2006 Alluviale Merlot Cabernet Franc (Hawkes Bay, NZ)

One of my gradual learnings over the years is that most premium, age worthy wine doesn't actually get discernibly better with age. Sure, a wine may age in the sense that it drinks well at 10 years of age, but a wine that actually builds additional complexity and enjoyment when compared to its youth is indeed rare. Instead, for most aged wines edges have softened, flavours have become more savoury, and a glide path of gradual decay has begun. There’s plenty of enjoyment to be had in following a wine on such a path, it’s just not the epiphany that is often hoped for when initially laying a bottle down in the cellar.

The 2006 Alluviale Merlot Cab Franc fits this mould. Nothing startling has happened with a further 5 years under its belt since I first tried it, but is nevertheless represents very enjoyable cellared wine drinking.  Medium bodied and food friendly, the tannin and acidity remain present but have now fully integrated into the wine. It still has plenty of nice plummy fruit along with chocolate notes. Grassiness, tobacco, and some earthiness all combine to provide a savoury finish. A lovely wine.

Rated: 4 Stars
ABV: 13.9%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2014-2017
Website: www.alluviale.com


Red

Hawke's Bay Tasting - Spitbucket at Coast Restaurant

How to make Hawke’s Bay Cabernet sexy? A significant challenge for any marketer in Australia I would imagine. New Zealand and Pinot are somewhat synonymous and fashionable, but NZ and Cabernet are not. Moreover, Cabernet is positively uncool as a varietal in Australia at the moment. Pinot is trendy, Shiraz is ubiquitous, and everyone’s talking about the wonderful turnaround in Australian Chardonnay. In the Twitterverse there has been a Rose Revolution and a Summer of Riesling. However, Cabernet kind of sits outside a lot of the discourse about wine in Australia at the moment.

This is something I find a bit incongruous given I continually find Australian Cabernet as impressive as any other variety that we do, and indeed I’m as impressed with Hawke’s Bay Bordeaux blends as I am with any other red wines from New Zealand. However this doesn’t seem to be a view held by many and is seemingly well illustrated with the just released New Zealand wine liftout/magazine from Decanter magazine where Hawkes Bay Cabernet barely rates a mention. Fortunately Dan Coward (http://spitbuckets.wordpress.com/) and Poppy Greeson (http://www.coastrestaurant.com.au/) are not of this view and organised a great Hawke’s Bay tasting at Coast Restaurant in Sydney last week

The tasting started off with some Hawke’s Bay Syrah. There’s plenty of critical acclaim for these wines, but to be honest, apart from a couple of exceptions, I’m yet to be really impressed by their Syrah. This possibly reflects a bit of ambivalence on my part for cool-climate syrah. I often find a bitterness and/or stalkiness in these wines that doesn’t quite work for me. Funnily enough I don’t mind a bit of stalkiness and bitterness in my Pinot, but in Syrah it's rarely my thing.

We then moved on to the Bordeaux varietals at which point the interest and appeal of the wines increased and indeed found a crescendo with the final two wines of the night. All of a sudden I remembered what I love about Hawkes Bay. Beautifully balanced Bordeaux blends that are generally medium-bodied but that don’t lack for anything in terms of intensity and grip.

My favourite of the final two, and my wine of the night, was the 06 Newton Forrest Cornerstone Cabernet Blend. It had a complex, savoury bouquet that had an appealing whiff of varnish. On the palate it had a beautiful intensity of savoury flavours, lovely tannins, and a touch of leafiness. A quality Cabernet with just a bit of an X-factor to it.

The other wine was the 07 Trinity Hill The Gimblett, which for me was just a whisker behind the Cornerstone. It was in a richer, more fruit forward style, reflecting a greater Merlot component, but was of undoubted quality. Lovely blackcurrant and plum flavours, excellent quality oak, and nice tannins in support. It should age nicely.

Hawke’s Bay Bordeaux blends may be a bit of a tough sell at the moment, but I do hope the region continues to focus in this area, because to my mind it is one of the New World’s most impressive styles of wine.


Red

2007 Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernet/Merlot (Retail)

Based on some of the press coming from New Zealand, the Hawkes Bay wine region has aspirations of matching Bordeaux in terms of the quality of the Cabernet blends they produce. Aim for the stars to clear the trees I say. RedtoBrown have been impressed with the wines we have tried from Hawkes Bay in the past, and at the entry-level, the Awatea is one of them. What stands out primarily with the Awatea (and also its TeMata big brother, the Coleraine) is its relative 'New World' austerity and restraint. There is sometimes balancing act between restraint and lack of fruit flavour/diluteness, though that is not an issue for this wine.

The Awatea (40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot) has a slightly herbaceous nose with capsicum and tobacco, though a pretty blueberry scent dominates. It is medium bodied, no more, and savoury.
An understated entry gives way to blackcurrants and medicinal herbs on the mid palate. Some more tobacco pops up on the finish, along with a prominent herbaceous bitterness (which may divide opinion, but I was a fan). Tannins are very fine and chalky, and the oak is subsiding a bit from when I first tasted it (yet not overpowering the fruit).

In summary, an elegant, restrained wine that may lack the oomph of some of the Aussie versions I know and love, though has enough weight to support its fine boned structure. I would like to try this wine with 5-10 more years of bottle age.

Rated

RRP: $45
ABV:14%
Website: http://www.temata.co.nz/