilla, spicy oak and peaches with a long creamy finish.
Currently available are the last stocks of two outstanding Chardonnays. The Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2014 is a great wine. It’s now a rich golden colour and the palate is full of toasty, oaky, buttery flavours. A “big” wine, the style of Chardonnay many of us find very delicious. $31.99. We noticed a local supermarket with this wine “on special” – at $54.99.
The other Chardonnay that we now have limited stocks of is the Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Chardonnay 2015. This wine will just get better with some time in the cellar and at the $27.99 price is great buying.
The new 2015 Chocolate Box Barossa Shiraz is a cracker and it was very popular at the tasting. The bouquet is all oak, chocolate and cherries and in the palate it has blackberry, chocolate, mocha, pepper and a long luscious finish. Impressive – one of the best yet. $20.99.
A couple of new super premium wines are now on the shelves. Molly Dooker Carnival of Love McLaren Vale Shiraz 2014 received 95 pts from Wine Spectator Magazine and a 5 star rating in Winestate Magazine. Winestate’s description is “A huge Shiraz – dense purple in colour with a plum jam and chocolate nose and a silky smooth palate. Well managed ripe fruit flavours with plenty of chocolaty oak to match. $120.00. We are going to taste this wine next Wednesday.
Molly Dooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2015. If you are into big Aussie Shiraz, this one has 16.5% alcohol with characters of black cherries, blueberries, mocha and dark chocolate. Will cellar for 10 years. $86.99.
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Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2014
This is a great wine. It’s now a rich golden colour and the palate is full of toasty, oaky, buttery flavours. A “big” wine, the style of Chardonnay many of us find very delicious.
First Glass Price: $31.99. |
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Kim Crawford Small Parcels Wild Grace H.B. Chardonnay 2014
This is now a rich golden full-bodied wine full of citrus and toasty oak. Served with just a touch of chilling it’s buttery and smooth with caramel and butterscotch. Huge flavours that linger long on the finish. Limited stocks of this double gold medal winning wine remain available.
First Glass Price: $22.99. |
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McManis Petite Sirah 2015 - California, USA
Youthful bright purple red in the glass with chocolate, mocha and mushrooms on the nose and a smooth creamy palate with loads of ripe redcurrant fruit, pepper, mocha, leather, roasted herbs and a terrifically fulsome and flavoursome finish with lingering hips of rosehip jelly. Heading into the irresistible category.
First Glass Price: $18.99. |
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Chocolate Box Barossa Valley Shiraz 2015 - South Australia
Concentrated pinky red hue. The bouquet is full of vanillin oak, chocolate and cherries and there’s noticeable spice in the palate that has a smooth velvety flow with a little bit of tension to the texture hinting of its youthful age. It's full of juicy blackberry and mulberry fruit with crushed chocolate cherry biscuits, hints of mocha, loads of pepper, savoury oak and a lingering aftertaste that’s luscious and long.
First Glass Price: $20.99. |
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Tohu Awatere Valley Pinot Gris 2016
There's an attractive honey poached pear and apple vibe both to the bouquet and flavour that's has a smooth front and mid-palate flow with the moderately dry finish jazzed up with by freshness of citrus and a touch of ginger. Value drinking from the Awatere Valley. Gold - NZ International Wine Show.
First Glass Price: $14.99.
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Falconhead Hawk'es Bay Viognier 2014
The hue is light golden, the bouquet is nutty and spicy with a touch of exotic tropical fruit – pawpaw and mango come to mind – and it is concentrated and heady in the palate where the variety's typical apricot flavours are a star. The texture is noticeably oily which makes the mouthfeel so soft and rounded, and warm exotic spices add spark to the finish.
First Glass Price: $11.99. |
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Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2015
Light golden hued. All gunflint, toasted oak and sizzled butter on the nose and the taste is full and fleshy yet with loads of oak, flinty characters and wild yeast funk. Seems ultra savoury but the lingering aftertaste is all grapefruit and peach. Another that will unfold magnificently with more time. Gold NZIWS.
First Glass Price: $27.99. |
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Terra Sancta Central Otago Pinot Noir Rosé 2016
Watermelon pink with a bouquet of wild strawberries and red cherries and quite rich flavours (for rosé) with a light viscosity to the texture. It’s somewhere between dry and medium in sweetness level with a slightly herbal / savoury nuance balancing the pinot noir fruit and a lingering tingle of spice. Must be chilled of utmost enjoyment.
First Glass Price: $23.99. |
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Sebastiani Sonoma Copunty Zinfandel 2013
This dark red, medium-bodied seducer is harmonious and juicy with sweet cedary oak and supple tannins providing a smooth, easy texture. Flavours of dark plum, cocoa, spice, blueberries and currants and a smoky, creamy, vanillin sweetness.
First Glass Price: $19.99. |
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Niv Findlay was our winner of last week’s Saturday Challenge. The wines were Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Riesling and Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2014.
Our 3 lucky email winners this week area:
- Richard Walsh
- Christine Laverty
- Kirsten Windmeyer
If your name is listed here you have won a bottle of wine. It’s yours to collect – no hurry, no expiry or best before date. Plus your name goes into the big prize draw on Xmas Eve. |
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Sat 21st January: Saturday Challenge – no charge
Wed 25th January: No set theme – 11 wines tasted “blind” includes the Molly Dooker Carnival of Love ($120). - $15 entry fee.
Wed 28th January: Saturday Challenge – no charge
The Master of Wine Series
Several years ago we staged a series of tastings hosted by Masters of Wine. We are going to run this series again with MW at a Wednesday tasting once a month.
