New tastes: Trying a new kind of wine can be fun. Photo / Getty Images
New tastes: Trying a new kind of wine can be fun. Photo / Getty Images
Marlborough sauvignon blanc, Hawke’s Bay chardonnay, Central Otago pinot noir – these and other classic wine styles have enduring appeal. But it can be fun to taste something different. Try these.
Brown Brothers Moscato Strawberries & Cream
★★★
This highly gluggable, wine-based beverage is based on Victorian wine made frommuscat grapes, “infused with natural strawberries and cream flavours”. Fresh and lively, it is gently fizzy, with sweet, grapey, strawberryish flavours. Light, simple and charming. (8% alc/vol) $14-$20
Dancing Petrel Paewhenua Island Mangonui Northland Tannat 2021
★★★★★
Although extremely rare in New Zealand, (only 3 hectares are planted), tannat is well known in southwest France, especially as a key ingredient in the dark, firm, tannic reds of Madiran. Tannat is also a star variety in Uruguay, yielding firm, fragrant wines with rich blackberry flavours. Well worth discovering, this deeply coloured red is sturdy and densely flavoured. Dark and purple-flushed, it is an energetic, very ageworthy wine, with bold, spicy, berryish, plummy flavours, firm but not grippy tannins, and very impressive weight, structure and richness. Best drinking 2026+. (13.5% alc/vol) $50
Rock Ferry The Corners Vineyard Marlborough Nebbiolo 2021
Nebbiolo is the foundation of Piedmont’s most majestic red wines – Barolo, Bardolino and Gattinara – renowned for their complex leather and tar flavours, powerful tannins and great longevity. However, New Zealand has just 1ha of nebbiolo vines. This rare but convincing example was estate-grown at Rapaura, in the Wairau Valley, and matured for 14 months in seasoned French oak casks. Full-coloured, it is fragrant and sweet-fruited, with deep, vibrant, plum and spice flavours, nutty oak adding complexity, and good tannin backbone. From a variety known for “serious” wines, this is a seriously good red. Already delicious, it is well worth cellaring to 2026+. Certified organic. (13.5% alc/vol) $65
Wine of the week
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Marsanne/Viognier 2020
★★★★★
Cultivated extensively in the northern Rhone Valley, France, marsanne yields powerful, sturdy white wines, but it is extremely rare in New Zealand, with 0.5ha planted. This is a mouthfilling, fleshy blend of marsanne (92%) and viognier (8%), hand-picked and fermented and matured for 17 months in seasoned French oak barriques. Pale gold, it has concentrated stonefruit flavours, gently seasoned with oak, finely balanced acidity and a dry finish. A complex, savoury, rather chardonnay-like wine, it’s a drink now or cellaring proposition. (14% alc/vol) $40
