Craggy Range Wine Tasting

The North Shore Wine and Food Society had Craggy Range Winery along this evening.  With vineyards throughout the country they grow grapes in what they deem to be the most appropriate region for that type of grape. 

It was an excellent evening and Craggy Range have some superb wines.  Two wines this evening I found to be particularly good; the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

My rough notes from this evening:

Sauvignon Blanc, Avery Vineyard, Marlborough, 2008	Lovely nose and taste, clear, crisp, passionfruit to the nose and taste, fresh.  Drinking beautifully now but should be good for another 1-2 years. A great wine.*
Chardonnay, Kidnappers Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, 2008	Light armpit aroma (but ok), very young, lightly oaked, not big, Pale straw colour.  It was described as a “Chardonnay for Sauvignon Blanc Drinkers” which I would agree with.  Quite nice.
Chardonnay, Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, 2008	Strong drench oak/buttery nose, light yellow hue. This will be a big wine, but I felt that the oak is squashing out a bit of the fruit flavour.  With a cream-based pasta this was a great accompaniment.
Pinot Noir, Zebra Vineyard, Bendigo, Central Otago, 2007	Beautiful nose, blackberry, big wine, Awesome, very long tail, great mid-palette.  One of the best Pinot Noir’s I’ve had!
Syrah, Block 14, Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, 2007	Deep purple, light pepper nose, starts strong with a medium finish, big, great wine
Merlot, Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, 2006	Lovely plum nose, dark red colour, dry.  Initially I felt this lacked anything of interest, but it grew on me.
Sophia, Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, 2007	This is a Merlot based Bordeaux blend.  Super Dark colour, lovely, Plum/Vanilla, Sufficient tannins to cellar.  I thought this was a bit overpriced, however we decided to get one anyway to cellar for a few years, since it felt like there was potential just waiting for time.

* Considering the wine notes for the Sauvignon Blanc mention grapefruit and white nectarine, I wonder whether I am misinterpreting passionfruit.  More drinking is obviously required.