At my first exclusively New Zealand Wine new release tasting at Public in New York (March 29), one of the best moments was Riesling Renaissance.
Simple idea, take one vineyard and give 12 winemakers a chance to turn the fruits of this plot into 12 wines, see what happens.
What happened was not an intellectual exercise but rather an interested palate of flavors.
It was "the outcome of a challenge accepted by 12 New Zealand winemakers. Each wine was made with
the same grapes from one block in the Mud House vineyard, as the winemaker saw fit. The result is a great line up of Rieslings that demonstrate the winemakers approach."
Winemakers were:
Ant McKenzie, Te Awa Wines, Hawke’s Bay-Duncan Forsyth, Mount Edward, Central Otago-John Forrest, Forrest, Marlborough-Jules Taylor, Jules Taylor Wines, Marlborough-Larry McKenna, Escarpment, Martinborough-Matt Dicey, Mount Difficulty, Central Otago-Matt Donaldson, Pegasus Bay, Waipara-Mike Brown, Golden Hills Estates, Nelson-Patrick Materman, Pernod Ricard NZ, Marlborough-Paul Bourgeois, Spy Valley, Marlborough-Simon McGeorge, Waipara Hills, Waipara-Simon Waghorn, Astrolabe Wines, Marlborough
As the tasting was coming to a close, I had to rush through them more than I would have liked. Here are my 'fast and furious impressions' which might also have been tainted (influenced) by the food passed around while I was sampling.
Ant: seductive, Duncan: acidity upfront, John: sweeter, Jules: mellow tones, Larry: baked apples, Matt: apple orchards too, Matt: more acidity (post bite burger), Mike: just like honey, Patrick: intense, Paul: lost in the shuffle, Simon: subtle, evanescent, Simon: back in the beehive, honey tones
I realize now that tasting book does not specify which of the 3 plots from I assume from Mudd House Waipara Vineyards these were made from.
I should have snapped a quick picture of one of the labels.
I will get back to this New Zealand tasting with some notes on Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurtztraminer.
(* illustration is one of the 3 Waipara plots, Glasnevin from Mudd House site)