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www.first-glass.co.nz
Newsletter February
3rd 2012
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This is a brief newsletter but we do have some special wines to tell you about. Wednesday's tasting was the Andrew and Sam Show - minus Kingsley - and the theme of French varieties must have appealed as we had an excellent turn out.
All of the wines tasted are reviewed by Sue Courtney below but there are several standouts - top value wines that we should highlight. These are the wines that get the big 'thumbs up' from a large tasting group, tasting the wine blind and voicing their approval before they know the price or identity of the wine.
Each week we are now going to identify the wines with quality plus value ratings that appeal most to the regular, informed and usually critical tasting group. We are also talking about the most popular weekly wine tasting held anywhere in New Zealand.
The Johnny Q Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 was an absolute standout. Very highly rated by the room, this is unquestionably brilliant value, brilliant quality Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was awarded a gold medal at last year's NZ International Wine Show - and the senior judges who awarded that gold medal are the most experienced group of judges ever assembled in this country. So when a group of 'amateur judges' raved over this 'blind' on Wednesday, this has to be a bargain at $14.99.
The Main Divide Pokiri Reserve Late Picked Pinot Gris 2009 is a beauty. Late picked, with a touch of botrytis, this is a wine with huge interest and for some, huge appeal. Sue Courtney lists characters of honey, beeswax and sweet orange marmalade - yum! A full 750ml bottle - $22.99 special.
The other standout quality / value was the return of Fairmont Estate Block One Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2009. We have talked about, written about and tasted this wine on several occasions and we have sold plenty of this excellent wine. Once again we thought it was all sold - gone, but we have thankfully secured some more. This is the top wine from Fairmont Estate, it's a gold medal winner and the First Glass price makes this your 'must buy' for drinking 2-3 year old Pinot Noir. $19.99 special, or buy a case and pay just $18.99 a bottle.
Next week's tasting could be one of the best of the year. Our theme is A Quartet of Varieties, a Trio of Prices. Each of the varieties will have a wine priced in the teens, in the '30s and at a premium price - anything goes. Join us for a cracker tasting. With theme list this - at $15 per head, you can see why we have the most popular tastings in the country.
Please note we are closed on Monday February 6th - Waitangi Day
Tasting Notes
Wines from Traditional French Varieties1st February 2012. Notes by Sue Courtney. Wines were tasted blind.
Tohu Mugwi Reserve Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc 2010
A sweet-fruited and floral smelling wine with a hint
of snow pea that's joined in the palate by juicy banana passionfruit and honeydew melon.
With a little age and a touch of oak to add a mellow complexity, there's nothing at all
brash about this wine. The texture is harmoniously smooth and the finish is rounded and
long. Very nice and popular on the night. Gold Medal Air NZ Wine Awards 2011. 13.8% alc.
Screwcap. $19.99 special.
Domaine Seguinot Chablis Grand Vin
De Bourgogne 2009 – Burgundy, France
A pale wine with a shy and delicate scent of tropical
fruit, citrus and a hint of cream that's just starting to turn. Soft textured with a
tingle of zest but quite neutral flavours of apple and pear. A steely, cool climate style
with an incredibly dry finish that is expansive and long. 13% alc. Diam. $33.99.
Waimea Nelson Viognier 2009
We are redeemed in the aroma department with the rich,
almost sweet, opulent, fragrant scent and the heady flavours of butterscotch and caramel
in harmony with juicy apricot and peach. Rich in colour with a smooth texture, a
curvaceous complexity and an expansive finish. We rated it 5 stars. Trophy New
Zealand International Wine Show 2010. 14% alc. Screwcap. $19.99 special.
Johanneshof Marlborough Medium
Pinot Gris 2009
Expressively perfumed and fragrant, more redolent of
Gewurztraminer than Pinot Gris and the taste is full-bodied, textural and spicy with
Turkish Delight, spiced baked apple and candied violets. Made in the rich, opulent
Alsatian style, it's golden in colour with a sweet disposition and a long mouthfilling
finish. 13% alc. Diam. $29.99.
Main Divide Pokiri Reserve Late
Picked Pinot Gris 2009
Golden hued with a lime and honeysuckle aroma and a
rich sweet flavour of honey, beeswax, candied peel and a sweet orange marmalade finish. A
late picked wine with a touch of botrytis, a lightly viscous texture and impeccable
balance. Most of the tasters classified the wine as 'medium sweet'. 5 stars from the group
on the night. 5 Stars Winestate Magazine. 5 stars value.
13% alc. Screwcap. $22.99 special.
Fairmont Block One Wairarapa Pinot
Noir 2009
Dark garnet red with an intense aroma of plums, smoke
and leather, this silky textured Pinot is full of flavour with that quintessential gamey
savouriness, a touch of spice and a long meaty finish. A zing of acidity on the finish is
a sign of its potential longevity. Gold Medal NZIWS 2010. 5 star quality rating. 5 star
value rating.
14.5% alc. Screwcap. $19.99 special.
