March 2014: Waimea Cafe Restaurant

March 2014: Waimea Cafe Restaurant, Waikanae

Ok, so we're back after too long an absence, catch-up blog for the last 3 months. I don't have all the menus, so instead of focusing on the restaurants and food, I've focused more on the wines, with some general tasting and appreciation notes thrown in on each wine:

Wine no 1: Brookfields Robertson Pinot Gris 2013

Peter Robertson spent a lifetime honing an Alsatian sensibility, producing this little gem well before Madame Gris became so fashionable. With its vivacious, dry, aromatic palate and lively acidity, this is lighter and more floral than its Alsace counterparts. Awarded 95/100 by Decanter.

Brookfields is Hawkes' Bay's oldest boutique winery, founded in 1937. The winemaker, Petewr Robertson, bought Brookfields in 1977, and has developed the winery over time with modern technology but has retained the traditional wine making methods. He has created classic wines with grapes only grown is specific locations and to his strict growing policy. Brookfields' reputation has been built on stunning red wines.

Pinot Gris is a white-wine grape originally from the vineyards of Burgundy, but now found in wine regions all over the world. When produced in the pale, light style popularized in late 20th-Century Italy, the variety and its wines are typically referred to by the Italian name Pinot Grigio.

One of the more famous members of the extended Pinot family of grape varieties, Pinot Gris is a pink-skinned mutation of Pinot Noir. The two varieties are indistinguishable in the vineyard right up until veraison, when Pinot Gris berries take on their distinctive array of colors; anything from orange-pink to pale, dusty purple. The adjective gris is French for 'gray', and refers to the dusty, light-gray sheen the grapes often take on. Although possibly confusing to English speakers, this convention is widely used in Europe, notably in Italian (grigio), German (grauer), Slovenian (sivi) and Czech (sede).

Although sometimes used as a blending component, Pinot Gris is most commonly produced as a varietal wine. Flavours and aromas vary greatly from region to region, and from style to style, but commonly feature notes of pears, apples, stone fruit, sweet spices and even a hint of smoke or wet wool. Most winemakers avoid obvious oak character in their Pinot Gris, but some use older barrels (which leave less oak flavor in the wine) for fermentation. For weightier, more complex styles of Pinot Gris, lees contact and partial malolactic fermentation are commonly used. Sweet late harvest versions wines are common.

Pinot Gris grapes are naturally low in acidity and high in sugars, so the finest Pinot Gris wines come from the world's cooler viticultural regions; those from warmer climates tend to lack acidity and structure and can be overbearingly alcoholic. Europe's showcase examples come from vineyards on either side of the Rhine river, from Baden and Pfalz in Germany and particularly Alsace in France. In these regions, the wines are made in varying levels of sweetness, from bone dry to lusciously sweet; a Pinot Gris Selection de Grains Nobles from Alsace is one of the sweetest, most intensely flavored wines on Earth.

Of the 'New World' wine regions, the variety is doing well in the United States (most notably Oregon but also Washington and California) and New Zealand. New World producers have recognized and respected the distinction between the Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio styles, and typically label their wines accordingly (lighter, drier versions as Pinot Grigio, while sweeter or richer styles as Pinot Gris).

Pinot Gris Wine Tasting:

The primary fruit flavors in Pinot Gris are lime, lemon, pear, white nectarine and apple. Depending on where the grapes are grown, Pinot Grigio can take on faint honeyed notes; floral aromas like honeysuckle; and a saline-like minerality. Pinot Gris doesn’t have a strikingly unique flavor the way Moscato or Riesling do, but it does offer a refreshing twinkle of acidity and a weighty feeling on the middle of your tongue – like licking wax paper.

Stump the Sommelier: Pinot Gris is a commonly feared grape variety in Sommelier Blind-Tasting Exams. Many wine experts identify Pinot Gris through the characteristics it doesn’t have.

Italian Pinot Grigio Usually totally dry with brilliant acidity with a bitter almond note

French Pinot Gris Fleshy and more unctuous with faint honey notes from botrytis

American Pinot Grigio Often with more exaggerated fruit flavors and with less acidity than European counterparts

Where would you place the NZ offerings?

Wine 2: Te Mata Elston Chardonnay 2012

 

Te Mata Estate is New Zealand's oldest winery, dating from the early 1890's. It is a New Zealand family owned winery – a true estate, specialising in grape growing and winemaking from its nine Hawke's Bay vineyards. It is acknowledged as one of only five icon wineries in New Zealand. 

Under the direction of John Buck, Te Mata Estate has, over nearly thirty years, produced a stunning array of red and white wines including such famous labels as Coleraine and Awatea Cabernets/ Merlots, Bullnose Syrah, Elston Chardonnay, Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc and launched in 2009 Zara Viognier.

Not content to rest on its laurels, Te Mata Estate has also developed a unique single vineyard from which it produces its five Woodthorpe wines.

