Wine Reviews

About the Reviews: Wine Trade Online aims to provide the licensed trade with practical, useful information about which wines are most likely to succeed and produce profits for our members... Our regular wine reviews specifically assess a wine's place in the market, examining packaging and labelling, wine style, value for money and how customers are likely to respond to these. Quality is assessed and where the wine is positioned in the market-place is taken into consideration... [Read More - Click HERE] Muddy Water Waipara Syrah 2008 Waipara, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $33.00 The world's most southerly grown Syrah - and it is delicious! We Recommend... Stack it high. You can recommend this with confidence! Skilled winemaker Belinda Gould is crafting a fine range of flavoursome, characterful wines at Muddy Water in Waipara, North Canterbury. Muddy Water claim to be the world's southern-most producer of Syrah. If that is the case, then it just goes to show that quality wine comes from the margins - because this is delicious! Intense and fragrant on the nose with notes of dried herbs, this wine is bright and vibrant on the palate showing dark berries and exotic spices. A moderately bodied wine with good concentration of flavour and excellent depth, it is tautly structured witht tannins that are firm and fine-grained and with lifted acidity on the finish. Superb length. To View and Order: Click Here Te Mania Reseve Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Nelson, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $25.00 A thoroughly enjoyable contrast of rich fruit and oak with minerality and lifted Sauvignon Blanc acidity, that really works. We Recommend... Stack it high. You can recommend this with confidence! Nelson's Te Mania are one of the leading wine producers in their region. Their wines are typified by purity of fruit and very good balance, making wines that are simply great to drink. One of the best oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc I have tried in a long time, Te Mania Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008 is ripe and appealing on the nose, packed with citrus, passionfruit and pine-apple notes. These characteristics follow through onto the palate and are supported and complexed by the judicious influence of oak. There's a thoroughly enjoyable contrast of rich fruit and oak with minerality and lifted Sauvignon Blanc acidity, that really works. A match for a wide range of moderately flavoured foods, this was delicious with a home-made seafood chowder. It would be equally at home with flavoursome chicken dishes or with a classic Pork Roast. To View and Order: Click Here Muddy Water Fitzgerald Vineyard Chardonnay 2008 Waipara, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $30.50 Will reward lovers of ripe, creamy chardonnays with its finesse and complexity. We Recommend... Recommended for value and variety. Skilled winemaker Belinda Gould is crafting a fine range of flavoursome, characterful wines at Muddy Water in Waipara, North Canterbury. From their Grower's Series, this Fitzgerald Vineyard Chardonnay is produced from fruit sourced from a site near the township of Waipara that is currently undergoing transition to organic certification. Complex and aromatic in the glass, the nose of this wine shows fine-fruit characters with significant oak influence. The palate is creamy and deliciously smooth, featuring those fine fruit flavours again; stonefruit and grilled nuts, along with plenty of quality oak influence which should, with time, integrate more subtly. There is good concentration on the palate and really satisfying depth of flavour. Although still youthful at this time, this is quality wine that will reward lovers of ripe, creamy chardonnays with its finesse and complexity. To View and Order: Click Here Iho Gisborne Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Gisborne, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $23.50 An interesting and moorish spin on New Zealand's favourite variety. We Recommend... Recommended for value and variety. Iho takes its name from the Maori word for 'essence' and former Pernod-Ricard winemaker Brent Laidlaw has hit the nail on the head with this interesting and moorish spin on New Zealand's favourite variety. An excellent example of the growing movement towards New Zealand Sauvignon with a little development and maturity. This is a big, full flavoured wine with plenty of citrus and stonefruit flavours, showing complexity from yeast influence and bottle development gained over time. The way the oak is seamlessly integrated is particularly appealing, providing lovely texture rather than overt oak flavour. Certainly a foodie wine style, Iho Gisborne Sauvignon Blanc 2007 naturally lends itself to restaurant settings. Why not grab a few cases for something special - and profitable - for by-the-glass sales over summer! Reviewed for Wine Trade Online by Colin Ford To View and Order: Click Here About the Reviews cont.: All products are tasted and reviewed by Colin Ford: Colin has been involved in the liquor trade since 1984. He has worked in New Zealand, Australia, France, UK and US. From 1997 - 2000 Colin participated in the Institute of Masters of Wine education program. Colin has been an Associate Judge at the Liquorland Top 100 and Royal Easter Show wine competitions. And he's a regular panellist for Wine NZ magazine's tastings. Have Your Product Reviewed We invite producers, importers and distributors to submit samples for review on the understanding that our reviews are completely independent. For more information, please click here. Wine Trade Online Limited 182 Woodlands Park Road Titirangi, Auckland 0604 Telephone: (09) 816 9393 Email: info@winetradeonline.co.nz Web: www.winetradeonline.co.nz Address for Deliveries: Winework Solutions Limited 