The new and not so new releases from Andrew Hood's personal labels were sampled recently. I thought the wines were a mixed bag although the chardonnays as expected were impressive. For those not in the know Roaring 40's is Hood's entry level label, sporting 2 wines in the rarely seen Tassie sub $20 bracket.
Wellington started in 1990 purely as a contract maker processing 16t for 6 vineyards. Growth since this time has been phenominal, and in 2004 knocked out 770t for 40 vineyards. Grapes are sourced from 6 vineyards - 2 each from Launceston, East Coast and Coal River.
Roaring 40's Pinot Noir 2003
Sweet candy nose; not dumb, and has character. Palate not impressive, no fruit carry and seems disjointed. Hard to recommend. Nowhere near as good as a sample 6 months ago - bad bottle?
Roaring 40's Chardonnay 2003 (Recommended)
Deliberately made in a light bodied style. Low oak and low tweaking - lots of fruit talking here. Classy drop. Hood claims 2003 was an excellent chardonnay vintage in Tassie and this wine adds weight to his opinion.
Wellington Chardonnay 2000 (Recommended)
No malo, high acid rentention winemaking style. Serious burnt nutty notes on the nose - very penetrating. Awesome palate,very long and oozes class. Not at all fruity - more nutty, woodsy - mineral notes are delicate. Very young at 4 years.
Wellington Sauvignon Blanc 2004
Green, cool vintage style. Very kiwi like - grassy, racy and a little sweaty pong. Drinks quite well but may need a little more obvious fruit.
Wellington Pinot Gris 2004
1000 cases produced. Sourced from Launceston fruit. Tight, Italian alps style. Some heat from ripe fruit dives good palate length. Despite this surprisingly delicate.
Wellington Riesling 2004
A bit ho hum...didn't jump out at me. Only 3 weeks in the bottle. Tough to pick as a riesling, seemed a little dry white (ie generic) and a bit shy right now.
Wellington Pinot Noir 2002
AH claims to be the best PN made under the Wellington label. Fruity nose, seems simple and fails to excite. Palate is tight, high acid, bold structure that is consistent with the 2001. Fruit definition is not strong, and for mine the wine just doesn't get going.
Wellington Iced Riesling 2003 (Recommended)
Impressive as ever. Powerful, concentrated wine that surprisingly is very shy on the nose. Seems very balanced and never cloys - acid balance is a trademark here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment