Michael Hepworth
HOLLYWOOD(Spiritsman)11/15/13/–It is no secret that white wines from New Zealand are always top of our list at Spiritsman, so it gives me great pleasure to tell you about yet another one of merit, Villa Maria Estate wines from the Marlborough region.
Lets start with the Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 where the fruits were sourced from the specific regions of the Wairau and Awatere valleys which have range of different micro-climates. This is a crisp and clean wine thanks to the warm spring rains that were followed by an autumn that was cool and dry, which produces a long and extended ripening period. Whatever happened with the weather must have worked, because the five week ripening period produced high quality grapes with a variance of flavors that were fermented at 54-57 degrees to maintain flavor and aroma retention. This wine has hints of gooseberry, citrus and melon and pairs well with grilled vegetables, seafood and chicken.
The Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2012 utilized canopy management such as shoot thinning and leaf plucking along with vine health management. The grapes were also harvested in the dead of night, and cool fermentation methods were used in the extended ripening process. Acidity at 7.5gl is slightly higher than the Private Bin version and it also has a slight grapefruit taste, which is why I liked this one so much. Try it with scallops.
Chardonnay fans will like the Villa Maria Single Vineyard Taylor’s Pass Chardonnay Marlborough 2011. The grapes benefited from warm spring rains and a cool and dry Autumn just like the 2012 vintages, and after fermentation the wines remained on yeast lees for several months to enhance the mouth feel. Much less acidity with this one at 6.7gl and the ripe fruits hinted with this one are grapefruit, passion fruit, blackcurrant, gooseberry and guava. Food pairings are grilled fish, tomato, green bean and feta cheese salad.
Moving on the Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2010, this is a red where small parcels of Pinot Noir clones were hand harvested, destemmed and hand soaked for up to ten days. To gain the maximum flavor of the fruit, fermentation reached temperatures of 90 degrees and that was followed by malactic fermentation in the spring.
This medium bodied wine pairs well with lamb, duck and game and has hints of berries, dark cherries and spice notes. This is also a good wine to leave in the cellar for up to eight years.
All these wines are priced to move and if you do some searching around, averages out at about $15.00 to 25.00 dollars each.
Michael Hepworth
287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
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