Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2010

With a tinge of green, I picked up green gooseberry and passionfruit to the nose. To taste it is very full bodied, beautifully smooth with nice gooseberry and passionfruit flavours, and a nice long tail. This is a superb New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that is drinking beautifully now.

Paired with Beef Stroganoff, which had some of this wine in it, it went very well.

Clearview Estate Semillon 2008, Hawke’s Bay

This light golden coloured wine has a slightly odd nose consisting of a lot of oak and a bit of vanilla. I was a bit dubious by the nose as to what it would be like but was pleasantly surprised to find it was lovely to taste. It has tropical flavours that are balanced with a light honey/vanilla flavour and a touch of acid. It is probably nearing the end of its life and I would not suggest cellaring any longer and in fact I should look to drink the 09 soon too. Having said that, there is a lot of complexity and intrigue that is begging me to have a another taste.

From a wine and food pairing perspective, the wine worked surprisingly well with a pumpkin and chilli soup that had a good dose of butter in it. This drew out vanilla/butter characteristics of the wine and was still nicely balanced.

Northburn Station Pinot Noir 2007, Central Otago

On Sunday we headed out to Northburn Station just out of Cromwell. Located on a working 13,000 hectare merino sheep farm, they have also ventured into the wine business. Overlooking Lake Dunstan they have a beautiful location.

With light leather and liquorice to the nose, this ruby red wine is full-bodied with a medium-long tail. It has light tannins and is a bit more acidic than I expected, but this works well with a bit of fat and in fact works superbly well with Bluff Oysters. In fact with a bit of fat this wine has transformed to being a very pleasurable Pinot Noir to drink that I would happily buy again.

Tiwaiwaka Pinot Noir 2007, Martinborough

This wine was a gift and I decided to open it this evening. Being from a vineyard I had never heard of I did not know what to expect, but Martinborough has its fair share of great vineyards. Deep ruby red in colour, with raspberry and cherry to the nose, these flavours flow through to the palette. A fully bodied wine with light acidity. It was a nice accompaniment to steamed Salmon.

Moana Park Vineyard Tribute Gewürztraminer 2008

To accompany a spicy chicken dish this evening I opened up a Gewürztraminer from Moana Park in Napier that complemented it nicely.

With a lovely golden robe, this wine is not as strong on Turkish delight / rose water flavours as many Gewürztraminers but the flavours are still there with a nice freshness and with a touch of sweetness.

This is a lovely wine to drink and it is drinking well now.

Wine Review: Matariki 2006 Chardonnay Hawkes Bay

With a beautifully soft toffee and grapefruit nose, this is a remarkably well-balanced wine.  It has light acidity, toffee and citrus flavour to taste.  It is so well-balanced in fact that the french oak flavours are almost non-existant.  This is a magnificent wine that has complexity that begs for another taste.  Drinking well now.

Pairing Chocolate Brownie with Wine: My Verdict

I wanted a wine to accompany a pre-dinner snack of a Chocolate Brownie.  The brownie contained walnuts, so it consisted of strong chocolate and walnut flavours.

I decided to try the brownie with 3 different wines:

• Framingham Marlborough Classic Riesling 2006
• Sandeman Founders Reserve Port
• Tuatara Pinot Noir 2003

The Brownie is good in its own right as are all of the wines, with the exclusion of the Pinot Noir (it was already open and even when I had it yesterday (or was it the day before?) it was tasting that it was a smidgen past it).

The Port overpowered the brownie and really accentuated the alcohol.  This was not a good match.

The Pinot Noir just didn't have the right balance, although to be fair it may be due to the state of this one being below par.

The Riesling and brownie were the best match although there was a very slight bitterness that came with the match.  In terms of a a superb fit, it wasn't quite there, and a Sticky would probably be better.

So, it wasn’t exactly a comprehensive analysis and obviously more brownie and wine is required!