Pegasus Bay Waipara Pinot Noir 2009
Youthful ruby garnet in appearance, perfumed and
floral with a little funk and game. Initially more strawberry and cherry flavours with
slight grip to the tannins and floral notes, which are a clue to the region, makes it seem
more 'elegant' style than the Pegasus Bay styles of the past, but there's a deep,
earthy, gamey, savoury sense and a beautifully expansive and deliciously long finish that
lingers for minutes. Outstanding Waipara Pinot. 13.5% alc. Screwcap. $51.99.
Quarisa 30 Mile Shiraz 2008
Australia
Black red with moderate intensity, it has a rich berry
fruit aroma infused with cedary oak and a touch of spice and soft, juicy flavours of
chocolate-coated blueberries with a touch of nutmeg and fruitcake cherries. A little sweet
on the finish but this medium to full-bodied sipper is soft, smooth and so easy to enjoy.
14.5% alc. Screwcap. $13.99 special.
Church Road Reserve Hawkes Bay
Syrah 2008
Black purple, shiny and dense. The bouquet is spicy
and savoury with smoky oak and leather. A very dry wine but profound and rich with
ultra-ripe fruit and lashings of black pepper. Still looking youthful but settled in the
palate with a long lasting finish, it has excellent potential to age and is best enjoyed
with food right now. Elite Gold Medal Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2009. 13% alc. Cork.
$35.99.
Mitolo Jester McLaren Vale Shiraz
2008
Black deep and dense with a bouquet of sweet
vanillin oak and super ripe fruit seducing the senses. With flavours of dark berry fruit,
a hint of chocolate, a flourish of spice, underlying leather and a touch of chicory on the
finish it seems easy to start but the tannins in this wine are deceptive. It’s big
and bold with a firm dry finish. 14.5% alc. Screwcap. $29.99.
Quarisa Johnny Q Cabernet Sauvignon
2009
Purple black coloured with a seductive aroma of creamy
vanillin oak, chocolate and cassis. A big rich wine with a full body, smooth yet firm
tannins and plenty of red berry and cassis flavour. The underlying acidity is a clue to
its makeup. A lovely wine and undoubtedly the 'hot buy' of the night. The NZIWS
judges gave it a gold medal and we rated it 5 stars - both in quality and value.
14.5% alc. Screwcap. $14.99 special.
Church Road Reserve Hawkes Bay
Merlot Cabernet 2008
Shiny black red, impenetrable and dense. The bouquet
of fine French oak, chocolate and anise oozes finesse and the palate back us the promise.
With dark berry fruit, cassis and firm tannins, this is a deep rich wine with a long life
ahead of it. Gold Medal New Zealand International Wine Show 2010. 5 star quality rating.
14% alc. Cork. $35.99.
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 9 am to 6.30 pm
Saturday: 9 am to 6 pm
Closed Sundays & Public Holidays
Wednesday Tastings
Start Time: 7 pm
Cost: $15
No bookings required
Wed 8 Feb: A Quartet of Varieties - a Trio of Prices. Each variety will have a wine priced in the teens, one around $30 and one at a premium price.
Wed 15 Feb: TBA
Wed 22 Feb: Cuisine Aromatic Selection: Top wines from the Cuisine Top 10 and Top 5's of Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris.
Five Star Quality
Five Star Value
Fairmont Block One Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2009
A gold medal winner at the 2010 New Zealand International Wine Show, this exemplary Pinot Noir seems even more delicious with the extra year of bottle age.
Michael Cooper rates Fairmont Block 1 as 'average value' at $30. Look at our price! Definitely 5 star value now.Just $19.99 special or $18.99 a bottle on straight case buys.
Hot Drop
Johnny Q Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
This was the standout
full-bodied red at our tasting on Wednesday not only the delicious flavours but the
unbelievable quality for the sub-$15 special price. A very smart wine by a very clever
winemaker, Johnny Quarisa became synonymous with quality when working for Yellowtail
picking up the coveted Jimmy Watson Trophy as well as the respected Stoddart Trophy for
red wines.
Awarded a gold medal in the 2011 NZ International Wine Show, as well as golds in Australia and France, this is total class at an everyday price.
Our price: Just $14.99 special.
Winners
Earl Brookbanks won the Saturday Challenge. The wines were NZ Chenin Blanc, NZ Merlot and Hawkes Bay Syrah.
The winner of the weekly BYO bag full of goodies was
Earl Brookbanks (again!).In the monthly VC Cardholder draw for February, the lucky winner was John Davies.
Mark Ashcroft is this winner of this week's email newsletter subscribers' draw. Mark now has 7 days to email us with his choice of variety for the bottle of fine wine he has won and of course goes into those two big prize draws, each for a $500 case of wine, drawn later in the year.
Humour
I have been in many
places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in
Cahoots with someone.
I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven
there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.
I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on
physical activity anymore.
I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there
too often.
I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.
One of my favourite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin
flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
But one place I don’t ever want to be is in Continent.
Cheers, Kingsley and Andrew |
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