Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay

Kumeu River Wines
Chardonnay
Estate Bottled
Chardonnay
Kumeu, New Zealand
2005
13.5%
$20.29 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Rich light gold
Nose: Lemon, salt, bread, slightly burned popcorn
Body: Medium
Front: Lime
Middle: Steely lemon (know you not the power of the steely lemon?)
Back: Balsa wood, tea leaf
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

I've heard good things about these wines for some time, and am glad I finally took the (20% reduced price) chance to try one out. According to the back label, this should have been drunk a year ago at the latest, but I find it's still quite lovely; crisp acidity right off the bat, and well-tempered oak that keeps the fruit flavors (all tangy--no cloying melon or honey) present and functioning.

Part of what's cool about drinking this wine now is that there's lots of oak on the nose, so to get the acidic cut up front is kind of delightful. You could put the forgetting power of wine to work: Drink it while you're doing something distracting, so you will keep forgetting the taste and having this experience over and over again.

My new favorite pairing with chardonnays is manchego cheese; but I think given the low alcohol and charming acid of this one, it'll go with many foods, so fear not.

Note 1-21-2011: Tried the 2007; it's much more plainly oaky on the nose, mixed with salty lemon, but the palate had the same wonderful sparkly, cutting acidity up front and balanced fruit, cedar, and flowers on the palate.

Wild Rock Pinot Noir

Wild Rock Wine Company
Pinot Noir
Cupid's Arrow
Central Otago
Hastings, New Zealand
2008
13.5%
$18.98 -- Wine Trader, Lake Travis, TX

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Strawberry, fish, smoke
Body: Medium
Front: Cherry
Middle: Strawberry cola

Back: Raspberry, Skittles, no tannins to speak of
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This one reminds me a lot of the Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir. It's bright but smoky, with a couple of layers, and at a decent price point for Pinot in general. There is a little third-stage candy-esque, raspberry thing that delivers on the finish, that is endearing, and makes it easy to drink. I'm hoping it will pair well with a chicken korma this evening; the low alcohol suggests a good pairing with food. It certainly goes well with the sunset!

Pegasus Bay Riesling

Donaldson Family, Ltd.
Pegasus Bay
Riesling
Waipara Valley
Canterbury, NZ
2007
11%
$19.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Light to medium golden-green, with tiny bubbles
Nose: Gravel, green tea, lime
Body: Medium
Front: Lime, peach
Middle: Pineapple, lemon
Back: Apricot, stone
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

It wouldn't take a statistician to look at this blog's tags and deduce that I'm not a big fan of Riesling. I've had a couple of stunning ones -- a Hugel that blew me away, for example -- and a whole lot of lame ones. This one was highly rated, and it's quite elegant, though still a bit sweet for my taste. The off-dry style, as I think it's called, somehow leaves me unsatisfied. Perhaps I drink too much soda.

But with the right kind of food (light cheeses and fruit, I think) this wine would be spectacular. A fascinating thing about this (and it's not changing as the bottle stays open) is that the nose is so unrevelatory about the palate. It's a fruit-tacular extravaganza on the palate, but quite minerally on the nose: enchanting. This is better than many a Riesling I've had before, so take that from a non-Riesling drinker as a recommendation.

Bedford Road Pinot Noir

Bedford Road Estate
Pinot NoirWairau Valley
Renwick, Marlborough, New Zealand
2004
13%
$24.00 -- Durham, NC

Color: Translucent garnet
Nose: Raspberry
Body: Medium
Front: Strawberry smoothie
Middle: Subtle hints of auto transmission; light caramel
Back: Not a whole lot there; cedar, maybe
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screw top

This one divided opinions at my wine tasting. Some couldn't take more than two sips of it. Others loved it, and drank half the bottle. Everyone else liked it, but for different reasons. My caveat would be that it lacks the long structural unrolling that I love so much in really super Pinot Noir. So: good with food, not so good as a showcase.