Pinot gris ascending
AFTER talking to my regular tasting panel of Collins and McLaren, I’ve decided that I may be the odd one out.
While I taste pinot gris regularly (it is my job after all!), I very rarely buy it.
My chums mentioned friends arriving for dinner with pinot gris more often than sav or chardonnay nowadays.
Yet another note to self: must do better.
2018 Aurum Organic Central Otago pinot gris Price: $28 Rating: Very good to excellent
Bold nose, baked apple pie and pie crust shifting to pear, perfume and lemon squash; a little yeast/apple cider with time. Creamy palate, spiced baked fruit, pears, the sweetness growing with aeration leading to a barley sugar note on the close. Feels a little more developed, remaining fresh, clean and absolutely approachable now.
www.aurumwines.com
2020 Hunter’s Marlborough pinot gris Price: $24.95 Rating: Very good to excellent
Nose builds nicely in volume, red apple, spice, honey, white flowerlike florals; baked fruits with time. Soft and supple entry revealing gum drops, apple, pear jam and honey. A little sweetness on the front palate initially flowing to a drier mid palate: with time that sweetness more evident, yet there’s a lovely sweetness/acid interplay on the close that keeps this fresh.
www.hunters.co.nz
2020 Otuwhero Estate Marlborough pinot gris Price: $19.95 Rating: Very good to excellent
Sweetly fragrant, fruit jube, pineapple, honey, blood orange with time, easy appeal. The focus on the palate shifts between tropical fruit, stonefruit and apple with a honeyed note framing the close. Starts with a little fruit sweetness that grows to an overt fatness yet moves to a drier midpalate keeping this fresh.
www.otuwine.com
2019 Riverby Estate Single Vineyard Marlborough pinot gris
Price: $22 Rating: Excellent
Bright, expressive nose with fruit sherbet, wine gums, apricot and pear. A burst of sweet fruit with the flavours echoing the nose. Not an ‘‘in your face’’ style, just super depth of flavour and balance with a zesty fresh, dry finish. The nose pulls a little into its shell over time as the palate develops a slippery, slinky mouthfeel, exhibiting a whisper more fruit sweetness.
www.riverbyestate.com
2019 Durvillea Marlborough pinot gris
Price: $17 Rating: Excellent
Floral nose, pear, nutty nuances and savoury elements, clotted cream with aeration. There’s fruit sweetness here, yet this is a drier expression with nuts, baked apple and straw leading the way to a fruit cordial note on the close. Quietly creeps up on you, a tangy, zestiness grows, keeping this bright and fresh. The long finish hangs in your mouth.
www.astrolabewines.co.nz
2020 Hawkshead Central Otago pinot gris Price: $29 Rating: Excellent to outstanding
Dusty minerality, pear, apricot, fruit pastilles, real interest here. Classic stonefruit characters, cashew nut, a honeyed note yet not sweet with a spicy finish. Great fruit intensity and richness; a line of acid running through this to keep it fresh. Lovely balance and sheer drinkability, fruit sweet, yet dry. Delicious.
www.hawksheadwine.com