Gewurztraminer

2007 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Gewurztraminer

Grapes were sourced from estate vineyards at Rapaura and in the Brancott Valley. All vines are pruned to ensure low yields and the fruit was hand picked and whole bunch pressed and racked into very old French oak barrels. Fermentation was allowed to proceed naturally with indigenous yeast and upon completion the wine was left in contact with yeast lees for a few months. "Aromas of dried pear and citrus peel intertwine with hazelnuts and white chocolate to add depth to this wineys exotic musky fragrance. The Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer has a voluptuous palate with a cryme caramel richness, beautifully counterbalanced by a chalky minerality, finishing with impressive length and concentration."

2010 Johanneshof Marlborough Gewurztraminer

Gold at the NZIWS, 5 Stars M.Cooper, Gold at Sydney Top100 and 5 stars cusine.

2009 Astrolabe Marlborough Gewurztraminer

Because of its difficult growing nature and rather 'unfashionable' name it is so hard to find quality gewurztraminer at sensible money. The 2009 Astrolabe however is a beauty. "Gently aromatic wine with concentrated Turkish delight, tree fruit, vanilla pod and cinnamon/spice flavours. Silken-textured and appealing wine with strong varietal definition. Made from a mix of hand-harvested and machine-harvested (at night only) grapes that were given a gentle press to achieve a gentle texture. Made in a moderately sweet style with 22.1 g/l of residual sugar although the wine is beautifully balanced without any suggestion of cloying." Bob Campbell

2007 Hugel Gewurztraminer

2006 Vinoptima Gewurztraminer

Having steered his family company to one of New Zealand's successful producers, Nick Nobilo could have enjoyed a peaceful retirement after the company was sold to BRL Hardy. But instead he has dedicated his life to producing New Zealand's finest Gewurztraminer from his 9.7-hectare estate in Gisborne, split into two blocks, the first planted in 2000 and the second in 2007 using budwood that Nick had been propagating for over 25 years. The winery is so clean you could eat your breakfast off it, the 1,200L oak German oval foudres playing a key role in extracting the best out of this aromatic grape. The good news is that Nick is well on his way to achieving his dream because this was a stunning expression of Gewurztraminer, the wine adopting an Alsatian style rather than anything from the New World.

2009 Dry River Martinborough Gewurztraminer

"This intensely perfumed and flavoured Martinborough Gewurzztraminer is one of the country's finest. Medium-dry or medium in most years, in top vintages it shows a power and richness comparable to Alsace's vendange tardive ( late harvest ) wines. Always rich in alcohol and exceptionally full-flavoured, it is also very deliccate, with a tight, concentrated, highly refined palate that is typically at its most seductive at two to four years old, although it can mature well for more than a decade." M.Cooper

2010 Spy Valley Marlborough Geurztraminer

2007 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer

2009 Blackenbrook Nelson Gewurztraminer

Normally $29. Here's a grape variety that is so often overlooked but with its beautiful perfume and capacity to enhace our Asian styled cooking its well worth drinking good examples. Because of its thin skin and difficulties in handling good gewurtz. at the right price is hard to find but with Blackenbrooks winemaker having worked in Alsace for many years this certainly reflects in the quality of this wine. "Delicious now, this Alsace-style beauty has a fullbloomed fragrance and peachy, spicy flavours, gently sweet, rounded and rich. 4 1/2 Stars M.Cooper. Made from sustainable fruit, low yielding hand picked fruit, gavity feed and no filtration. Bliss

2010 Lawsons Dry Hills "The Pioneer' Gewurztraminer

Trophy for 'Exhibition White Winer' at the Air NZ Wine Awards. 33 entries in this category. ( Exhibition means small volume lines can be entered into the show allowing smaller wineries a chance to show their product ) This is their top gewtz from a producer that has consistently won trophies for their gewtz. This wine shows wonderful floral notes with distinct lychee characters and an underlying spiciness of ground ginger, cardamom and mixed spice. the palate is amazingly rich and round with impressive concentration; the residual sugar is nicely balanced by the alcohol and acidity. The grapes were gently pressed with the free run juice being fermented in stainless steel tanks, whilst the the pressing were fermented in older French oak barriques. Harvested entirely from the vineyard that Ross and Barbara Lawson planted in 1980 on Alabama Road, just outside Blenheim.