North & South – June 2019

102 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019

WINE SPECIAL

Winter Wines

Are Coming

MichaelCooper’spickof

full-bodiedredsandwhites

forcoolweather drinking.

F

resh,lightwhitewinesandroséstastegreatinsum-

mer’sheat,butwhentheweathercools,full-bod-

ied,richlyflavouredstylestastebetterandbetter.

Weighty,complexwhitewines,especiallychardon-

nays,butalsosturdierstylesofpinotgrisandoak-agedsauvignon

blancs,reallyhitthespot. Pinotnoirispopularyear-round,but

insummer,morepowerfulredscantastetooheavy.Duringthe

depthsofwinter,however,whenhearty,richfoodisindemand,

flavour-crammed reds can be the perfect partner.

Michael Cooper isaNorth & Southcontributing writer.

W hite

BrancottEstateLetter

Series‘O’Marlborough

Chardonnay 2017 ★★★★

Namedafterthecompany’s

Ōmakavineyard,thispower-

fulwinewashand-pickedin

theWairauValleyandbarrel-

fermented.Fragrant,with

a slightlysmokybouquet,it

isweighty,withrichpeach-

grapefruitflavours,showing

goodcomplexity,finelyinte-

gratedoak,anda smooth,very

harmoniousfinish.Anupfront

style,it’spricedsharply.$25

GreywackeMarlborough

PinotGris 2016 ★★★★★

Grownprincipallyinthe

SouthernValleys,thissturdy,

off-drywinewasmostlyfer-

mentedwithindigenousyeasts

inoldoakbarrelsandthen

lees-agedfora year,inbarrels,

thentanks.Fragrantandrich,

it ispowerful,withstone-fruit,

gingerandspiceflavours,re-

vealingtruecomplexity, deli-

cacyanddepth.$30

HawksheadCentral

OtagoPinotGris 2018

★★★★★

FromtheelevatedGibbston

sub-region,thisclassywine

wasmostlyhandledintanks,

with15%fermentedinsea-

sonedoakbarrels.Alreadyde-

licious,it isinvitinglyfragrant

and fleshy, with concentrated,

ripe,peachy,slightlyspicyfla-

voursanda veryharmonious,

dry,lastingfinish. $29

JacksonEstate

ShelterBeltSingle

VineyardMarlborough

Chardonnay 2016 ★★★★

Drinkingwellnow,thisestate-

grown,hand-pickedwine

was75%barrel-fermented.

Full-bodied,it isfresh,citrusy

andpeachy,withgentle,bis-

cuitynotesaddingcomplexi-

ty,moderateacidity,anda dry,

veryharmoniousfinish. $24

MahiMarlborough

SauvignonBlanc 2018

★★★★★

Thisclassywinewasgrown

mostlyatthewesternendof

theWairauValley,anda small

portionoftheblendwasbarrel-

fermented.Fresh,aromatic

andweighty,it hasconcentrat-

ed,tropicalfruitflavourstothe

fore,a herbaceousundercur-

rent,impressivecomplexityand

a crisp,dry,lastingfinish.$23

MatawheroChurch

HouseBarrel-Fermented

GisborneChardonnay

2017 ★★★★

Thisattractivewinewas

madeintheclassicregional

style:fresh,richandrounded.

Bright,lightyellow-green,it

isfull-bodied,withgenerous,

ripe,stonefruitandtoastyoak

flavours,showinggoodcom-

plexity,anda creamy-smooth

finish.$26