Meeting 441 - -" Wines of New Zealand"
Friday 17th September 2021
Neville Hall, Waltham St Lawrence
Speaker: Tony Wellings, (Antipodean Sommelier)
This month we were very pleased to welcome a new presenter. Tony Wellings had described
himself as "director of The Antipodean Sommelier, a small but perfectly formed specialist wine producer, brand owner,
importer and distributor", and at the start of his presentation Tony gave more detail on how his company had been set up in 2001,
combining a wine merchant and a winegrower and dealing with 200 Independent Wine Shops in the UK and selling around 15,000 cases a year.
After an aperitif of a sparkling rosé from Marlborough we moved on to taste a further (still) rosé and then two whites and four reds.
The two whites, both from the 2020 vintage, were much appreciated, with the (despite the name) relatively restrained Tony
Bish "Fat&Sassy" Chardonnay from Hawke's Bay, matured in egg-shaped concrete tanks and then large barrels, scoring 8,
fractionally higher than the fuller and richer Awatere Pinot Gris from Marlborough.
We then compared two Pinot Noirs: a
2019 Ward Valley Mt Victoria from Marlborough and a 2018 Coal Pit "Tiwha" from the coolest part of Central Otago.
The latter had a lovely texture and richness (reminiscent of a top Pinot Noir from the Ahr valley) and scored 8+,
whereas the Marlborough example was very light and may have needed time to mature. The final two wines were both
from the Obsidian estate on Waiheke Island to the east of Auckland; both the 2016 Estate Syrah and the 2015 Vitreous,
a Bordeaux blend of five grape varieties, were full and complex, with the latter achieving the higher score of 8.5.
Mark had prepared a starter of seared tuna steaks with caper, lemon & olive oil sauce and a salad of couscous and grated
cauliflower; the main course was barbecued lamb cutlets with butter beans and green beans. Mark could not attend the
meeting, but his colleague David was a very competent replacement in supplying the finishing touches and serving the food.
Tony's informal and humorous but also very informative presentation of the wines was much appreciated and the evening was most enjoyable.(Ian Roe)
| The Wines | Score | Price* (£) |
| Aperitif: Snapper Rock Sparkling Cuvee Rose NV, Marlborough |
6 | 18.00 |
| The Whites: |
||
| Two Rivers Isle of Beauty Rose 2020, Marlborough | 6+ | 12.00 |
| Awatere River Pinot Gris 2020, Marlborough | 7+ | 12.00 |
| Tony Bish "Fat & Sassy" Chardonnay 2019, Hawkes Bay | 8 | 16.00 |
| The Reds: |
||
| Ward Valley "Mt Victoria Pinot Noir 2019, Marlborough | 6+ | 16.00 |
| Coal Pit "Tiwha" pinot Noir 2019, Central Otago | 8+ | 30.00 |
| Obsidian Vitreous Syrah 2015, Waiheka Island | 7+ | 20.00 |
| The Supper Wine: Obsidian Vitreous Bordeaux Blend, Waiheka Island 2016 |
8 | 20.00 |