Wooing Tree Vineyard wine tasting

This evening the North Shore Wine and Food Society had Wooing Tree Vineyard along from Central Otago.

Wooing Tree predominantly has a range of Pinot Noir wines, including a white wine made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes.  The Sandstorm Reserve 2007 was also released this evening.

A short synopsis of our tasting this evening (in order of tasting):

Wine	Comment
Blondie 2008	White wine made from 100% Pinot Noir.  Champagne Colour and to taste it was like Champagne without the bubbles.  Nice and could be paired with fish.
Rose 2008	A 100% Pinot Noir based Rose with a light nose.  Not fruity like the Hawkes Bay Rose’s we have recently been drinking.  In fact, I would even say it was not a Rose style I have encountered before.  It was okay, but not as a Rose.
Pinot Gris 2008	Light kerosene to the nose and a nice dry light lemon/lime flavour.  Very smooth and would probably go well with a Thai Duck Red Curry with Grapes.  Highly recommended.
Chardonnay 2007	This had an oaky nose, although it smelt a bit different than a standard french oak.  It was a big wine, however was not big on fruit or oak on the palate.
Beetle Juice 2007	This is Wooing Tree’s entry level Pinot Noir.  Raspberry to the nose, thin, very fruity and a sweet acidity (if there is such a thing).
Pinot Noir 2007	I was not overly keen on the leather nose characteristic of this wine and felt this big wine was too heavy in alcohol.
Pinot Noir 2005	A lovely big plum-dominated Pinot Noir, with a little bit of roughness.
Sandstorm Reserve 2007	This was an excellent big plum-filled wine and definitely the best of the Pinot Noirs this evening, although I felt it was probably overpriced at its normal price of $85.  Cropping on this grape is one bunch per vine.