Very serious wines, indeed

Receiving samples from wineries around the country turns up plenty of surprises, especially when they're labels with which you are not closely acquainted and the average punter has probably never heard of.

We're not talking about the stuff that's made to order from surplus juice by God knows whom, sometimes to protect their own cheaper, and usually much smarter, labels from excessive discounting and eventual devaluation.

We're talking wines that are more serious than that  in some cases very serious indeed  many of them with interesting pedigrees.

Man O' War is one of them; a label that has been around for several years but is now becoming more familiar outside Auckland, which provides a captive audience for what are generally considered to be over-priced wines from Waiheke Island.

These are not, probably because of the volume produced by the island's biggest winery from vineyards scattered over something like 90 sites on Man O' War Station at the rugged eastern end of the island in the Hauraki Gulf.

Money, of course, is no object to the wealthy Spencer (as in Caxton paper mills) family, which owns the station and began dabbling in wine in the 1990s. But the path to the sort of success they are now starting to enjoy has had its ups and downs.

The best of Man O' War's wines, the 2008 flagship black label range, are excellent examples of what Waiheke can do, especially so the gutsy, creamy Valhalla chardonnay, the elegant Ironclad, a Bordeaux-style blend, and the bold, beautifully perfumed Dreadnought syrah. All sell at around $45 which is excellent value for Waiheke wines of this quality.

Those wines likely to be of more interest to the average punter, however, are from the white label range  a weighter, merlot-driven, off-dry 2009 rose ($22.95), a distinctive tropical flavoured 2009 sauvignon blanc partly matured and seasoned in oak ($22.95), a very smart, nutty, grapefruited chardonnay ($27) and a medium-dry, pleasantly peary 2009 pinot gris ($22.95).

A couple of other labels also likely to attract more attention are Ohau Gravels and Brennan.

The Ohau Gravels vineyard grew out of plans for a lifestyle subdivision at Ohau, between Paraparaumu, on the Kapiti Coast, and Levin, when Kate Gibbs, who runs nearby Stanmore Farm viticultural nursery with her husband Tim, convinced the developers to combine the project with a vineyard development on riverbed terrace that was ideal.

The result was the release last year of two wines made under the Ohau Gravels label by Jane Cooper of Matahiwi Estate in the Wairarapa, who also produces a number of wines under her own Alexia label. The 2009 sauvignon blanc, which is still available at $20 a bottle, is different, and delightfully so. It's fresh, intense and alive with citrus. The 2009 pinot gris (about $22) is more difficult to find, which means it's well worth seeking out. It's soft, it's rich and luscious  a trophy winner at first outing.

Brennan wines come from the deep south, where in 1994 Sean Brennan, a New Yorker, planted vines on land owned by his family on the back road at Gibbston, near Queenstown, for 30 years. Originally, much of the fruit went to Peregrine nearby but in 2006 Brennan launched his own distinctive label and now produces a gewurztraminer, a pinot grigio and, most notably, some very smart pinot noir.

The 2007 is a case in point. It's complex, savoury and sleek and has since its release performed with some distinction on the show circuit both here and overseas. A label and a wine to keep an eye on perhaps.

But don't take my word for it. Try it. The only problem is the surprise I got for nix will cost you 40 bucks. Sorry about that.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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