Hawks Nest Wines of NZ: Hawks Nest Wines of NZ

Hawks Nest Wines of NZ: Hawks Nest Wines of NZ

Hello to our readers after a two weeks haitus. We were traveling via China and England back to the states for the holiday season. We just got back to Nashville and are back in the swing (almost!!!). The good news for our readers is that I new 05 wine is all rested at the Lipman Brothers warehouse and ready for release this next week. You can now go into Tennesse retail stores and ask for it by name. That is Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red NZ wine. It is not out in stores yet but will be there within the next 10 days we are told. Do ask for it at your favorite store now!!!

We have several tasting events lined up this next few weeks so try to attend to try our new wine. There is a tasting at Bistro 215 in Green Hills on Dec 6th so call 3853636 for reservations as it is only $10 for the tasting event. Hope to see you there.

I wanted to give a little update on my research on coraks versis screw caps for closure of the wine. Clorks of course are the classic closure for bottled wine but corks are scarse and can lead to spoilage due to bottle veriations so called oxidisation or cork taint called corked wine. About 2-6% of bottle wines with corks go bad so this has led to problems over the years. Now we have to advent of screwcaps. They are hated by may especially in the "old world"wineries. New world wines have embraced the screwcap-especially in Australia and New Zealand. It is estimated that 90% of Kiwi wines sold in NZ are sealed with screw caps. For wines to be consumed soon after purchase (95% of all wines I am told) the screw cap is perfect as it allows storage with minimal oxidation of partial bottles and certainly easy to open and store. No one has yet come up with the wine pouring term of "screwed" but I can see that bubbling up in the near feature. So, the next time you get a bottle of wine that has a screw cap don't assume it is bonk. It just means the wine makers are trying to be cost effective and to present their wine for early consumption. Just learn to make a popping sound with your mouth as you open the bottle just out of your guests vision and all will be well.

With all that said you will note that we have used a fine quality real cork for our new wine? Why? Because we hope some of you will put it away in your cellars for a few years to age and for that and for tradition we chose to go with the old cork standby. Now, if we offer a white wine, we will go with a screw cap!!! But I digress!!!

More later.

DR JIm back in Tennessee

Hawks Nest Wines of NZ: Hawks Nest Wines of NZ

Hawks Nest Wines of NZ: Hawks Nest Wines of NZ

I saw this sign a local cafe this week and loved it. All is well in Matakana and we are now starting to release our new 05 wines here and in Auckland. Early feed back has been very positive for both our 05 Hawks Bay Merlot and expecially for our export 05 Orchard block Red. The unique blend of Malbec and Cab Frank has resulted in a very tasty but bold red wine.
I have pasted in the tasting notes for our two export wine from a group tasting here in Matakana last week. This is all a bit flowery but that seems to be the way some of these "palate enhanced" people like to talk about wine- especially John our winemaker.

VINTAGE TASTING NOTES-Hawks Nest Vineyard

John Worth, winemaker

2004 Matakana Merlot/Malbec “Orchard Block Red”

The Matakana valley is located one hour north of Auckland, in the upper North Island of New Zealand. Our climate is well suited to the production of vibrant, medium bodied Bordeaux style wines. This our first release is a 80/20 blend of Merlot and Malbec grapes, this wine is deep crimson in color, with a delicate aroma of cedar and blackberry. The palate is rich with berry-like fruit, with balanced acidity and a persistent finish. The wine was barrel aged 14 months in French oak to provide softness and structure. An ideal partner to most meats, this wine was crafted for immediate enjoyment. This wine will cellar well for 2-4 years.

2005 Matakana Cab Franc/Malbec “Orchard Block Red”

This our second release is a special but unusual Bordeaux blend (60/40) of Cabernet Franc and Malbec that is made 100% from own Hawks Nest grapes that is clearly more complex than our previous 04 wine. The wine was bottled in October 2006 after aging 15 months in 50% new French oak barrels. The wine has a full dark color with initial faint violet and berry-fruit aromas upon opening. The wine is very smoothly textured with good concentration and a complex structure but reveals only midrange tannins at the long finish. This wine is very savory, velvety smooth, and will age well with cellaring. This is an ideal partner for lamb, beef, and chicken dishes. It has very good cellaring potential and should only improve with age up to a decade.

So, we are leaving NZ this weekend and will be back in Nashville the Sat of Thanksgiving weekend. This will be my last post until then as we will be traveling in China and Europe on our way home.

The good news is the if you live in Tennessee you will be able to soon taste our new 05 as well as our 04 that is still available. BTW, we are almost out of our 05 Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red. If you want some for the holidays, you better go to the store soon and get it while it lasts!!!! Do look for some announcements for tasting events in the Nashville area in December as we are finalizing plans for some events now. Once we are set with dates and locations, I will post that info here. So, WATCH THIS SPACE.

MORE IN TWO WEEKS OR SO

Dr JIm leaving down under soon