2007 True and Daring Riesling, Another Gem From the Kiwis

True & Daring is brand new to the American market, debuting here just this past May. I was sent a sample of the only wine they make, riesling, to taste and share with you. This 2007 riesling took a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge in 2010 and a trophy for Best New Zealand Riesling from the same event.

The wine is made by the Dobsons who also own Sandihurst Winery, which itself is relatively new to the New Zealand wine scene, at least in it's current iteration. I read through the website and really like the owner's story. Celia and Hennie Bosman bought the old Sandihurst property in 2005, apparently it was a dilapidated old wreck of a winery. They've set about rebuilding and renewing the entire property. Before moving to New Zealand, the couple and their children had been living in South Africa, which Hennie is a native of. His wife, Celia, is English born and the couple met in Portugal while she was a ballet dancer and he was in the Foreign Service.

I found it remarkable that after only two years, the Dobsons were producing such great wine. This is clear evidence of the meeting point between exceptional terroir and skilled, dedicated people. To make award winning wine in 2007 makes the True & Daring story that much more remarkable. Cold and wet conditions severely affected fruit-set. As a result, the harvest was smaller thank average. Luckily, a period of heat and low rainfall during the midst of the growing season did ensure the grape themselves reached optimum ripeness.

After the 2007 vintage was harvested, the grapes were divided into seven stainless steel tanks to begin fermentation. In each tank, a different strain of yeast was inoculated, with the objective being a final-assembly from each vat of a more complex wine. Fermentation temperatures were kept cool and stopped when the residual sugar levels reached a point so that the final wine would be off-dry, but only just. Since riesling does have a lot of natural acidity, this balance point is critical to a producing a complex, layered wine.

With fermentation complete, winemaker Kirk Bray combined the tanks into one lot, then blended them together on light lees, stirring the wine occasionally over about six months. True & Daring was fine but unfiltered and bottle-aged for 24 months before being released. In all, only 5,450 six packs were produced.

Sourced entirely from the Annabrook Vineyard in Nelson, New Zealand, the 2007 True & Daring comes in at 12.2% abv. The name comes from the philosophy that that the winery would stay true to one grape and be daring enough to take on only Riesling, as the wine they produce.

I poured the 2007 True & Daring into my glass with a high level of excitement. Of late, a lot of riesling has been gracing these pages. I wrote up the stellar 2009 Mt. Beautiful Cheviot Hills riesling last month, and also was able to taste through a superb lineup of Finger Lakes rieslings just a few weeks ago. I for one hope that this trend continues, bring on the Austrian and German rieslings next! Oh and more from New York and New Zealand too please!

The aromatics of the True & Daring were awesome, lots of ripe peach mixed with hints of petrol and a stony, hard burst of minerality. Citrus notes, like a diced up grapefruit also showed themselves, next to a bouquet of white flowers. The complexity of this wine is something to be marveled at, I kept sniffing my glass, putting off taking a sip. If you know me, you know that's a sure sign I am happy with what I'm drinking.

As young riesling goes, this True & Daring also ranks highly for it's complexity on the palate. Maybe those four years in the bottle really did a lot to enhance the wine, I believe that to be the case. An absolute joy to taste with ripe mandarin orange, white peach, and a laser beam of minerality through the mid palate. The acidity contributed the structure, I could feel it all over my palate. This wine is very sure of itself, is comfortable in it's own skin. I got the sense that the winemaker basically lets the fruit do the talking, with only minimal guidance. My favorite part might have been the finish, which had a crisp, dry quality that lent itself to pairing with food.

Next time I go out to sushi, I am going to have riesling and if a sushi place happens to have New Zealand riesling, I'll be incredibly happy. All in all, this is kick-ass wine. It's got great quality, complexity, and a cool story behind it. Since the 2007 True & Daring was just released, finding it is going to be a bit of a challenge but I would recommend contacting Gordon Palmateer and seeing where you can find it in your area. At a suggested retail price of $35, the price is spot on for what you get. Will a $35 New Zealand riesling sell in the United States? I wish I knew. Would I buy a bottle or two if I saw it for sale at my local wine store? Yes. Easily an A- and STRONG BUY recommendation. Cheers to awesome juice from the Kiwis.

This wine was a media sample for review purposes.


Beau Carufel

A Beautiful Riesling: 2009 Mt. Beautiful Riesling Cheviot Hills

As I blogged about previously in the 2009 Mt. Beautiful sauvignon blanc review, New Zealand is well known (and justifiably so) as a producer of that varietal. 20 years ago, the first wines from the land of the Kiwi (and Flight of the Conchords) to make it to our shores were sauvignon blancs, offering a diametrically opposing flavor profile to California's examples.

The New Zealand rieslings are beginning to garner attention though, and I tried the 2009 Mt. Beautiful Cheviot Hills riesling on Memorial Day while I ate chips and hummus at my brother's place. We did barbecue later, but that wine probably won't be written up because it wasn't very good.