246 Jervois Road Herne Bay, Auckland 1011 All Wine Reviews Alfred Gratien Brut Classique NVAnchorage Unoaked Chardonnay 2004Artisan Geordies Block Chardonnay 2005Babich Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006Babich Marlborough Pinot Noir 2007Babich Marlborough Riesling 2006Babich The Patriarch 2005Babich Winemakers Reserve Pinot Noir 2005Babich Winemakers Reserve Pinot Noir 2007Bald Hills Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006Beresford Highwood Shiraz 2005Beresford McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2005Bird Marlborough Pinot Gris 2007Bird Marlborough Pinot Gris 2008 Bird Marlborough Riesling 2007Bird Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006Boundary Vineyards Paper Lane Pinot Gris 2008 Bowmore Legend Single Malt WhiskyBrennan Gibbston Pinot Noir 2007Bruichladdich 10 Year Old Single Malt WhiskyBurings of 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Sauvignon Merlot 2006 Martinborough, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $40.00 WineNZ Magazine Team Choice Bordeaux Blend We Recommend... Recommended for value and variety. German ex-pat and Geisenheim graduate Kai Schubert arrived in New Zealand with his partner Marion in 1998 and acquired a small vineyard in Martinborough. This was the culmination of a search through Oregon, California, Australia, France and New Zealand, for the ideal spot to grow premium Pinot Noir. It seems that their choice was not only ideal for Pinot Noir but also pretty smart for Cabernet Sauvignon too. Schubert's Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2006 is complex and developed on the nose with some herbal notes. Palate is dry but shows lovely ripe fruit sweetness and notes of cassis, red-currant, dark cherry and lots of spice with nice vanillary oak too. The mid-palate is developed, earthy and secondary with lovely texture in the mouth, quite creamy along with the earthiness - an interesting combination. Clean and very well proportioned wine, smooth on the finish. This is a most delicious premium Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend, showing a note of development now, it will continue to develop and mature for some time yet. This is one for specialist premium wine retailers and for discerning restaurateurs. Reviewed by Colin Ford This tasting note was originally published in Wine NZ Magazine. To View and Order: Click Here Montana Showcase Series Arneis 2008 Gisborne, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $24.00 A strikingly drinkable and enjoyable dry white - something new and interesting! We Recommend... Recommended for value and variety. The new Montana Showcase Series is an innovative collection of wines designed to showcase particular vineyard sites, winemaking techniques and new varieties. Arneis is a native of northern Italy's Piedmont region. The name 'Arneis' apparently means 'little rascal' in Piedmontese, referring to the difficulty in growing it. This Showcase Gisborne Arneis 2008 is a strikingly drinkable and enjoyable dry white. The nose is fairly subdued - though there are hints of pear and lemon. Similarly, the fruit is toned right back on the palate and instead the flavours are really minerally, just seasoned with more hints of pear and lemon. Most of all, this is a wine that just feels great in the mouth. Its hard to know whether the lovely texture is a product of the variety or of winemaking technique or more likely of both, but who really cares? That combination of vinous, minerally, slightly citrussy flavours and equally vinous, somewhat waxy texture, make a really delicious glass of wine and a stylish accompaniment to food. This is a wine style more typical of Europe than of New Zealand, but there's that lick of fruit that points strongly to its antipodean origin. This is something new and interesting and is well-priced too. Well done Montana! Reviewed for Wine Trade Online by Colin Ford To View and Order: Click Here Moana Park Vineyard Tribute Merlot 2008 Hawkes Bay, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $35.00 WineNZ Magazine Team Choice Bordeaux Blend We Recommend... Recommended for value and variety. Moana Park is a small Hawke's Bay producer owned by Dan and Kaylea Barker. It may be small but it's perfectly formed, producing some really delicious wines, both red and white from vineyard site on the Gimblett Gravels and from Dartmoor. Coffee-mocha tones show on the nose as does an evident oak aroma. The wine's delicious palate exhibits black olive notes with blackberry and plum - juicy and generous with very good concentration. Plenty of cedary, vanilla oak. The wine's big powerful tannins are rather youthful at this time but will soften and integrate nicely given time. Reviewed by Colin Ford This tasting note was originally published in Wine NZ Magazine. To View and Order: Click Here Moana Park Vineyard Selection Merlot Malbec 2008 Hawkes Bay, New Zealand The Price (RRP): $22.00 WineNZ Magazine Best Value Bordeaux Blend Under $25! We Recommend... Stack it high. You can recommend this with confidence! Moana Park is a small Hawke's Bay producer owned by Dan and Kaylea Barker. It may be small but it's perfectly formed, producing some really delicious wines, both red and white from vineyard site on the Gimblett Gravels and from Dartmoor. This lovely Hawke's Bay blend opens with a complex aroma with leather, black olive and cedar. The palate is really packed with plum, blackberry, anise and cherry-fruit, all layered with lots of oak and leather and earth. This is full-bodied, rich, concentrated and complex. The big, generous tannins are as yet, a little youthful but they will soften and develop with time. In the meantime, boy this is a nice glass of wine... and a ridiculously good buy! Reviewed by Colin Ford This tasting note was originally published in Wine NZ Magazine. To View and Order: Click Here