Elston ’12 has a brilliant, pale lemon colour, with inviting aromas of golden grapefruit, toasted brioche, brazil nuts and popcorn. The palate shows an immediate characters of ripe nectarine and nougat, together with both the sweetness and acidity of fresh pineapple that contribute to its long, fine finish.

The separate parcels of fully ripe grapes were hand harvested from individual plots within
Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between 25 and 29 March 2012.Each parcel was gently whole-cluster pressed, cold settled and racked to new and seasoned French oak barrels for fermentation. The resulting wines remained in contact with their yeast lees while undergoing malolactic fermentation. The finest lots were selected for further maturation, spending a total of ten months in barrel. The finished wine was bottled in March 2013.

Elston ‘12 is bottled with leading technology ‘DIAM’ corks. These are produced using a liquid form of carbon dioxide which eliminates any possibility of cork taint and, when the wine is well cellared, they provide consistent evolution for every bottle. Elston ’12 will continue to develop in bottle for five years from harvest.

Winemaker Profile
One of New Zealand 's leading winemakers, Peter is a key figure in the development of Te Mata Estate's culture of wine excellence. Peter developed his interest in wine through restaurant work while a student. He completed a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) degree at Auckland University and then the Graduate Diploma in Wine from Roseworthy College, near Adelaide. He was awarded the inaugural Hazelgrove Scholarship which involved microbiology research projects at the Australian Wine Research Institute.
After a vintage at the Rouge Homme Winery in Coonawarra, under John Vickery, Peter returned to New Zealand. Peter commenced work at Te Mata Estate in 1984 as the sole winemaker and has, over more than 20 years, overseen the creation of Te Mata's range of quality wines to the point that he is now responsible for all aspects of Te Mata's wine production, from vine to bottle. He is now Te Mata Estate's Technical Director.

Two Major Styles of Chardonnay:

If you like the idea of butter in your glass, you’ll love the classic style of oak-aged Chardonnay wine. On the other hand, if words like “Pinot Grigio” make you feel woozy with love, then your perfect Chardonnay is the unoaked kind. How can a single grape offer such a variety of flavours? Well, in addition to the difference in wine making (oak vs. no oak), ripeness has a lot to do with flavor.

A Note About Ripeness and Chardonnay Wine

A very ripe Chardonnay will have flavors more towards tropical fruits like pineapple, guava and mango. A barely ripe Chardonnay will have green apple and lemon flavors.

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Chardonnay Wine Taste Profile

FRUIT FLAVORS (berries, fruit, citrus)

Lemon, Apple, Pear, Pineapple, Jackfruit, Passionfruit, Peach, Fig

OTHER (herb, spice, flower, mineral, earth, other)

Apple Blossom, Lemon Zest, Citrus Peel, Celery leaf, Beeswax, Lemon balm, Honeysuckle, Wet flint rocks, Saline Solution, Vanilla Bean, Almond, Jasmine

OAK FLAVORS (flavors added with oak aging)

Vanilla, Baked Tart, Butter, Pie Crust, Caramelized Sugar, Creme Brulee, Dill, Coconut, Praline

CHARDONNAY SERVING TEMPERATURE

Unoaked: 48 ºF (9 ºC)
Oaked: 54 ºF (12 ºC)

ACIDITY

Medium Low (oaked warm climate) – Medium High (unoaked cool climate)

SIMILAR VARIETIES

Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Semillon, Fiano (Italy), Antão Vaz (Portugal)

 Why do some Chardonnays taste creamy?

The smell of vanilla, butter, coconut and dill are all attributes of oak-aging. However, the texture that some Chardonnays have that can be described as Oily, Creamy, Smooth or Waxy are from a special kind of fermentation.

 What is Malolactic Fermentation?

After the wine is fermented, an additional fermentation called Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) will give wine an oily texture. MLF turns tart malic acid (the acid in apples) to smooth lactic acid (the acid in milk). A malolactic fermentation involves a different kind of yeast that gobbles up malic acid and poops out lactic acid. If you want a rounder, more creamy-feeling wine, look for wines that have gone through MLF.

	Wine 3: Penfolds Bin 138 2012 Tasting Notes
Region:	Barossa Valley
Drink Until:	Peak drinking 2015-2025
Varieties:	66% Shiraz, 23% Grenache, 11% Mataro
Alcohol:	14.5%
Foods:
Oak:	12 months in seasoned American oak hogsheads
Colour:	Dense magenta
Nose:	In no way bashful, aromatics leap from glass. Savoury and Rhonish - think pan jus and cinnamon. All the reds are here - Raspberry, red liquorice, dark red berried-fruits, red jelly-bean aromas.
Palate:	Medium to full-bodied. Substantial and structually verging on viscous during this youthful developmental phase. Yet to completely unfurl so there's just a suggestion of kirsch, maraschino and fruitcake mix. White chocolate and mocha flavours merge with softened rounded tannins.