While not exactly cheap at $19 suggested retail, the Mt. Beautiful does deliver in spades. Aromatically, a beautiful mix of flowers and citrus wafted up out of the glass. I also detected a hint of rubber and tart green apple. Finding aromas like those always brings a smile to my face. My tasting impressions took place after I chilled the wine for about 15 minutes in the fridge, then after taking notes I stuck it back in for about an hour.

To date, my experience with New Zealand riesling is somewhat limited but if they taste like the 2009 Mt. Beautiful, sign me up for a lot more. I loved the crisp citrus elements that intertwined with just a hint of apricot and pear, creating a savory/sweet/crisp experience that had everyone raving. I poured this for my Mom, younger brother, and his girlfriend. Each of them loved it and I think a lot of that had to do with the dash of sweetness on the finish. The winemaker aged this riesling on light lees for about six months which contributes to the complexity and rounder, less angular mouthfeel. Another fact that you know will make me happy is the 12.5% abv present. Hooray for low alcohol wines!

For that $19 suggested retail (think closer to $15 on the shelf) you get a slam dunk riesling. A- and STRONG BUY recommendation. This is the real deal, riesling lovers. Buy it. To find where to buy it locally, contact Mr. Robert Watkins here or Ms. Catherine Seda here.

This wine was sent as a media sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

2009 Mt. Beautiful New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

On the other side of the world lies a country, one that has given us many things to be happy about. For one, they graciously exported Flight of the Conchords. We should be eternally grateful for that. Another thing New Zealand exports to these shores: copious amounts of sauvignon blanc. For a while, it seemed that sauv. blanc was the only varietal grown down (or up) there. Before delving into the meat of this most recent review, I'll just take a moment to profess additional thanks that we're now seeing pinot noir, riesling, and viognier emerge from the titanic shadow of the sauvignon blanc engine.

img src: http://flight-of-the-conchords.edogo.com

Journey with me then, to a land down under. No, not the Australian "down under" where they grill all sorts of shit and talk funny. Rather, to a smaller place with lots of sheep, picturesque hills, and cold winds blowing through the vineyards. Yes, New Zealand. Where the men are men and the sheep are afraid. I've never been to New Zealand before but I suspect if I can write well enough, someone will ask me to go on a press junket down there to explore the incredible wines the Kiwis are producing.

A month ago the always-awesome Stacey at Balzac sent some white wines down for me to go through this summer and post up. I already did the Shannon Ridge sauvignon blanc from Lake County a few weeks ago. After my pinot-fueled jaunt through Portland and the Willamette Valley last week, this week has been devoted to reminding my palate that there's more to life than (awesome) pinot noir.

img src: http://www.mtbeautiful.co.nz/home/

Mt. Beautiful's vines were first planted in 2004 on vineyards situated above a river called the Waiau. This area is south of the very famous region of Marlborough, home of wineries like Kim Crawford. Somewhat confusingly, Mt. Beautiful is tucked into the Cheviot Hills of North Canterbury, again a region south of Marlborough.

I chilled this bottle a little, mainly because today was a warm day and I needed something cold to sip. After I tasted the Mt. Beautiful sauvignon blanc, it went back into the fridge to chill down more and be enjoyed with a delicious Santa Fe chicken sub sandwich from Leucadia Pizza. That sandwich is awesome by the way, so I recommend it if you ever hit up Leucadia Pizza.

Yes, I emptied the bottle. No, not alone.

The wine was great too! It poured a nice green-tinted straw color into my glass. I smelled a bunch of interesting things like fresh cut grass, tropical fruit, river rock, and citrus aromas right on the finish. I did detect a little alcohol burn and when I checked the bottle, found that this sauvignon blanc is coming in at 14.0% abv. That's too high for sauvignon blanc, in my opinion, but it didn't show too strongly here.

Upon my first taste, I knew I'd like the '09 Mt. Beautiful because it was so clean and crisp yet had some complexity. Sometimes when a wine is clean, it sacrifices complexity and texture, I believe a balance must be struck. With this sauvignon blanc, I tasted grapefruit and hints of guava mixed with a great streak of minerality. The finish lasted longer than I expected, further pleasing the palate. That high alcohol did lend some weight and heat to the mouthfeel too, which is unfortunate but in the end, the wine tasted very, very good.

If you're looking to try a style of New Zealand sauvignon blanc that's different than the Kim Crawford and Nobilo's of the Kiwi wine world, check out the 2009 Mt. Beautiful sauvignon blanc. At a suggested retail of $18 and a real-world retail closer to $14, it's delicious! I give it a B++ and a STRONG BUY recommendation. This wine is such a lovely summertime white, I think you'll love it on those hot days where you want a light meal and nice glass of white wine. Here in San Diego, The WineSellar & Brasserie has it in stock. Outside San Diego, contact Mr. Robert Watkins here, and ask where you can buy it.

This wine was a media sample sent for review purposes.


Beau Carufel