Spy Valley – A Diverse Selection of New Releases

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

• Spy Valley ‘Echelon’ Marlborough Methode Traditionnelle Brut 2010
  Sparkling Wine from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 29-Jun-2015

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright straw-yellow colour with slight golden hues, paler on rim. The bead is fine and modest in persistence. The bouquet is fresh with firmly packed aromas of ripe white and yellow stonefruits along with integrated nutty and bready autolysis notes, a soft creamy barrel element and nuances of smoke. The aromas blossom in breadth to show citrus and minerals. Medium-bodied and dry to taste, the mouthfeel is fresh and lively with creamy effervescence, revealing a tight core of white and yellow stonefruits, citrus fruits and fine, bready, nutty autolysis. The wine is elegantly proportioned with a chalky, minerally, textured core and line. This balances mouthwatering acidity with fruit and dosage sweetness, and the wine carries to a long, dry finish. This is a tightly bound creamy-textured, mouthwatering and minerally Methode Traditionnelle. Serve as an aperitif and with white meat dishes over the next 3+ years. Hand-picked fruit, 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay from the ‘Johnson Estate’ ‘Lodge’ and ‘B’ blocks, fermented in seasoned oak for 1 year to 12.5% alc. and 3.6 g/L RS, the wine aged on lees for 30 months before disgorgement. 18.0-/20 Jun 2015 RRP $36.90
• Spy Valley Marlborough Riesling 2014
  Riesling from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 29-Jun-2015

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright straw-yellow with green-gold hues, paler on edge. The nose is fresh with tightly bound aromas of fragrant lime and lemon fruit infused with wet-stone minerals and a mouthwatering flinty note, along with nuances of steel and smoke. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, soft and restrained flavours of lime fruit are harmoniously entwined with lemon, honeysuckle, sherbet and minerals. The textures are soft and the palate features a smooth flowing line. The acidity is ripe, lending gentle poise, and the wine leads to a delicately nuanced finish of rainwater and minerals. This is a soft and elegant dry Riesling with gentle lime and mineral flavours and a pure, smooth-flowing line. Serve as an aperitif over the next 4-5 years. Hand-picked fruit from the ‘Johnson Estate’ fermented in tank and old oak partially by indigenous yeasts to 13.0% alc. and 2.6 g/L RS, TA 7.1 g/L and pH 3.05, a portion going through MLF. 17.5+/20 Jun 2015 RRP $22.00
• Spy Valley Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2014
  Gewurztraminer from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 29-Jun-2015

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Brilliant straw-yellow colour with light lemon-green hues. This has a full and voluminous nose with blossoming thereal aromas of exotic florals, rose-petals, musk, and a subtle minerally and nutty underlay. The aromatics are fresh and youthful, building in depth and concentration with aeration. Medium-dry to medium in taste and fullish-bodied, the palate has good weight and presence, with fulsome and ripe fruit flavours of savoury exotic florals, lifted by rose-petal and Turkish Delight muskiness. The mouthfeel has a suggestion of unctuousness and oily flow, and the palate follows a fine phenolic line alongside fresh, lacy acidity, carrying to a rich flavoursome finish of creaming soda and musk. This is a fulsome rounded and weighty medium Gewurztraminer with savoury rose-petal. musk and Turkish Delight flavours. Match with Middle Eastern and Asian fare over the next 4+ years. Fruit from the ‘Johnson Estate’ fermented in tank and old oak to 14.5% alc. and 13 g/L RS, TA 3.9 g/L and pH 3.85, the wine aged 7 months on lees. 18.0+/20 Jun 2015 RRP $22.00
• Spy Valley Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013
  Pinot Noir from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 29-Jun-2015

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Dark ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues, lighter on edge. This has a fresh, aromatic nose of ripe dark raspberry fruit melded with toasty oak, and lifted by fresh herbs and red floral perfumes. Raspberry liqueur, plums, liquorice and spice elements emerge with aeration. Medium-bodied, the fruit flavours are initially restrained, but open up in richness and juiciness. Dark raspberries, red cherries and savoury plum flavours unfold. The mouthfeel is supple, with underlying tannins and structure lending good body and palate presence. Nuances of herbs, liquorice and raspberry liqueur grow and are carried with good alcoholic power and drive to a soft, well-concentrated finish. This is a rounded Pinot Noir with sweet raspberry and plum flavours, and good mouthfeel and presence. Match with poultry, pork and lamb dishes over the next 4+ years. Hand-picked fruit from the ’Johnson Estate’ and ‘Outpost’ vineyards, hand-picked and indigenous yeast fermented to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 12 months in oak. 17.5/20 Jun 2015 RRP $30.00
• Spy Valley Marlborough Syrah 2012
  Syrah from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 29-Jun-2015

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Full, dark, black-red colour, near impenetrable, with lighter purple hues on rim. The nose is softly full and voluminous with aromas of black berried fruits entwined with black pepper and earthy, minerally reductive notes, and subtle, underling dark herbal elements. A taut core is revealed, unfolding lifted pepper and black floral fragrances. Medium-bodied, this has a deep and intensely concentrated core of black berried fruits melded with dark herbs, black pepper and minerally reduction. The flavours are integrated and harmoniously presented, and enlivened by fresh, lacy acidity. The wine follows a supple line of extraction, leading to a fresh, lacy finish with bright acidity and lifted peppery notes. This is a harmonious, medium-bodied Syrah with black fruits and some reduction on a lively, refreshing palate. Match with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean fare over the next 4 years. 100% Syrah, hand-picked from the ‘Johnson Estate’ ‘Lodge’ block, and the ‘Outpost’ vineyard, partially destemmed and indigenous yeast fermented to 13.0% alc., the wine aged 22 months in barrel. 16.5+/20 Jun 2015 RRP $30.00
• Spy Valley Marlborough Noble Riesling 2014
  Sweet Wine from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 29-Jun-2015

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Full, even, light golden-yellow colour with some depth. The nose is full, rich and opulent with soft, but vibrant aromas of ripe tropical fruits, apricots, citrus zest, marmalade and talc botrytis. The fruit and botrytis are harmoniously interwoven, forming a penetrating core, and gently lifted with high-toned nuances. Very sweet to taste and medium-bodied, lush and opulently rich flavours of ripe tropical fruits, honey, marmalade and musk flow smoothly across the palate. The flavours are stylishly restrained, but the unctuous and rounded textures are the feature, filling the mouth. The acidity is soft, enhancing the richness, but there is good tension and energy for freshness. The flavours carry to a very long and sustained finish with honey, marmalade and musk notes. This is a rich, lusciously opulent Noble Riesling with restrained flavours and a smooth, unctuous mouthfeel. Match with crème caramel, fruit desserts and baked puddings over the next 5-6 years. Hand-picked extensively botrytised Riesling fruit from the ‘Johnson Estate’ ‘G’ block, fermented in old oak barrels and a small tank to 11.5% alc. and 145 g/L RS. (375 ml) 18.5/20 Jun 2015 RRP $22.00