Quarter Acre 2016 Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and 2015 Syrah

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

• Quarter Acre Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2016
  Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 30-Mar-2017

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, pale straw-yellow colour, lighter on the edge. The nose is elegant and tightly bound, still to develop, but showing a fine and intense core of green stonefruits and gooseberries with subtle notes of nuts and flinty minerals. The aromatics are clean, clear and mouthwatering. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate is refined and concentrated, quite slender in presentation, with flavours of gooseberries and green stonefruits along with subtle nutty and mineral detail. The fruit is enriched and enlivened by crisp, lacy acidity and the wine flows along a very fine line with energy and drive, leading to a long, lingering, tightly bound finish of gooseberries, herbs and minerals. This is a youthfully tight, concentrated, oak influenced Sauvignon Blanc with green stonefruit and gooseberry flavours, subtle flinty detail on a lively palate. Match with seafood and herb-marinated poultry dishes over the next 3 years. Hand-picked fruit from the company’s Maraekakaho vineyard, indigenous yeast fermented in seasoned puncheons and barriques, with a portion in tank, with full solids to 12.0% alc., the wine aged 5 months on lees. 17.5+/20 Mar 2017 RRP $26.99
• Quarter Acre Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2016
  Chardonnay from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 30-Mar-2017

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, even, pale straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, lighter edged. The nose is fine and intensely concentrated with tightly bound aromas of citrus fruit and white stonefruits interwoven with nutty and spicy oak in an amalgam of flinty mineral detail. The aromatics build in intensity with aeration. Medium-full bodied, the palate is fine and taut, with elegantly concentrated flavours of citrus fruits and white stonefruits melded with a layering of spicy, nutty oak and creamy barrel-ferment notes and lemon-curd MLF. The palate is complexed by flint and minerals. The palate has strong linearity and is guided by fine textures, and the mouthfeel is enlivened by bright, brisk acidity. The wine carries to a long, lingering finish of citrus fruit and spicy oak. This is an elegantly taut but concentrated, lively and powerfully driven Chardonnay with citrus, stonefruit and nutty oak flavours. Serve with seafood, and creamy poultry and pork dishes over the next 5 years. Hand-picked fruit from ‘Doc’s Block’, Haumoana, WBP and indigenous yeast fermented on full solids to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 9 months on lees in 60% new French oak barriques with 30% MLF. 19.0-/20 Mar 2017 RRP $34.99
• Quarter Acre Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2015
  Syrah from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 30-Mar-2017

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Dark, deep, black-hued ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues, a little lighter on the rim. This has a full and softly voluminous nose of ripe fruit aromas of blackberries and dark raspberries entwined with black pepper, liquorice and spices. The aromatics for a deep core and are harmoniously presented. Medium to medium-full bodied, the palate has rich and mouthfilling flavours of ripe blackberries, dark raspberries, black pepper and liquorice, unveiling Asian spice notes. The fruit is supported by fine-grained tannin extraction and structure, with balanced, integrated acidity. The palate has a fine heart with positive linearity that carries to a harmonious finish with flavours of black fruits, pepper and spices. This is a gently mouthfilling Syrah with rich blackberry, pepper, liquorice and spice flavours on a finely structured palate. Match with roasted red meats and semi-hard cheeses over the next 5-7 years. Hand-picked fruit from hillside and old river bed vineyards, destemmed and indigenous yeast fermented to 13.0% alc., the wine on skins for 30 days total and aged 20 months in 40% new French oak barriques. 18.5/20 Mar 2017 RRP $34.99