News

Pick of the week

Te Kairanga Runholder Pinot Noir 2004 ($29.95, product No. 034348) is medium-bodied and seductively ripe, suggesting plum jam and cherries laced with herbs, toastiness and black pepper.

For fans of sauvignon blanc, New Zealand needs no introduction. A relative newcomer to the winemaking game, the country now produces top-flight - and some people believe the best - wines based on that zesty, herbaceous white grape. Stylistically, they may be more vivacious than the demure glories of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, the Loire Valley's two great sauvignon blanc districts, but they are indisputably compelling.

So, what's next for the land of kiwis and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa? For many years, people have been proclaiming pinot noir as New Zealand's second coming. The country's climate has parallels with Burgundy, source of the world's greatest pinots.

While New Zealand is still a long way from delivering on its New Burgundy promise, the pinots are palpably getting better. Ontarians can taste a good example of that progress in a wine being released today through Vintages stores as part of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario's spotlight on New Zealand.

I happen to think it's the star of the New Zealand offerings, which are dominated by those aforementioned sauvignon blancs.

The name is Te Kairanga Runholder Pinot Noir 2004 ($29.95, product No. 034348). It's medium-bodied and seductively ripe, suggesting plum jam and cherries laced with herbs, toastiness and black pepper.

Also upstaging the sauvignon blancs is Spy Valley Gewurztraminer 2006 ($22.95, No. 032870). Classic gewurztraminer flavours of luscious lychee, spice and rose petal marry beautifully in this dry, fragrant white. It would make a good partner for grilled fish topped with fruit salsa.

Yet another grape not commonly associated with New Zealand is pinot gris, a signature of Alsace in France and a strength of B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. Sileni Cellar Selection Pinot Gris 2006 doesn't disappoint, especially not at the price ($15.95, No. 032292). It's light to medium-bodied, with a silky texture and hints of pear, peach and flowers.

Among the sauvignon blancs, don't miss Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2006 ($19.95, No. 686675), with pronounced gooseberry and herbal notes, hints of grapefruit and flowers, with crisp acidity.

Also a good value, and widely available across Canada, is Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2006 ($18.15, No. 316570), light and quite zingy, showing electric acidity and mineral characters and fruity hints of melon and gooseberry.

Grapefruit is the predominant flavour of Mount Riley Savée Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc 2006 ($22.95, No. 032326). Here's a refreshing bubbly, with a creamy texture, delicate mousse and hints of pear, toasty bread and flowers.

From the rest of today's Vintages release, consider Henry of Pelham Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2006 ($14.95, No. 685610), dry, refreshing and quite saturated in colour for a pink wine, with bold flavours of strawberry and raspberry. It could stand up to lots of food, even pork.

For serious collectors, there's Antinori Solaia 2003 ($149. 95, No. 987586). This vintage of the iconic supertuscan red, from the hot European summer of 2003, may lack the usual finesse and subtlety, but it's an attractive candidate for early consumption. Smooth, rich and approachable now, it's teeming with blackberry, chocolate and licorice notes, along with leather, black pepper and nicely integrated tannins that show a little grip on the long finish. It could use another year or two in bottle and should age gracefully for another 10.

If you're purely concerned with quality and not blue-chip collector labels, though, a smarter buy is Angelini La Villa Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2001 ($44.95, No. 963199). This complex, multilayered Tuscan beauty is medium full-bodied, chewy and brimming with flavours of cherry liqueur, leather, sandalwood, rosemary and spices. It would rock with a mushroom risotto or roast pork.

Come back to this space next week for the names of three terrific Australian reds and for the inside track on some affordable, private-order red Bordeaux from the phenomenal 2005 vintage.

bcrosariol@globeandmail.com