Attended the Waiheke wine festival 11Feb.
Caught 10am ferry and arrived close to 11am
start time.
My self imposed rules of engagement we
Only to try locally grown/produced red wines and since
there were around 20+ exhibitors I went with only one
selection from each. I tried to make that the premium
offering, or near to.

Fenton Matt 2002.
Dark purple red, warm cabernet and oak nose carried
though to palate. Has the waiheke clay 'muddy' character,
powerful wine. Waiheke pricing is high but at around $80 retail
probably stretching things. B+

Awaroa Cab Sav 2004.
Deep red, herbal nose. If tasted blind I would have picked this as
barossa red. Warm, high alcohol red made in a drink now style,
to a formula. Undistingushed. C

Passage Rock Reserve Syrah 2005
Asked for the best on stand, told this was "the best wine I've ever made"
In bottle with handwritten 'Res 05' label, deep dark purple red.
Warming medicinal nose carries to palate, sensitive oak, and mild
tannins. Not as complex as expected after the intro, clearly needs some time
in bottle. B+

Peninsula Estate Zeno 2002 (Syrah)
Not at all impressed. Mouthwash. Tipped. C-

Ridgeview Malbec 2004.
Lightish red, medicinal note which I wrote as 'like
a hot steam iron on cotton shirt". Has the malbec
rustic/coarse mouthfeel, lacks a bit of power and complexity. B-

Stonyridge Luna Rosa 2004 (Malbec)
Dark purple black, nose quite closed.
Weighty wine, rustic mouthfeel, black fruits with
woody fennell, herbs. Warm sunshine in a glass.
Cellar 5+ great potential. A

Onetangi Road Bordeaux Blend 2004.
Medium red/purple, meaty leather nose which carries
to palate. Seems very merlot dominant at this time B.

Christensen Estate Merlot 2003.
Medium red, slightly bricked which increased and
quickly dulled in glass. Medium body merlot without
hint of X factor. C

Te Whau 2004 (Cab/merlot/malbec)
Medium red, light brick at edge. Nose of woody fennel
carries to palate, warm red fruits hint of medicinal. B+
The malbec dominated this wine, I went back to the
stand and checked variety mix: 8% malbec.

Kennedy Point Cab Sav 2002
Deep dark red. Closed. Cabernet red fruit which
developed herbal vegetative note after ½hr in glass. C.

Te Motu 2002
Deep purple red, red/black fruits, plum. Merlot to
the fore. Potentially very good wine but served way
to hot to make an assesment of the wine. Time now
around 4pm, very hot day, say 25+C and wine heating
in plastic tent with sun streaming in the front all day.

Goldwater Goldie 2002.
Another wine served lukewarm. Potentially very
good, but I decide to drink it without notes and
head for the buses and ferry home.

Very nice day, hot and sunny, big crowd. In the past
the festival had buses carrying patrons to each vineyards
cellar door where they have each provided food,
entertainment and the wines. This year all the wineries
gathered together on one site with the food and entertainment.
It was very nice to visit the individual wineries but the business
of bussing between sites was time consuming and frustrating
so probably better done with the single site format employed
this year.
On reflection I think all the wines were served way too hot
and had a negative impact on my assessments, I just didnt
factor it in until the last few wines.
The other thing I noticed is the trend away from Cabernet.
Several people said that getting Cab ripe was difficult and
so merlot, syrah and malbec seem to be taking prominence
for waiheke grown wines. Which highlights the huge number
of wines using fruit form other regions. Marlborough and
Hawkes Bay mainly, but Gisbourne and Australia included.
I guess its a volume/profit strategy, but the pricing is still
pure Waiheke.
Great day, good company, good food and good wines.
A little attention to wine service to showcase them at their
best needed.

cheers greybeard