 Peter
WagnerWhites: 2007 Nobilo Pinot
Gris, New Zealand, $11. Pinto Gris, aka Pinot Grigio in Italy, is a
relatively uncommon white wine for the USA, but is slowly becoming more
popular. Nobilo, and New Zealand generally, are best known for Sauvignon
Blanc. Nobilo has never been a standout, but is right in the pack of good
quality, fairly priced, wines. Their Pinot Gris surprisingly emerged from
the recent San Diego wine competition a white wine sweepstakes winner. It
has a typical stone fruit (peach-like) nose. The palate is viscous and rich
with strong, fresh peach/pear fruit intensity and medium acidity. The palate
is full and lasting. While pinot gris is not quite as appealing to me as
sauvignon blanc in terms of flavors, this wine is very, very good indeed,
especially at the price. It would pair well with a creamy chicken dish, or
with a full flavored cheese.
2007 MAN vintners Chenin Blanc, Coastal South Africa, $7. This one is for
Andy Young of Natick, who thought I had forgotten! Serious Chenin Blanc is
hard to find these days. This wine is sumptuous. The nose combines apricots,
lemon and tropical fruit with a touch of burnt sugar after standing a while.
The palate is clean, rich and viscous with excellent acidity - just as well,
as there is a touch of sweetness. In fact, I suspect there may have been
some botrytis (aka “noble rot”) in the vineyard. That would explain the
concentrated, viscous, slightly sweet, apricoty nature. Layers of apricot,
lemon and tropical fruit are very evident, with a touch of cashew nut. The
length and balance are excellent, and for just $7, it’s a terrific value.
This will be a real crowd pleaser with its strong fruit, lush ripe off-dry
flavors and good acidity. Drink it cool to cold.
Reds:
2006 Neil Ellis Pinotage, Stellenbosch, South Africa, $14. This medium dark
wine has an earthy dark cherry and spice nose with sweet vanilla. The palate
is soft, spicy, and earthy with lots of rich dark cherry/plumy fruit and
definite black pepper (not a bad thing at all). Tannins are soft, length and
balance are excellent. Probably not a wine to keep too long, but it’s very
nice right now. Tasted blind, I would have guessed it was a Syrah.
2004 First Drop Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, $14. This is a very
pleasant example of Oz shiraz, good value for the price. There is earth,
black pepper and a floral grape character on the nose. The palate has the
same features, with excellent acid, medium tannin, and medium weight.
Structure is good, length and balance are fine. Not outstanding, but
definitely good enough to recommend at the price.
2007 Castle Rock Pinot Noir $10. Castle Rock has consistently overdelivered
Pinot Noir for the price, and the new 2007 vintage is no exception, but it
is $1-2 more than last year. I am told their secret is in adding small
amounts of Syrah, enough to bolster the fruit intensity but not enough to
hide the more delicate Pinot Noir flavors. This wine has a nose of cherry
with some black pepper (the latter perhaps from the Syrah). The fruit is
forward, medium in intensity and clean with red and black cherry flavors.
There is spice, black pepper, a touch of stemmy green character and nice
acidity. Tannins and oakiness are light, and the length is quite good. This
is attractive, not deep or complex, but easy to drink and tastes like a
Pinot.
2006 Slipstream Grenache, McLaren Vale, South Australia $20. This is a bit
more expensive than most I write about, but if you want a pure expression of
ripe, tasty Grenache, this would be a very good one to try. The nose has
floral red berry character with a touch of black pepper. The palate is
forward with very good red cherry and strawberry flavors, sweet vanilla,
light oak and tannin, OK acid and good length. This is a medium weight wine,
but at 14.5% alcohol, there is a bit of heat evident on the palate.
2005 Kilikanoon Shiraz “Parable” McLaren Vale $33. This wine is definitely
pricier than most that appear here, but is absolutely first class,
delicious, deep, complex, balanced, elegant, and well worth the price for a
special occasion. The nose is not what makes this wine - it is a bit closed,
with some plums and dark cherry and wood. The palate is truly sensuous. The
mouthfeel is velvety smooth, viscous and rich with intense fresh, ripe dark
plums and cherries. Acidity is perfect, tannins and oak flavors are clearly
in the background. There is depth and complexity of flavors and very good
length. It has 15% alcohol, but you would never know it because of the fruit
intensity. I have tasted more wines which both cost more than $33 and are
far less interesting or good than this one than I care to remember.
2004 Elderton “Command” Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, $80. I have
not tasted this, and therefore am not technically recommending it. Plus, as
you all know, I try and find you wines under $15-20 that are better than
their price, so this one does not fit. Year after year I love this wine, but
last year it went for “only” $60. The problem is that Robert Parker gave the
2004 a score of 98, so that despite the price it will soon be history!! 98
is a better score than given to most Bordeaux First Growths that sell for
3-4 times the price, and it still costs only ¼ the price of the two Oz
classics (Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace). I am fully confident
that the 2004 Elderton is fabulous, but I have not been able to part with
$80 yet, even though per dollar it is likely better than most of the
so-called great wines of the world. If anyone out there experiences the
2004, please tell me what it is like. I am sure words like massive,
concentrated, elegant, and complex will come to mind. |
