Wurzer: an aromatic cross

BY DEBORAH WALTON & PETER MORICE

When we contacted Agnes Seifried to tell her how much we enjoyed a bottle of the 07 Seifried Wurzer, her reply was as joyous as the wine's flavours are bountiful.

"We like the aromatics too!" she enthused. "And it makes a nice lunchtime wine."

Wurzer is a cross between gewurztraminer and muller thurgau; the crossing was made at the German viticultural station, Alzey, in 1932.

The variety was only planted in any significant quantity in the 1980s, peaking in 1995 at 121 hectares (about 300 acres) at a place called Rheinhessen, Germany. When we looked into the variety's origins we struggled to find much detail. However, in Jancis Robinson's The Oxford Companion to Wine a contributor wrote that "It is overwhelmingly heady, yields well, but a little goes a long way."

We argue that a bottle of the Seifried Wurzer doesn't go very far at all.

2007 marks the second vintage where Seifried has produced a straight wurzer varietal from just a few rows of vines planted in the company's Redwood Valley Vineyard. This vineyard, with its heavier clay soils, is home to the only wurzer vines grown in New Zealand.

Wurzer is a limited-release wine and it can only be bought at the Seifried Estate wine shop in Nelson or at a few rather fortunate wine retailers and restaurants around New Zealand.

If you want to try some wurzer, the easiest way is to email the winery at wines@seifried.co.nz.

The friend who gave us the wurzer to try had chosen well.

Seifried Nelson 07 Wurzer

Colour: Straw with pale lemon sheen Aroma: Very aromatic and gewurztraminer-like. The aroma has lifted floral/rose petal notes along with a generous helping of sweet apricots, talcum powder and a touch of lemon. Sweet and rich, here is an aroma to take some time over.

Taste: This wine's aromatics are powerful and mouth-filling. Rich flavours of ginger and stonefruit predominate and there's a lovely acid-fruit balance. Medium in style with a finish and aftertaste that remain rich and rewarding. There's some lovely residual sweetness in the aftertaste just glorious.

Price: About $19

Wither Hills Wairau Valley 07 Pinot Gris

Aroma: Some sweet pear and indeterminate stone fruit notes. Rich, reminiscent of dried figs but quite a reserved aroma.

Taste: Tingly acids combine with excellent fruit power in this rich, luscious wine with its unctuous mouth feel. Spicy and warming, this pinot gris tastes of apple and crisp pear, it has a dry finish that is an interesting floral, ginger blend; the stonefruit aftertaste wraps things up nicely a textural, more-ish and appealing wine.

Price: Worth looking for $20

Tohu Marlborough 07 Unoaked Chardonnay

Aroma: Unoaked chardonnay often has a rather reserved aroma and this wine bears out the observation. Gentle peachiness, a little grapefruit and some floral notes sum things up.

Taste: A fruity, easy-drinking chardonnay with peaches and cream, soda and nougat flavours leading out to a butterscotch finish. The fruitiness is central to this wine's taste.

Price: $19

Tohu Marlborough 08 Sauvignon Blanc

Aroma: Classic Marlborough with some pungent grass, tomato stalk, flint and savoury aromas. A tropical whiff provides a sweeter note.

Taste: Nicely balanced flavours sit well with tingly, almost spritzig acids. The grassy, tropical flavour blend is highly aromatic and very enjoyable while a citrus finish leaves a clean taste.

Price: $19

Taylor's Clare Valley 07 Shiraz

Aroma: Pepper, plum jam, smoky oak and eucalyptus aromas predominate. Some lighter caramel-like notes appear upon a shakeup but that rich, ripe plum jam nose carries the day.

Taste: A lovely rich caramel/vanilla taste combines with plum and dark berry flavours. Some smoky oak, tarry chocolate and plum flavour predominates towards the finish. This wine's silky texture and furry tannins combine with the rich, rewarding flavours to produce a nicely integrated wine that is mouth-filling and delivers excellent aromatics. Smooth to the finish where some herbal notes round things out.

Price: $20.99

Taylor's South Australia 07 Chardonnay

Aroma: A light aroma delivering a pleasant blend of butter, biscuits and toasted oak. Given a shakeup the aroma becomes more complex mineral and old apple notes are more obvious.

Taste: A big, ripe golden delicious apple taste is enhanced by warming ginger spiciness and enough acid to hold the flavours together. An apple and sweet butterscotch finish leads to a creamy aftertaste. This is a pleasant, easy-drinking wine with plenty of smooth, creamy malo character.

Price: $17.99

- The Marlborough Express