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Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist - Michael Vaughan

The whites of New Zealand

(Publishing Date: Saturday May 20, 2000  - Toronto Section)

It’s another big week for wine lovers with the some 30 New Zealand wineries checking into town for their annual big tasting gig at Alice Fazooli’s this Tuesday night. 

Add to this the same-day launch of the LCBO’s 88-page glossy Spring/Summer Classics Catalogue and you have pandemonium.  (For the uninitiated, the LCBO starts to fill customer orders from the Catalogue that have been received by fax and/or mail as of 5:00 p.m. this coming Tuesday.)

When it comes to New Zealand wines, the Classics Catalogue offers slim pickings with only one white being available from the ever-hard-to-find Cloudy Bay. And so it is with heavy heart that I have to report that I failed you dear readers from meeting the wine maker from this estate. It’s not every day that I am invited to fly to Los Angeles to take part in an exclusive tasting of a country’s reputed best wine producer. I am puzzled that that despite numerous requests, I never did get a list of what was going to be tasted. In any case, my schedule did not allow me to attend.

I wasn’t too upset because I thought (incorrectly) that I would be able to sample Cloudy Bay’s wines here in Toronto at next Tuesday’s New Zealand wine fair. Once again I was stymied. According to Tony Hirons of the Merchant Vintner who represents this house, “Cloudy Bay doesn’t have enough wine to participate.” “Moreover,” he adds, “why frustrate potential buyers when they can’t get the wine, it only makes them mad.”

While I'm pleased that New Zealand's top houses, including Te matat, producer or unobtainable renown reds, can share with our friends n L.A., wouldn't it be great to have them visits Toronto in a similar capacity.

The best us Canucks will be able to do here in Ontario is have a very small vertical of one. That one is Cloudy Bay 1999 Sauvignon Blanc which is making its debut in the Classics Catalogue at $25. Fortunately, the LCBO was able to strong-arm the supplier for 280 cases. Thanks to Hirons, I was sent a bottle for assessment. And it’s a tasty treat. The nose is very crisp and gently herbaceous, reminiscent of a fine Sancerre. It is very dry on the palate with zesty, grassy flavours and just the slightest hint of honey. With 13.5% alcohol, it has good grip, lots of acidity and a lengthy finish. A perfect refresher for a spring day and a great match for seafood.      

Ironically, you could have bought it at a better price directly from the agent at $23.50. Don’t call, he’s sold out! So next Tuesday you can order your 3 bottle limit from the Classics. Is it the best Sauvignon Blanc? Well I can’t say because I haven’t had a chance to preview the New Zealand 1999 vintage. 

I certainly loved the bright ripe peachy flavours of Goldwater 1998 ‘Dog Point’ Sauvignon Blanc and the white peach-ruby grapefruit notes of Crawford 1997 Sauvignon Blanc that appeared last year in Vintages (although not the recently-released, oaky, 1998 edition of the latter). The consistently tasty 1999 Goldwater will be released at $15.95 in the July 8^th Vintages release. You can not only taste it, but also explore the wide variety of ’99 Sauvignons first-hand at next Tuesday’s Fair for only $45 (call 705-444-5255).

Keep in mind that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a decent wine. This year’s Toronto Wine & Cheese Show gold medal winning Stoneleigh Vineyards 1999 Sauvignon Blanc is bound to please with its fresh, dry, crisp, gooseberry flavours and persistent finish. It’s a bargain at $12.95 and, better yet, you can find it on the LCBO General List.

It may be a matter of opinion, but I feel that the rarer Cloudy Bay 1998 Chardonnay surpasses their Sauvignon Blanc. Pale in colour, the nose has lots of bright white peach aromas with a blush of vanilla, while the fleshy, peppery-peach fruit flavours dance on the palate. Even though the agent’s allotment at $28.50 is long gone, the LCBO will be releasing 56 cases. 

Last year the LCBO snuck it out in one of their unannounced “soft” Vintages releases meaning that only a few insiders (not even the agent) were aware that it was being sold! Greg Dunlop of the LCBO’s Vintages department assures me that this shady practice of unannounced releases has ended and that Cloudy Bay will be a Selected Distribution item for July 8^th release at only $25.85, which is in this case $2.65 less than what the agent was charging. Mark your calendars for this one.

Speaking of Chardonnay, there are other reliable producers. In this month’s May Vintages release I would recommend Selaks 1998 Chardonnay ‘Drylands’ Winemakers Reserve at $18.35. The bright, crisp, fresh Anjou pear flavours with its enticing hint of vanilla is at its peak and can be enjoyed immediately.

As for reds, I have yet to taste Cloudy Bay’s new Pinot Noir. The best New Zealand red I have tasted to date is the stunning Goldwater 1997 Waiheke Island Esslin Merlot which cost $88.20. Although it’s now all gone, Goldwater’s agent Lorac has approximately one hundred bottles of the 1998 (untasted) on consignment.

Moving on to some other special wines in the upcoming Classics Catalogue, those of you who eschewed the golf course during Santé, could have participated in a truly significant tasting of eight rarified Far Niente Napa Valley wines (a steal at only $40) which most of us will never be able to afford, never mind find. 

This vertical was conducted by Far Niente’s Larry Maguire and I have the pleasure of reporting that the Classics Catalogue has acquired both the best Chard (’96, ’97 and ’98) and Cab (’93 to ’97) of the group. 

Far Niente 1998 Chardonnay (not inexpensive at $69) is medium bodied with fairly intense, crisp, Anjou pear flavours. Stylistically it doesn’t have the rich, buttery flavours which one might associate with a California Chard, because it has had no malolactic fermentation (although it was aged for 8 months in oak). 

Of the five red vintages, my favourite was the Far Niente 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon which was quite lovely with very refined, well balanced, solid, black currant flavours accompanied by an elegant, gently cedary finish. At $158 it is wine for those with some discretionary income to spare. Wouldn’t it be nice if Cloudy Bay decided to participate in next year’s Santé?

Planning ahead: The 4^th annual Covenant House wine auction and dinner takes place at Royal Ontario Museum on Thursday, June 8^th starting at 5:30 pm with the auction starting at 6:15 (approximately lots) and dinner at 8. Tickets are $25 for the auction or $250 for the entire evening with some 300 in attendance. Call Susan Schwartz at (416) 204-7067 for tickets and information.