Hi all,
Welcome back to our blog, sorry it has been so long, we have been pretty busy with our mid-year exams and didn’t have much time to write up any new blogs. We are now getting back on top of it and are ready to give you fresh new content. Many of the wines coming up are ones that we tried on our trip up to Nelson. Starting with another Te Mania wine, their pinot gris.
This is another delicious wine from Te Mania that showcases some of the best qualities of New Zealand white wine. Let’s get into it!
Price:
This wine costs NZ$ 22.99 ( £ 11.01, R 258.43, US$ 14.03) on the Te Mania website. We bought this wine at the cellar door in Nelson for the same price, and I know we have said it before but if you can buy wines straight from the cellar door you will often get good deals. It is common practice for wineries to subtract the price of your tasting if you end up buying a couple bottles. This can be a great way to try out lots of new wines and help you to realise what you enjoy.
Appearance:
This wine was a classic-looking Pinot Gris. It’s a pale lemon colour, but it did have a deep golden shine that made it glow in the light.
Nose:
The nose of this Pinot Gris was quite citrusy, it smelt like freshly zested limes. We could also smell notes of pear, particularly a crunchy slightly underripe pear. The mixture of citrus and pear worked well together, creating an enticing aroma that leaves you buzzing to get stuck into it. Upon smelling the wine we originally expected that it would be very light and crisp, however, the taste surprised us a bit with its richness and complexity.
Palate:
The taste started off with those expected notes of tart pear and citrus that we got off the nose, however, those crisper notes quickly transformed into a silkier and much richer taste of poached pears and peaches. There were also slightly yeasty notes that came across as brioche. We also noticed a strange sensation towards the end of the finish of the wine, where it became textural and felt like we were biting into a fresh apple. All these notes pair together really well to create a wine you can’t get enough of.
As you would expect with a Pinot Gris this wine had a pretty high acidity giving it that well-known crispiness. However, the texture was also very silky and smooth which was a nice contrast. While the wine was dry it had a sweetness that rounded it off. It was well-balanced and really complex and interesting.
Conclusion:
In our opinion, this wine is really beautiful. It is fresh yet complex, which is really something special for a wine of this price. We felt as if we got our money’s worth and more. We would recommend taking this wine out of the fridge for 15 minutes or so before drinking it, this will allow the wine to open up more and show its flavours. The wine will still be cold enough to be refreshing, but it will ensure you are getting the most out of your wine.
This wine would be lovely with a nice hard, salty cheese such as manchego or parmesan. The freshness of the wine would cut through the cheese and mesh really well together. If you wanted a more substantial meal to pair with this it would work well with grilled fish, especially if you drizzle some olive oil over the top of it.
We would definitely recommend trying this wine if you have access to it as it displays how even fresh white wines can be complex and rich without losing their acidity and crispness.
Thank you for reading our post!
See you all next time 🍾!!
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