The
wines of Pasquale, Waitaki and Hakataramea Valleys
Impressive wines from this new region in New Zealand's South Island
Dr Antonio Pasquale did a PhD in
philosophy at the University of Padua, Italy in a previous life,
although his family had been involved in the wine business for a
long time. He didn’t get any decent offers of employment as an
academic philosopher, and so he moved to New Zealand in 1997. Now
Pasquale has 30 hectares of vines in the brand new region of Waitaki.
First vintage was 2006.
Waitaki is in the north of the Otago
region (completely separate from Central Otago), where – unusually
for New Zealand – there are limestone soils, as well as some
alluvial deposits. Pasquale’s vineyards are in both the Waitaki
and Hakataramea valleys (the latter is more alpine and has more
limestone). The climate here is quite cool, with very cold winters
but summers that can get quite hot.
Each bottle of Pasquale’s wine has an
Oritain (www.oritain.com)
authenticity seal. Oritain go into the vineyards and take samples of
the vines. They build an isotopic profile unique to the place and
then make sure that the isotypes on the bottling line match the
origin.
THE
WINES
Paquale Riesling 2010 Waitaki Valley
Lovely bright, pure, fresh lemony fruit with rounded texture and
high acidity. Very bright with a mineral finish. Lively and pure.
90/100
Pasquale Alma Mater 2010 Hakataramea
Valley
A field blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer from
the Riverside vineyard in the Hakataramea Valley. Pinot Gris and
Gewurztraminer were co-fermented and some was aged in old barrels.
The Riesling was fermented separately. Sweet, grapey, herby nose.
Nice lively, pure fruit with some melon and grape notes. Lovely
freshness and acidity to this multidimensional wine. 89/100
Pasquale Pinot Gris 2010 Waitaki
Valley
Rounded texture, with grape and herb notes as well as lively
acidity. Nice purity of fruit here showing acidity and sweetness in
good harmony. 90/100
Pasquale Pinot Noir 2009 Waitaki
Valley
Open, sweet and berryish, with nice cherry fruit aromatics. The
palate is elegant and expressive with sweet cherry fruit. Really
supple and elegant. A refined Pinot showing lovely fruit. 93/100
See
also:
Visiting
Central Otago, New Zealand (series)
Visiting
Martinborough, New Zealand (series)
Wines
tasted 01/11
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