Varietal:Blend
Appellation:New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay
Style:Red
WOW Rating:92

“Within this region, the unique micro-climate of Gimblett Road, in the lee of Roy’s Hill, is particularly renowned,” proclaims John Hancock, “Here, vines reach deep into the stony, free draining soil of the old Ngaruroro riverbed, sheltered from the prevailing Westerly winds, basking in an abundance of dry, warm weather. At Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Road Vineyards, the river stones gently release their heat long after the sun has set. This helps to promote perfect ripening of the grapes.
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Varietal:Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation:California, Napa
Style:Red

Aromas of green pepper corn, black fruit and a dash of pepper are followed by flavors of jammy blackberries, cassis, with bits of cedar in the long length. “It has a beautiful deep garnet color and an incredibly inky texture. Notice the overall bouquet of black berries, white pepper, toasty oak and a surprising note of jasmine,” says winemaker Chris Pisani.

I conclude this analysis of the 2009 Futures tomorrow, a synthesis of these tastings. I will touch briefly on other wines that I found interesting, without doing detailed comment, but if it turns out that some readers want (though I think the private emails sent by readers of this blog).

Here are sorted into three categories, wines which have shown themselves worthy of interest at these tastings.

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Dry whites

The warm days of late August have not been ideal for the development of dry white wines. Some wines lacked freshness of fruit, acidity and taste too low gives centers a little soft. The differences in maturity of grapes can alleviate these sensations ripest wines suffer from lack of tone in the middle palate. For my part, a preference for the dry whites from the ocean vintages (less sun) to slow ripening grapes like 2007 and 2008. These wines are pure fruit, blood, and lots of freshness, while being well structured.
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Varietal: Blend
Appellation:New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay
Style:Red
WOW Rating:92

“Within this region, the unique micro-climate of Gimblett Road, in the lee of Roy’s Hill, is particularly renowned,” proclaims John Hancock, “Here, vines reach deep into the stony, free draining soil of the old Ngaruroro riverbed, sheltered from the prevailing Westerly winds, basking in an abundance of dry, warm weather. At Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Road Vineyards, the river stones gently release their heat long after the sun has set. This helps to promote perfect ripening of the grapes.
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Varietal: Albarino
Appellation:Spain, Rias Baixas
Style:Dry White
WOW Rating:88
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Varietal: Blend
Appellation: Portugal
Style:Fortified Red, Sweet
WOW Rating:93

Due to the age and rarity of this Port no price is quoted.
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Varietal:Merlot

Appellation:California, Sonoma

Style:Red

Price:$18

WOW Rating:90

Entering stage left is rich plum with a plume of fresh thyme in the hat. Flavors of complexly ripe fruit with, again, nice herbal nuance, then plum, blackberry, a hint of earthy dust, along with delicate floral hint of violets. This soft but assertive red will match a big steak, or any assertive red meat dish.
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Varietal:Chardonnay

Appellation:California, Sonoma

Style:Dry White

Price:$15

WOW Rating:93

This Chardonnay exhibits ripe melon, mineral/limestone and lime/citrus in the nose. The sip presents a wine with restraint, though there is citrus marmalade and toffee. The Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay is bright, complex and beautifully balanced.
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Appellation:California, Sonoma

Style: Port

Price: $19

WOW Rating:91

This is a winery that has earned fame for the production of Cabernet. Their nearby neighbor is Silver Oak, the impossible to find and expensive Cabernet Sauvignon. The good news is that due to increased production, the Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is very much an equal that is much easier to find.
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