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Portland Wine Christmas Tasting 2000 - New World

These are notes from the Portland Wine Christmas 2000 New World tasting. (23/11/00)

Tasting Notes

Tasted in November 2000. Click to locate stockists:

North America

Rex Hill Pinot Gris (Oregon, USA) 1999: A very pale wine. Soapy, perfumed nose. Reasonable weight on the palate, with pleasant texture. Some spice, but somewhat uninteresting. 13.5/20 (£12.99)

Rex Hill Kings Ridge Pinot Noir (Oregon, USA) 1998: A pale red hue. Smoky red berry fruits on the nose. A similar profile on the palate, with correct acidity, smoky oak, and primary red fruit flavours. A pleasant wine. 14.5/20 (£12.99)

Quady Essensia Orange Muscat (California, USA) 1999: An attractive, orange-amber hue. A floral, lemon and honey nose. Good weight on the palate, balanced acidity, nice orange and honey notes. 16.5/20 (£6.99)

Quady Elysium Black Muscat (California, USA) 1998: A pink-red wine. It has a sweet, floral, rose-petal nose. An attractive, medium bodied texture. Spice, berries and roses. Correct balance. 15/20 (£6.99)

South America

Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) 2000: A pale wine. An attractive grassy, white fruit nose, with a background mineral quality to it. Slightly pétillant on the palate. It has fresh pear drop acidity, and a fruit gum sweetness. An unusual style. 14.5/20 (£5.95)

Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay (Chile) 1998: Another fairly pale wine. A big buttery, Chardonnay-French oak nose. Hints of spice and toffee. Fairly fresh, with very apparent toffee oak on the palate, dominating the fruit. 14/20 (£6.99)

Montes Alpha Chardonnay (Chile) 1998: Another nose dominated by French oak, this wine is very similar in style to the Casa Lapostolle. Buttery, slightly estery fruit. The palate is laden with oak, with buttery caramel toffee, and sufficient acidity. 14/20 (£9.49)

Casa Lapostolle Merlot (Chile) 1999: A pale red wine. Spicy red fruits and Christmas cake on the nose. The palate has a thin, light body, with high acidity and harsh tannins. Too young. 13?+/20 (£7.95)

Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) 1999: Very green on the nose. Leafy, thin blackcurrant fruit. The palate is as expected, with a light-medium body and thin, acidic blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Harsh tannins. Also too young. 13?+/20 (£6.99)

Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta (Chile) 1997: A rich, glossy, typically Chilean red-purple hue. Slightly toffee oak on the nose, with intense blackcurrant fruit. A silky texture on the palate, with firm but unaggressive tannins, and rich black fruits through to the finish. Some peppery notes are the only complexity. Good length. Lacks complexity, but this may develop with time. 17+/20 (£28.95)

Montes Alpha Syrah (Chile) 1999: Spicy blackberry fruit on the nose. The palate is slightly thin, very green, with high acidity and blackberry fruits. All these wines are far too young. 13+/20 (£11.95)

Errazuriz Pinot Noir Reserva (Chile) 1998: A moderate red colour. Strawberry jam on the nose, and a spicy, jammy palate. Another poor New World effort with Pinot Noir. 12/20 (£10.95)

Errazuriz Merlot Reserva (Chile) 1997: A spicy, fruitcake and redcurrant nose. Moderate tannins on the palate, with balanced acidity, but a light body. Pleasant fruitcake and chocolate notes. 14/20 (£10.95)

Errazuriz Syrah Reserva (Chile) 1998: A blackberry fruit nose, with a very subtle hint of cork taint. Unintegrated tannins on the palate, uninteresting flavour profile, probably corked. Not rated. (£10.95)

Pisano Family Reserve Tannat (Uruguay) 1999: A deep, rich purple-black colour. Very closed on the nose. The palate is short on fruit, with aggressive tannins. Difficult to know how this one will develop, but it is too young at present. 13?+/20 (£8.99)

South Africa

Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 1998: Clean, mineral nose, with a touch of smoke. Good weight and acidity on the palate, with some pleasant white fruit. 14/20 (£7.95)

Klein Constantia Chardonnay 1998: An attractive, smoky nose, with little evidence of oak. A slightly honeyed touch to the palate, good fruit, nice use of oak. 14/20 (£8.99)

Siedelberg Estate Chenin Blanc 1998: An aromatically fruity nose. Quite harsh acidity on the palate, with a cumbersome feel to it. 12/20 (£5.75)

Siedelberg Estate Chardonnay 1998: A smoky, almost meaty nose, with good use of oak. The palate is soft, with fairly low acidity, but has good fruit. There is a smokiness, present in many of the wines, here also. 15/20 (£8.49)

Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 1999: A smoke and oatmeal nose, with lovely fresh fruit. On the palate this fruit is equally present, with superbly clean and crisp acidity. Medium bodied, with a good texture. 16.5/20 (£11.99)

Rustenberg Five Soldiers Chardonnay 1998: A very Burgundian, oatmealy nose, with a firm streak of lemony fruit. The palate has beautiful texture and weight, with rich fruit and superb balance. 16.5/20 (£14.95)

Siedelberg Merlot 1998: A very attractive glossy red wine, with a hint of amber. A typical varietal nose of spicy fruitcake. Very green on the palate, but has good body, spices and red fruits. Correct acidity and prominent tannins. 15.5+/20 (£7.99)

