KEY POINTS:
"Tell me", said the young woman on the Waiheke ferry, "Is there some disparity between your top 10 wines and the wines you tasted and really enjoyed in the last 12 months?" She caught me unawares and I mumbled something or other about probably not, well maybe, yeah
possibly, not sure ... It was a pathetic, evasive response that deserved a better, emphatic answer.
Frankly, I needed time to reflect and be totally honest. The "best of" list labours under certain criteria. Where possible the wines ought not to be excessively priced. That's difficult. A "best of" ought to be an open competition and price often does reflect quality.
Secondly the wines ought to be readily available. And thirdly they should be New Zealand wines because, well they just should - that's what we usually drink, that's what is readily available and, being a tad patriotic, that's what we primarily like to promote. All very noble. But frankly, in the course of any given year, and being a wine obsessive, I will encounter wines from all over the world. There are three wines that didn't make the "best of" list for 2008 in the Canvas of December 20 but which were simply astonishing - one of them a New Zealand wine.
First up, a riesling. When it comes to sumptuous rieslings, Austria leads the pack. This one is Hiedler Gruner Veltliner Spiegel 2007. A dry style with expressive sherbet limestone and gravel flavours it explodes in the mouth and at $30 a bottle seems pitifully cheap. Secondly, Chateau Cheval Blanc 2000 (France). A formidable St.
Emilion wine from a truly astonishing vintage. Described as the only great red wine in the world made predominantly from cabernet franc, it exudes concentration and richness. It would easily be in my top five wines of all time. At $1200 a bottle you'd want it to be.
Finally, Blake Family Vineyard, Redd Gravels 2005. Founded in 2000 to create a world-class Bordeaux-style red blend, it is without doubt the best New Zealand red I have ever tasted. A blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Soft, subtle, gentle but with a velvet texture and balance that is quite exquisite. Only 298 cases were made. It's sold out. Sometimes excellence exits early.
Recommended
2007 Fromm Riesling Spatlese
Delicate, low alcohol (7.5 per cent) and sweet. It's youthful, fresh with a drying finish and a lovely delicate floral nose. Elegance and style.
Price: $27
2006 Askerne Merlot Malbec Cabernet
This merlot-dominant (60 per cent) wine is from a Hawkes Bay producer with an eye for quality wines at an affordable price. Savoury, spicy with an herbaceous underbelly, it's good value.
Price: $20