Waimea Estates – A Remarkable Wide Range

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

• Spinyback Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2010
  Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand - Nelson

  Review Date : 15-Apr-2011

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Brilliant straw-yellow colour with green hues, this has a soft, full, seemingly forward nose with pungent green bean, herbal and asparagus aromas. Dry on palate, this is fresh and crisp with very good depth of luscious, pungent, gooseberry, herb and nettle-like fruit flavours. A lively wine, this possesses excellent line and length. Match with seafood, salads, vegetables and Mediterranean fare over the next 2-3 years. Fruit from the Waimea Plains, cool stainless-steel fermented to 13.5% alc. and 3.4 g/L rs. 17.5-/20 Apr 2011 RRP $16.00
• Spinyback Nelson Pinot Gris 2009
  Pinot Gris from New Zealand - Nelson

  Review Date : 15-Apr-2011

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Made from fruit from the Waimea Plains, cool fermented in stainless-steel to 14.0% alc. and 5.8 g/L rs, and given lees stirring. Bright straw-yellow in colour with light golden hues, and a pale edge, this has a soft, full, honied, apricotty nose that is attractively voluminous. Dry to taste, this is a soft textured and accessible wine with light stonefruit and minerally flavours, touch by a hint of reduction. The mid-palate is quite mouthfilling, and the wine has a light, dry finish. Serve as an aperitif or with antipasto over the next 2-3 years. 16.5+/20 Apr 2011 RRP $16.00
• Spinyback Nelson Chardonnay 2009
  Chardonnay from New Zealand - Nelson

  Review Date : 23-Apr-2011

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, pale straw-yellow with pale green hues, this has a fresh, lifted bouquet of nectarines, herbs and spices with some smoky, flinty complexities. A fresh, dry and elegantly styled wine, this is soft and easy to appreciate with its citrus and nectarine fruit flavours and elements of nutty, flinty sulphide complexities. Modestly weighted, softly textured and with good balance. Made from fruit from the Waimea Plaines, partially barrel-fermented to 13.8% alc., and 3.6 g/L rs, then given less stirring. An all-purpose food wine to drink over the next 3-4 years. 16.5/20 Apr 2011 RRP $17.00
• Waimea Estates Nelson Dolcetto 2008
  Other Red from New Zealand - Nelson

  Review Date : 15-Apr-2011

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  This is Waimea Estate's second release of a Dolcetto, the north-west Italian varietal sitting below Nebbiolo in fame. Bright fruitiness, high tannin profile and low acidity are its hallmarks. Made from fruit from the Moutere clay-soiled ‘Golden Hills' vineyard, this was fermented to 13.5% alc., with some carbonic maceration employed, the wine then aged 8 months in 25% new American oak. Medium deep ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues, this has an intense bouquet of dark red berry and cherry fruits along with notes of aniseed, tar, herbs and spices. The palate has a firm tannic background with the dark, spicy cherry and liquorice flavours lifted by sweet vanilla oakiness. The extraction provides a healthy grip to make it a match for hearty lamb and barbecued red meat dishes over the next 4-5+ years. 17.5-/20 Apr 2011 RRP $23.00
• Waimea Estates Nelson Syrah 2008
  Syrah from New Zealand - Nelson

  Review Date : 15-Apr-2011

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Dark ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues, this has a fine, intense, aromatic nose of dark berry fruits, black pepper and complex floral, spice and game notes showing. Sweet American oak adds a rich lift to the bouquet. This is a fine-textured wine with linear fruit expression of good intensity. Medium-weighted, black fruits, violetty florals, pepper and sweet oak combine to balance the textures. This elegant, well-ripened wine has the subtle, dry finish, and will match wild fowl and game meats over the next 5-6 years. Made from fruit from the Marr's ‘Golden Hills' site on Moutere clay soils, fermented to 14.0% alc., and aged 10 months in new and seasoned American oak barrels. 18.0/20 Apr 2011 RRP $25.00