17-Oct-2017
The ‘Alpine Valley and ‘Maui’ brands are sister brands to Royce and Sue McKean’s ‘Tiki’ label. The wines are based on Marlborough fruit primarily from the Upper Wairau, and offer accessible, varietally and regionally expressive drinking. The ‘Alpine Valley’ refers to the growing district of the Upper Wairau Valley, and ‘Maui’ refers to the Maori demi-god who according to legend fished and pulled New Zealand out of the sea. 2017 was a challenging season in that threatening rains required earlier harvesting. As a result the wines are more elegant with more intense aromatic character. The two Pinot Gris reviewed here have good fruit depth which lifts them into quality. The wines are made by Tiki’s winemaker, the very experienced Evan Ward. www.tikiwine.com
