This wine, impossibly pale - approaching a sort of white tea, white grape juice clarity - smells of good quality rose petal tea from China: smooth, floral, beautiful, perhaps not terribly complex, but then again Gewürztraminer seldom is, at least on the nose.There's also a sort of clove oil spiciness, but only just.
In the mouth, this wine is a big surprise. It's full, fleshy, but not fat; oily, but pleasantly so, and all in all strangely austere, restrained. It's got a marzipan fruitiness combined with a dry finish, good length, and a miraculous ability to keep you going back for another taste. If anything, it reminds me of French orange blossom honey combined with Dresdner stollen: all gentle spices, orange peel, hay, and quiet. Delicious.
When summertime rolls around in another few months, I'm looking forward to reading on the back patio with a glass or two of this; it's delightful, elegant, and just the sort of thing to have with a burrito al pastor.
Kathy Lynskey Wines
Price: US $13.99
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: February 2008
In the mouth, this wine is a big surprise. It's full, fleshy, but not fat; oily, but pleasantly so, and all in all strangely austere, restrained. It's got a marzipan fruitiness combined with a dry finish, good length, and a miraculous ability to keep you going back for another taste. If anything, it reminds me of French orange blossom honey combined with Dresdner stollen: all gentle spices, orange peel, hay, and quiet. Delicious.
When summertime rolls around in another few months, I'm looking forward to reading on the back patio with a glass or two of this; it's delightful, elegant, and just the sort of thing to have with a burrito al pastor.
Kathy Lynskey Wines
Price: US $13.99
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: February 2008
Sounds like this wine has a high "quaffability" rating. I reckon Gewürztraminer is underrated in Australia. It's been wedged into the "goes well with Asian food" category and sits well behind the other aromatic whites in profile. All of which is a shame. In fact, I reckon there's a whole world of interesting aromatic white varietals and blends that are yet to be fully explored outside of certain Old World regions. But now I'm just ranting... :)
Oh, it most definitely has an excellent quaffability rating. The bottle was gone in no time at all, and (thankfully!) the alcohol is low enough to make that manageable for two people.
I never did see too many gewürzes while I was in Australia, and there aren't too many of them here either - but the Henschke one is memorable for me (or was that Knappstein? I can't quite remember) as being really, really good.
If there's any one varietal I want to see grown in New Zealand, it's probably malvasia. The rare Californian example of malvasia is fantastic, and I'm sure the Kiwis could do wonderful things with it.