Siedelberg Cabernet Merlot 1998: Another typical nose, an obvious Cabernet Merlot blend. Fairly rich palate, again very green, with prominent tannins and lots of simple blackcurrants and spicy fruitcake. 15.5+/20 (£8.49)

Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 1998: A pale orange-red. The nose seems a little closed, but has leafy undergrowth aromas with no hint of confection. The palate has a nice texture, with correct acidity and smoky, macerated red fruits. 15/20 (£14.95)

Jacobsdal Pinotage 1997: A moderate red colour. A nose of cloves and jammy, confected fruit gums. Soft palate, with low acidity and subtle tannins, some red fruits. 12/20 (Price TBA)

Meerlust Pinot Noir 1997: Quite tawny looking considering the age of this wine. An earthy, leafy nose, with a touch of confection, and some toffee oak. The palate is confected, jammy, a little earthy, with soft tannins. 12/20 (£11.95)

Meerlust Rubicon 1996: A rich looking red wine. Spicy black fruit on the nose, but seemed a little green to me. The palate is packed with fruit, on the tannic side. I think this wine needs more time. 15+/20 (£15.99)

Rustenberg Stellenbosch Estate Red 1996: A spicy, black fruits and fruitcake nose, with a hint of toffee oak. On the palate correct acidity is balanced with pleasant tannins and peppery alcohol. Lots of spicy berry and black fruits. Finishes very well. 16.5+/20 (£10.99)

Klein Constantia Marlbrook 1996: Spicy Cabernet blackcurrant fruit on the nose here. The palate has a lovely texture, good acidity and lots of black, spicy, peppery fruits. The tannins are still prominent and need to integrate a little more. Another good finish. 16.5+/20 (£8.95)

New Zealand

Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) 1999: Grassy, white fruit nose. Good, fresh acidity on the palate. Flavours of grass, grapefruit, peapods and fruit drops. 15.5/20 (£8.49)

Jackson Estate Chardonnay (New Zealand) 1998: Fresh fruit nose, and a touch of oak. The palate is fresh, a little buttery, with pear drop and estery notes. Sufficient acidity. 15.5/20 (£8.99)

Jackson Estate Pinot Noir (New Zealand) 1999: Smoky, berry fruit nose. Seems a little jammy. Smoke, pepper and confected fruit reside on the palate. 12/20 (£9.95)

Sileni Estates Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon (New Zealand) 1997: A rich fruit nose. Packed with more blackcurrant Cabernet fruit and spicy Merlot on the nose. Lovely weight, still a little tannic. 15.5/20 (£12.49)

Australia

Taltarni Brut Taché Rosé (Australia) NV: Good onion skin colour. A fresh strawberry fruit character to the nose. The mousse is initially pleasant and soft, although it then fades rapidly. Some pleasant, uncomplicated fruit. 14.5/20 (£8.99)

Miranda Family Reserve Old Vine Sparkling Shiraz (Australia) 1994: This sparkling wine is made by injecting gas into the wine under pressure, rather than the traditional method of second fermentation in bottle, or even the lesser method of second fermentation in tank. It has a pale orange-red hue. Sharp acidity on the palate, with forward red fruits, and a streak of chocolate. The mousse is almost non-existent. 14/20 (£13.99)

Mount Langhi Ghiran Riesling (Australia) 1998: Moderately pale wine. Good lemony fruit on the nose. A palate of white fruit, quite good acidity and fair weight. 15.5/20 (£8.99)

Stonier Chardonnay (Australia) 1998: A fairly light, aromatic nose. Lemony acidity on the palate, and a nice texture. Good weight. 16/20 (£9.75)

Mount Langhi Ghiran Billi Billi Creek Shiraz Grenache (Australia) 1997: An attractive red colour. Spicy Grenache on the nose. Somewhat confected on the palate, with raspberry fruit gum flavours and a medicinal streak. Still quite tannic. 15/20 (£8.99)

Mount Langhi Ghiran Shiraz (Australia) 1997: A lovely, deep purple colour. Sweet blackberry fruit on the nose, again slightly medicinal. More sweet fruit on the palate, with good, balanced acidity and firm tannins. Has potential. 16+/20 (£19.49)

Stonier Pinot Noir (Australia) 1998: A pale red colour, with a hint of orange. Jammy, smoky, peppery red fruit on the nose. Not too jammy on the palate, in fact a little earthy. Some notes suggestive of prunes. 14/20 (£10.99)

Stonier Merricks Pinot Noir (Australia) 1997: A moderately intense colour. An attractive nose of compost and earth, with some nice fruit. A balanced palate, moderately tannic and medium bodied. One of the most reasonable New World Pinot Noirs I've recently sampled. 15.5/20 (£16.95)

Miranda Golden Botrytis (Australia) 1997: A rich yellow-orange hue. Good botrytis on the nose, with oranges and marmalade. A luscious texture, and sufficient acidity. Rich oil of orange flavours, with freshly made toast, and a slightly burnt, caramelised note. 16.5/20 (£7.99 per 37.5cl)

Miranda Pioneers Raisined Muscat (Australia) 2000: A paler wine. A fresh, grapey, typically Muscat nose. Good texture, balancing acidity and a fresh, lively flavour profile. 15.5/20 (£4.75 per 37.5cl)