Pyramid Valley, Lion's Tooth Chardonnay, Canterbury

C4. Recommended by sommelier and it was a lovely wine. Flint and petrol nose and nice body. Attica in Melbourne.

Pyramid Valley tasting at 67PM with Steve Smith MW. Drank in Zalto Universal. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, lemon colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of soft yellow peach, citrus orange, touch of oatmeal. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (14%), medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of mealy oatmeal, soft white and yellow peaches, citrus orange and lemon, salt and stones minerality in the background. Long finish. Excellent quality. Muted nose for …

Late Birthday BYO : Blind. Veldig flott neste, men ganske så reduktiv. Høy modning på frukten, godt grep, høy syre, selv om den åpenbart er ung hadde den en del kompleksitet. Meget imponerende, og uten unntak var folk i Sentralburgund.

Tasting the 2019 Pyramid Valley Botanicals (Wellington, NZ) : One pour only. Some flint as on the Field of Fire bouquet then notes of limes, grapefruit, pears, green apple and touches of almond croissant, peach and yellow spice. The bouquet underpinned by wet limestone minerality. On entry to the palate, nervy, persistent and bright acidity. But fuller, more structured and a shade richer than the Field of Fire. Also, more leesy on palate, and seemingly with a little more phenolic …

2019 Visit to North Canterbury, NZ : 2019 barrel tasting - two barrels only. First sample from a one year old barrel. More flinty reduction on the nose, with nectarines, pears, grapefruit and river boulders. A warmer, richer seeming bouquet than the Field of Fire. More opulent and fuller in the mouth too. But still plenty of green apple acidity, providing line and length. Slatey minerality. A lot of phenolics on the mid palate. More structured and less open on …

Developed golden colour. Light bodied, very light bodied, with a leesy back end. I liked it, but at full price I’d think twice.

SLDS January 2019 : Blind. Lemon and pear, banana and smoke. Rich and ripe. Decent length, but this should definitely be drunk now based on this bottle.

Deep yellow gold. Nose of dandelion and melted butter. Palate is lots of mineral terroir and an off-dry element that would make you say ‘Semillon’ if it had been blind. Dry chalky finish. Interesting at first but got a bit dry and monotone after time. Some length and resonance. Definitely ‘different’.

Rich golden yellow. On the nose nectarine, cream, a nice citrus accent and a waxy top note. Fine acid attack with a vibrant fruit core, crisp lift of bitter lemon at the back and long finish. Broad, colorful and stylish. 50 + 17 + 16 + 8.

Frosty yellow. Lemon curd, stone, honey on the nose. Penetrating core of sweet fruit on the palate, filigreed acids, honeyed with a bitter note at the back, very long finish. Complex with a nice narrative from the initial smell to the final finish. 50 + 17 + 17 + 9.