First and foremost it’s I’ve got to apologise for the tardiness of this post. I’ve spent most of the weekend on all kinds of planes, trains, and automobiles and struggled for both wifi and power sockets for the computer. Needless to say, I didn’t need either of those to drink the wine, so that was done pretty successfully. A very eye opening week again.
We had 3 of the wines that I’d mentioned on the first post. We had the Villa Maria from Morrison’s, the Sainsbury’s TTD, and the Two Rivers from Spirited Wines. My willing guest tasters this week were my Mum and Dad. This was a big thing for my Mum given that she “doesn’t like red wine”. I swear she just says that to wind me up!
We started with the Villa Maria, a slightly cloudy ruby coloured wine. I think we messed up a touch here. This could really have done with an hour or two in a carafe or a water jug or something. Fresh from the bottle it was just a bit closed to really do it justice. Or at least I hope so, because the cherry, raspberry, and earthy forest floor smells translated to a slightly unbalanced alcoholic wine, with a 30 second finish of spicy, sour cherry. I’ll be honest, given it’s normally on the shelf for £16, I was a tad disappointed. 5/10.
Next up was the Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference range. This one is sourced from Central Otago, down in the South Island. A slightly brighter ruby colour, still a bit on the cloudy side, but not necessarily a bad thing. Very fresh strawberry and raspberry smells, with a hint of earthiness, but only subtle. When we drank it we were all pretty impressed. Very balanced fruity tastes, not exactly complex, but very pleasant. Also this was the cheapest out of all the wines we tried, at £11, so all in all one I’d definitely recommend to go and get. 8/10.
We finished up with the Spirited Wine’s Two Rivers from Marlborough. Slightly darker ruby, still a bit on the cloudy side. The smell was much more complex and open. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, forest floor, and wet leaf amongst others. The taste was smooth, fuller bodied than the others, and like the smell, the taste had plenty of different things to be having a think about. Smooth and long finish, a very nice wine, but it needs to be remembered it’s £20, nearly twice the price of the TTD. 8/10.
I’m afraid I missed the food pairing post this week cos of the problems I said earlier, but game is usually a great pairing with kiwi pinot noir. Unfortunately we’re outside of the game seasons in the UK, so duck it was, and very nice too. It’s got a lovely rich taste to it which pairs great with the luscious fruitiness of kiwi Pinot Noirs. Maybe better to cook them in a more fruit-sauce kind if thing than asian spices.
Good week though, and looking forward to getting back on the wagon next week with the next one.
Cheers
Other posts in NWTW Week 23:
#NWTW Week 23: Pinot Noir from New Zealand (Part One)
#NWTW Week 23: Pinot Noir from New Zealand (Part Two)
#NWTW Week 23: The First Pinot Noir of the Year
#NWTW Week 23: What’s So Special About New Zealand Pinot Noir?
