Branding can be a gamble

BY DEBORAH WALTON AND PETER MORICE

Esk Valley's brand new label stands out, but then, the wine has always done so too.

Branding is an exciting and rather tricky business – get it wrong and failure is often a foregone conclusion.

Esk Valley, now into its 21st year, has recently undergone a change of image. Gone is the black label, replaced by a white label and bold black lettering in a handwritten style. While it appears quite plain – the boldness of the lettering will ensure the label stands out, and so it should – the wine has been consistently good for many years now.

If you pay a visit to Hawke's Bay, it's worth calling into the winery – the terraced vineyards and the view out to sea are stunning. Esk Valley's original concrete cellars date from the 1930s, built by an Englishman, Robert Bird, who first established a winery on the site. Esk Valley started its life as the Glenvale Winery and Cellars in 1933 and the original concrete fermentation vats are still used today. That's one of the reasons why we think the red wines might taste so good – well-seasoned vats.

Some people will remember the days of Glenvale ports and sherries – these were produced in great quantities at Glenvale – and indeed, the thick concrete walls of the winery were built to create the cool and stable conditions ideal for cellaring these beverages.

Hillside terraces were established for grape production in the 1940s, but due to New Zealand's early focus on ports, sherries and dessert wines, the terraced vineyard was ripped out due to its low fruit yield. This low yield has become an advantage in the 21st century – those terraces now produce low yields of intensely flavoured fruit that goes into The Terraces range.

Another wine we look at this week is Two Tracks, made by Wither Hills and boasting a beachy, summery label that is of a similar ilk to Constellation's Bach 22 range.

Two Tracks sources the majority of its grapes from vineyards at Rarangi Beach and the wines are aptly named after two nearby tracks, Black Jack Track and Whites Bay Track.

We like the imagery behind the Two Tracks brand – summery, suggesting a simpler way of life, a slower pace and some time to relax. A description of Rarangi on the bottle's back label mentions pied stilts soaring above the sweeping beach, puka trees swaying and warm Marlborough sun beating down – it's enough to get anyone into the right frame of mind for trying this wine.

Two Tracks 08

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Aroma: A brisk, fresh and breezy aroma – all gooseberries and capsicums and a smack of grapefruit.

Taste: A pleasant wine with most of the flavour front of palate. Clean acids combine with grass, capsicum and gooseberries, while the finish and aftertaste have a definite grapefruit flavour softened by a hint of rock melon.

Another clean, crisp quaffer ready for summer.

Price: $16.99.

Esk Valley 08

Hawke's Bay Chardonnay

Aroma: This pale gold wine has perfectly integrated aromas – apricots and pastry with a dot of coconut caramel and some rich nougat notes. Creamy and rich ...

Taste: What a stunner. Apricot, peach and butterscotch flavours are tempered by a powerful citrus line that runs from front of palate to aftertaste.

Mid-palate creaminess and a refreshing lick of soda sit well with some nicely balanced acids. This well-rounded and perfectly balanced wine promises to be fat and full, but stops just short of this. What we have is an elegant and intensely enjoyable wine that doesn't tire the palate.

Very, very enjoyable.

Price: $20.

Saint Clair Pioneer Block 17

Bay Block 07 Syrah (Hawke's Bay)

The fruit for this wine was sourced from a vineyard in the Mangatahi region of Hawke's Bay.

Colour: Dark cherry red with flashes of purple – very densely coloured.

Aroma: The black pepper-grinder was held over this wine! There're lashings of black pepper, plums, chocolate, tar and spice with some sweeter dark berry fruit/Ribena notes coming through with a shake-up. Rich and slightly jammy with a whiff of sweet tobacco – very inspiring.

Taste: A smooth, well-integrated wine displaying plenty of ripe fruitiness and soft, supple tannins. Smoke, plums and plenty of cinnamon spiciness combine with some green herbal notes towards the finish.

The uncomplicated plum, pepper finish lingers and there are some smoky and slightly salty flavours in the aftertaste.

Price: $24.95.

Haymaker 08

Waipara Riesling

Aroma: Quite a lively aroma – fresh limes, mineral and sweet floral notes, some dry summer grass.

Taste: There's a smack of residual sugar first up followed by some crisp citrus flavour and floral aromatics. Lively acids, fresh fruit and some residual sweetness combine in a wine that has good balance and will be a pleasant summer quaffer.

At 11 per cent, it's just right for a sunny lunch outdoors.

Very pleasant...

Price: $16.99.

- The Marlborough Express