We begin the tasting this year with Bob Campbell MW on Wednesday the 15th February. Put the date in your diary as the Bob Campbell evenings are always entertaining and very popular.
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First Glass January 18 2017
Summer Selection
Notes by Sue Courtney
Wines were tasted blind
Leefield Station Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016
Straw gold with a slightly sweaty nuance to pineapple / passionfruit / lime bouquet an the taste is pungent and full of tropical fruit, peach and tangy citrus flavours with a touch of capsicum and basil and a zesty feel to the party-in-the-mouth finish. A Brent Marris label. Gold AirzNZ. 12.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $15.99.
Sileni The Lodge Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2015
Glossy light gold with a bouquet that offers nuances of smoky oak, pink bubblegum and grilled stonefruits. Lightly toasted oak is upfront in the palate and while initially quite zesty, concentrated fleshy white peach and nectarine flavours build up and the finish is creamy and savoury with the slightest hint of butterscotch – it will develop more of this extremely desirable character with bottle age. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $26.99.
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2015
Light golden hued. All gunflint, toasted oak and sizzled butter on the nose and the taste is full and fleshy yet with loads of oak, flinty characters and wild yeast funk. Seems ultra savoury but the lingering aftertaste is all grapefruit and peach. Another that will unfold magnificently with more time. Gold NZIWS. 14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $27.99.
Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2015 - Monterey & Santa Barbara, California, USA
Quite a yellow gold in the glass and the bouquet seems quite mellow with vanilla infused cedar offering a point of difference to the norm. Savoury in the palate with brightness to the spicy oak and a soft, full-bodied, smooth flowing, creamy texture and a long pleasing finish with a suggestion of smoked panna cotta and peaches. 14.5% alc. Cork. First Glass Price: $30.99.
Tohu Awatere Valley Pinot Gris 2016
There's an attractive honey poached pear and apple vibe both to the bouquet and flavour that's has a smooth front and mid-palate flow with the moderately dry finish jazzed up with by freshness of citrus and a touch of ginger. Value drinking from the Awatere Valley. Gold NZIWS.
13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $14.99.
Terra Sancta Central Otago Pinot Noir Rosé 2016
Watermelon pink with a bouquet of wild strawberries and red cherries and quite rich flavours (for rosé) with a light viscosity to the texture. It’s somewhere between dry and medium in sweetness level with a slightly herbal / savoury nuance balancing the pinot noir fruit and a lingering tingle of spice. Must be chilled for utmost enjoyment. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $23.99.
Te Awa Single Estate Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet 2014
Inky red black with a crimson glow to the edges. The bouquet is rich and full with a hint of chocolate, a touch of smoke and juicy brambles. It smells ripe and ready and the flavour delivers with a youthful sappy vibe, touches of cigar box, a nuance of mint, a slightly youthful firm tannin edginess underpinning juicy plum and cassis fruit and a long persistent finish. Lovely wine that begs for barbecued lamb. Gold NZIWS. Gold AirNZ.
14% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $24.99.
McManis Petite Sirah 2015 - California, USA
Youthful bright purple red in the glass with chocolate, mocha and mushrooms on the nose and a smooth creamy palate with loads of ripe redcurrant fruit, pepper, mocha, leather, roasted herbs and a terrifically fulsome and flavoursome finish with lingering hips of rosehip jelly. Heading into the irresistible category.
13.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $18.99.
Chocolate Box Barossa Valley Shiraz 2015 - South Australia
Concentrated pinky red hue. The bouquet is full of vanillin oak, chocolate and cherries and there’s noticeable spice in the palate that has a smooth velvety flow with a little bit of tension to the texture hinting of its youthful age. It's full of juicy blackberry and mulberry fruit with crushed chocolate cherry biscuits, hints of mocha, loads of pepper, savoury oak and a lingering aftertaste that’s luscious and long. 15% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $20.99.
Rockbare McLaren Vale Shiraz 2015 - South Australia
Black red with a shiny appearance. The bouquet offers up polished oak and an intriguing floral allure (possibly violet / fresh lavender) and intense berry fruit. Very fine in texture – the fine tannins making for an elegant flow across the palate with loads of eucalypt and a heap of pepper. Polished and stylish with a mint chocolate finish. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $25.99.
Chocolate Box Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 - South Australia
There’s a fine hint of chocolate on the nose together with currants and blackberries and it is lifted in the palate with moderately firm tannins, polished oak, earth and leather and the classic combination of cassis, mint and cedar. More of a medium-bodied style (compared to the sibling shiraz) with good colour, a spicy kick to the nicely resolved finish and a lasting impression of chocolate raisins and mint. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. First Glass Price: $20.99.
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George, their leader, a big burly man of 53, gets off his Harley, walks through a group of gawkers, past the State Trooper who was trying to talk her down off the railing, and says, "Hey Baby.....whatcha doin' up there on that railin'?"
She says tearfully, "I'm going to commit suicide!!"
While he didn't want to appear "sensitive," George also didn't want to miss this "be-a-legend" opportunity either so he asked ..."Well, before you jump, Honey-Babe...why don't you give ole George here your best last kiss?"
So, with no hesitation at all, she leaned back over the railing and did just that ... and it was a long, deep, lingering kiss followed immediately by another even better one.
After they breathlessly finished, George gets a big thumbs-up approval from his biker-buddies, the onlookers, and even the State Trooper, and then says, "Wow! That was the best kiss I have ever had, Honey! That's a real talent you're wasting, Sugar Shorts. You could be famous if you rode with me. Why the hell are you committing suicide?"
"My parents don't like me dressing up like a girl."
It's still unclear whether she jumped or was pushed.
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