At the end of February I jumped at the chance to visit Fine Wine Delivery Company in Auckland, to taste some library releases from the portfolio of Misha's Vineyard of Bendigo, Central Otago. Very belatedly, I have written up my notes

I fondly remember (I think) working in the vineyards there over the summer of 2013/14 - tough work on steep sites, but I certainly got a lot fitter! It was great to catch up briefly with Misha Wilkinson and her husband Andy during this very popular event.

The walk around event consisted of multiple vintages of 5 different wines, totalling 19 wines. The current vintage of each is included in brackets in the notes below, but these were not part of the tasting.

There were lots of highlights, and I did have some clear favourites. I ordered some 2012 Pinot Gris and 2008 Verissimo Pinot Noir. 

Brief Notes

Dress Circle Pinot Gris (currently on 2018)

• 2016 Bright, floral lifted nose. Ripe yet elegant. Uncut melon and tropical fruit, with a touch of spice [92]
• 2014 Deeper aromas, lower notes of melon and apple. Rich and textured in the mouth [93]
• 2013 Rather dumb on nose by comparison. Floral on palate, touch soapy [88]
• 2012 Floral, high toned nose. Explosive on palate. Bright tropical fruit, more citrussy on finish. Good balancing acidity. Excellent [96]
• 2011 Lime aromas at first then more tropical as opens in glass. More lime on palate. Touch of minerality and crisp finish. Linear but great length [92]
• 2010 Apple pear, banana, uncut melon on nose. Spicy apple flavours, very lush. Great texture, very long. Drinking superbly at 9. [96]

Limelight Riesling (2015)

• 2013 Perfumed aromas of lemon and lime. Loads of lime on palate [88]
• 2011 Vegetal, waxy nose. Round, juicy lemon and lime flavors [89]
• 2010 Honeyed aromas. Honey and ripe lemon flavors. Harmonious and complete. Some reminders of good older Mosel, but not quite the extract or length of finish of those wines [90]

The Gallery Gewurztraminer (2016)

• 2014 Perfumed with grapey Muscat charcaters [87]
• 2013 Melon aromas. Spicy palate with nice balancing acifity [90]
• 2012 More obviously floral nose. Pear drop flavours. Touch of warmth on finish [89]
• 2011 Delicate aromas. Light and subtle [87]
• 2010 Nose reminded me of plasticine or play-dough - in a good way. Subtle flavours but excellent length [90]

I should admit that I am generally not a fan of the Gewurztraminer variety,

High Note Pinot Noir (2016)

• 2013 Nettles and cherries on nose, Touch of cream and deep fruit on palate. Good length, lingering fruit extract [92]
• 2012 Some confected fruit on nose, then spice and leather. Juicy cherry fruit on palate then woodspoce. Fresh acidity and good length, but less fruit on finish than 2013 [90]
• 2009 Evolved savoury and vegetal notes with vanilla oak characters. Creamy texture. Lacked a little complexity compared with others [88]

Verissimo Pinot Noir (2011)

• 2009 Shared charcateristics with the 09 High Note. Roast meast on nose, very creamy palate with savoury characters continuing. Harmonious and broad [90]
• 2008 Bright vibrant, expressive. Floral and spicy high notes and vivid fruit with vegetal back notes. Generous cherry and berry fruit on palate, Very lively; elegant power. Lovely, it sings [96]

NB I paid for my ticket to this event and have no ongoing commercial link with Misha's Vineyard.