We have been very active with Twitter lately and a local Vineyard decided to send us wine for review. We do a regular wine tasting and post it on Youtube.
Now the wines that I recieved from Johner Vineyard are not what I was expecting. I expected a couple of wines that were, on the whole, very average. I could not have been further from the truth.
Johner wines are some of the best Pinot Noirs I have tasted from New Zealand.
They sent me a whole case of wine, including some very strange concepts but also great wine.
The reserve Pinot Noir sits at $50 on the shelf but when compared to some Central Otago wines at the same price there really is no comparison.
The 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir has a depth of character, not often found, and purity of fruit balanced with tannin and intregrated oak to make this wine sublime.
The 2007 was even better already drinking well now it will continue to drink well for the next 6 years at least.
The Estate Pinot noir was as good as some reserve Pinot from other wineries and their entry level wine also a standout.
The most peculiar wine I have had the fortune of tasting was the Noble Pinot Noir. The wine itself is white and is a Noble Blanc de Noir ( white wine from Black grapes).
Although this wine is a sweet wine there is enough acid and structure to drink as an aperitif or dessert wine. Full of honey and pear with a twist of lemon wrapped in sugar, it was a diabetic’s nightmare.
All of the wines from this winery are to be paired with food and the Pinot Noir worked especially well with Roast Lamb and the dessert for the Noble was Pear Tartin.
Seek out these wines and you will be rewarded.
By Jayson Bryant
www.thewinevault.co.nz

On Monday I went to a rather extravagant Champagne tasting, especially given the times in which we are living.
The Champagne was ‘Henriot’ and the restaurant was Number 5. I have eaten here before and had one of the best meals of my life, but that was back in 1999.
I arrived early, as I always do, so as to taste the wine without too much noise and distraction.
The First wine was the entry level Brut Sauverain and was served unaccompanied and I found it a real palate cleanser. The fine citrus lemon zesty aromas mixed with some yeasty characters made the nose very attractive.
The next wine was served with, a modern take on a 70’s classic, Prawn Cocktail. The sauce always takes me back to when my parents thought they were up with the Jones.
The wine poured was Blanc Souveraine pur Chardonnay and was paired perfectly. The austerity of the Chardonnay was uncompromising and delicious alhtough probably could have done with a couple more years in the bottle to fatten it out slightly.
The Henriot Rosé Brut was beautiful in ways that only rose Champagne can be. The delicate fruit perfectly balanced acidity and the aromas of Pinot Noir make this wine great. If only could be said of the food pairing. The berry sorbet completely overpowered the wine and made it taste quite lean and linear. When I tasted alongside our next course of Pork Belly with garlic infused mash it was delightful.
The Pork Belly, one of my favourite dishes, was cooked to perfection and would have complemented most wines but the wine chosen for this course was the rather linear Vintage 1998.
1998 in Champagne was a difficult vintage with very warm conditions and atypical tasting for most wines, Henriot included.
The food was great but the wine unfortunately didn’t match.
Ultimately we had the Cuvée des Enchanteleurs 1995 and what a way to end a great lunch. gave up its magic straight. This wine rocked with all of its glory on display but is only going to get better. If you get a chance seek out this wine and put one down and drink one now, you’ll be rewarded.

By Jayson Bryant
www.thewinevault.co.nz

I have often thought about wine in terms of music, with sweet sounding music being Pinot Noir (most of the time) and Riesling being Garage music full of excitement but not long lived.
Well as I continued this thought it became apparent that the wine I was drinking at the time needed to be tamed by food. That is when the idea struck me to refer to all wines in terms of my favourite and least favourite food.
The roast dinner is my benchmark and if any wine is good enough to be compared to a roast dinner, or the Beatles, then this is truely a great wine.
Only one New Zealand Pinot Noir has been near to being called a roast.
The wine in question is the Rippon Pinot Noir from Wanaka, Central Otago. This wine had all the elegance of Cindy Crawford (in her prime, as I am not sure what she looks like nowadays), depth of Sir Edmund Hilary, and integrity of Nelson Mandela. Soft, supple ripe red fruit with a floral nose and light robe. The palate weight was fantastic and it lingered like, well something that lingers for a long time.
This wine was the Beatles, but not a roast.

People are forever asking what wine matches fish and chips. Well you may be shocked to find that Champagne is far the best match for this underated food.
The fat of the fish is cut through neatly by the acid of the champagne thus delivering a wonderful match. The dryness of Champagnes with ‘Zero Dosage’ or Champagnes without any added sugar are more suitable.
What better way to show off on the beach than to pop the cork of Bollinger, Bruno Paillard, or Ayala with your fish and chips takeaway.
Why not try it while the weather lasts and see the reaction of the other beach goers. OK so the food is cheap but the wine good and the location great.
The alternatives are to have it at home if you don’t want to be seen eating on the beach.

Jayson Bryant

www.thewinevault.co.nz