New releases from Montana

Pernod Ricard New Zealand (or Montana Wines, as it was formerly known) is New Zealand's largest producer, with wines from the length and breadth of New Zealand and from the majority of varieties seen here too (and then some, as new releases such as the Church Road Cuve Series Marzemino suggest).

There are some very good wines in this recent selection of samples, as one would hope with the resources behind the labels, but there is also a distinct whiff of 'safeness' to them — nothing to scare the horses at all. While this is fairly understandable, as the majority of consumers are looking for well-priced pleasurable wines that deliver on their expectations, one also has to wonder if Pernod Ricard is not ultimately cannibalizing its own labels by competing directly against one another. There just doesn't seem to be enough differentiation between labels such as Boundary Road and Huntaway or even Corbans, despite what the back label spin-meisters would have you think. They are all pleasant, well-priced wines in the main.

Of course, there are worse things to complain about in wine to be sure (ha ha! and I could list a few . . . ), but it would be good to see Pernod Ricard also taking the lead and producing some wines of real style and character (to be fair as it already does with a few of its wines) and showing what New Zealand has to offer. This is where the fortunes and fame of our industry ultimately lie - we will almost never compete on price or (bland) consistency so wouldn't it be great to see our largest producer take a punt and really show what we can do?

And if they don't... well, I guess it is hardly such a difficult road to be drinking some of the below...

Nicely fragrant nose of pineapple, wet stone and mown grass. Brisk acidity gives backbone and structure to the exuberant fruit although is a tad keen on the finish, giving quite a lemony aftertaste. Walks a fine line between tropical pungency and herbaceousness well. Good texture and a mineral quality to the fruit give interest. A very solid offering.

Quite a gold colour for such a youthful wine, suggesting perhaps some skin contact. Nose is ripe stonefruit and talcum powder with almost a hint of gewurz-like spiciness follows through onto the palate where there is an oily unctuousness that is impressive giving the stated figures of 11g/l residual sugar and 12% alc/vol. Acid is crisp and balanced, adding freshness to the finish. Attractive although quite heady.

Fresh peaches and juicy pears give an attractive fruitiness to the nose, with a hint of ripe banana. The palate is just off-dry with mouth-filling ripe fruit, quite direct and highish acid, this is quite a textural wine, with a nice fresh straw element and spicy finish. Length is moderate as is concentration which lets it down a little but it is undoubtedly wine that will keep its fans happy.

Spicy French oak, pineapple, melons and peaches. Nose is perfumed and palate prettily fruity although oak a tad dominant at present, the fruit intensity suggests this should be better absorbed with a little more time in the bottle. Good concentration and length, fine acidity cuts through fruit sweetness. Banana, nuts and melon on palate, fruit just tends towards cloying sweetness though that is unlikely to be generally unlamented. A little reticent now, but a stylish wine nevertheless.

This is a textbook NZ pinot gris in many ways, with fairly standard ripe stonefruit and pear aromas and flavours, off-dry with some reasonable palate weight and spice. Having said that, it is also rather moreish and with its moderate intensity and length gives a wine that ticks all the boxes and is well-priced for the quality it offers. Not much complexity or real depth but at $19.95 and clearly designed in a drink-now style, it would seem churlish to complain about such things.

Quite dense colour and the ripe, almost chocolately plum nose are indicative of the warmer year 2006 brought Hawke’s Bay. The palate is very round and soft, but has enough cedar and spice oak and acid backbone to give structure and balance. This is an easy to drink wine, but also has depth and style that lifts it a cut above the usual offerings - and gives good value when one considers this is a frequently discounted label. Intensity and length and some nice restraint complete the picture.

Quite a pretty and delicate nose of rose petals, orange blossom, ripe nectarine and a light dusting of Turkish Delight. The palate is reasonable light in fruit intensity, but with some moderate oiliness and length, palate weight is added by residual sugar (off-dry) and alcohol. It all comes together quite well and is a pleasant easy to drink wine that offers good varietal character in a nicely balanced package. Montana seems to have cornered the market in this department, as I suppose one would hope with their resources.

Fairly standard HB chardonnay – all the bits in the right places but not an awful lot of personality. Peach, banana and melon dominate nose and palate, very light oak gives a fruit-driven style with fairly sweet and bland fruit on the mid-palate but enough acid at the end to finish dry and moderately lengthy. Alcohol is a bit pokey but not excessively so.

Pleasant but not especially memorable pinot gris (a theme here in NZ?). Has the usual clean ripe fruit in an off-dry style but lacks any intrinsic soul or interest to make it stand out from the crowd. Also has a curiously bitey acid finish which lets it down a bit. At $23.95 it is hard to see why you would go for this over the Boundary Road, which is both a better, more balanced wine and cheaper to boot.

This is an utterly delicious wine. It is rich, ripe, complex and also restrained and elegant. Lovely nuttiness and whilst it has that sweet fruited Hawke’s Bay character, it is perfectly poised with the oak fine and well-integrated. This is a great example of New Zealand chardonnay from a label that has long delivered excellent wines and while drinking very well now, should also repay a few years in the cellar handsomely.

Ripe fruit on the nose, clean and citrussy with an underlying rich nectarine vein, Palate had zesty acidity and plenty of crunchy granny smith apple flavour. Pretty good depth and moderate length, naturally very youthful at this point but some residual sugar softens the edges and makes it approachable as one would expect from the label. Well-balanced, tasty and improved in the glass, suggesting it should age with some grace.

Yet another squeaky clean, tick all the boxes but also enjoyable wine. Herbaceous with slight undercurrent of pineapple. Zippy acidity, crisp green crunchy finish, some moderate weight and nice texture. Good, appealing wine with refreshing character.

(EJ)

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