1996 New Zealand Wines

Medium to full red-purple; a reversion to the concentration of the '94 and preceding vintages, awesome in the depth of its fruit. Plum, black cherry and spice run through both the bouquet and the palate, which finishes with just the right amount of tannins to sustain the wine as it matures and develops more foresty/gamey characters.

Light to medium yellow-green; as one would expect, a complex bouquet showing the sophisticated use of spicy oak and excellent melon and citrus fruit. The palate is still relatively tight for a wine of 14.3 degrees alcohol, with a mix of citrus, grapefruit and nectarine flavours running through an extremely long, beautifully balanced finish.

An absolutely glorious wine, one of the best yet to come out under the Cloudy Bay label. There is beautiful fruit expression on the bouquet with a mix of passionfruit and a gentle underlay of herbal notes; the palate as close to perfection as one could ever expect with gentle yet intense fruit ranging through gooseberry to herb/herbal to tropical. A wine which caresses the mouth.

Glowing yellow-green; potent, high-quality, barrel ferment oak aromas provide a rich background to abundant ripe fruit on the bouquet. The wine floods the mouth with ripe pineapple, honey and peachy fruit, and more of that wen-handled barrel ferment oak. A very sexy wine.

Medium to full yellow-green; an elegant bouquet, still surprisingly tight, with citrus and melon fruit does not prepare you for the extremely rich, intense Batard Montrachet-like viscosity of the palate. Tangy and lively, with all the weight one could conceivably wish for.

Bright, light yellow-green; intense lime/tropical aromas and flavours run through a beautifully made wine, with tremendous length to the palate, and perfect acidity on the finish to balance the luscious botrytised fruit.

Strong and dense purple-red; the bouquet is similarly intense, concentrated and complex with abundant ripe plummy fruit. The palate is exceptionally rich and smooth, with masses of dark plum fruit showing absolute ripeness; finishes with fine tannins and subtle oak. Compellingly powerful.

Medium to full red-purple; the bouquet is quite remarkable, with wonderful sweet, cassis berry fruit cascading through to the palate. Here true ripeness and sweetness run through from start to finish, yet the wine is not the least bit jammy or over-extracted. A great wine by any standard. Gold medal and trophy winner 1998 and 1999 Liquorland Royal Easter Show and gold medal 1998 Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

Excellent, strong red-purple; the bouquet is full of ripe, rich and sweet plummy/ cherry fruit, yet avoids Portiness. A powerful wine on the palate, with outstanding structure, length and mouthfeel. Gold medal at the 1997 Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

Light green-yellow; a clean, direct uncomplicated bouquet leads on to a quite delicate palate; while there is clearly articulated Sauvignon Blanc varietal character, it is in an altogether lighter mould than one normally encounters in New Zealand, and will particularly please those who don't wish to be intimidated by the character.

Medium yellow-green; a wine at the ripe end of the spectrum, but impressively so, redolent of tropical/passionfruit aromas, and spotlessly clean. Intense fruit flavours run throughout the palate, filling the mouth but not cloying.

Light to medium red-purple; the bouquet is of light to medium intensity, with a mix of savoury, foresty and berry aromas supported by subtle oak. Typically enough, not a heavyweight on the palate, but has truly excellent length, sustained by gentle, savoury tannins and deft use of oak.

This chardonnay is unusual in being released with bottle-age, which in this case is a bonus. It's still fresh. There are rich, enticing peach and butterscotch aromas with yeasty stirred-lees complexities. Despite the richness and depth of flavour you can taste its high acidity, which adds to the appeal. Great with crayfish.

Light to medium yellow-green; a spotlessly clean bouquet with lovely passionfruit and gooseberry fruit aromas. There is perfectly balanced and ripened fruit on the palate, which treads that fine line between aggression and lack of intensity. Up there with the best.

Bright, light yellow-green; a return to top class after the slightly light 1995. A spotlessly clean bouquet, with abundant passionftuit and gooseberry aromas leads on to a highly flavoured, but not phenolic, palate, showing a mix of riper fruit flavours attractively cut by more bracing, herbal characters.

Light green-yellow; a sophisticated bouquet with lively melon and grapefruit surrounded by gently spicy oak. An extremely elegant and intense yet almost delicate palate with exceptional balance and a very long finish; great breeding and class.

Light green-yellow; the aromas are extremely complex and concentrated, with impeccable oak balance and integration, and no one aroma dominating. There is an extra dimension of intensity of flavour on the palate, which has the longest finish I have encountered in a Chardonnay for many years. Here, too, it is hard to single out a single taste descriptor, which is no doubt exactly what Michael Brajkovich intended.

Medium purple-red; the bouquet is quite sweet (in the context of the Martinborough-style) with cherry and plum fruit supported by subtle oak. The palate is silky and long in the mouth with red cherry and plum fruit supported by fine, soft tannins.

Medium yellow-green; a wine which continuously evolves and reveals itself as it sits in the glass, tightly constructed but extremely stylish. The palate is beautifully balanced, with gently ripe melon and fig fruit supported by faultless oak handling. It has an exceptionally long carry and finish.

Medium yellow-green; the bouquet is at once more complex yet more reserved and tighter than the Neudorf Nelson Chardonnay of the same vintage; a marvelously elegant wine on the palate, complex yet restrained, with faultless integration of oak and equally faultless fruit and oak balance. Cashew/melon flavours linger on a long finish.