I was keen to meet Robin Garr, the name behind the Wine Lovers' Page, and with whom I'd e-mailed and chatted with for the past 18 months or so. He'd been invited to Sydney to judge in the Sydney International Wine Competition, one of the most unique wine competitions in the world, where the Top 100 wines are chosen for their suitability to food.

The Sydney commitment was due to start at noon on November 12th and competition for Robin's spare time was hot. The Aussie contingent, who frequent the wine and food forums on the Wine Lovers' Page, were keen to meet Robin and show him that not all Aussie wines are as described by our American friends. And I wanted to show him as much as I could of NZ in as short a time as possible.

Well, as it turned out, planning was made remarkably simple for the Aussies could offer Wine Australia near the end of November as the lure and I could tangle the bait of the Air New Zealand Wine Awards tasting on 11th November from my hook.

The itinerary was decided. Fly to NZ on the way to Sydney. Then after judging do a little wine touring before heading to Melbourne for three days of Wine Australia. Sounds easy.

Day 1
Robin touched down in New Zealand at 6am on Thursday 9th November after an exhausting 13-hour flight from Los Angeles, wedged into a middle row seat in economy class, after being denied the upgrade to 'Business' he was told to expect. So you can imagine he was not too happy having had only about 4 hours of sleep - with a full day of activities ahead.

We took the 8am flight to Wellington where we arrived at 9am to pick up our rental which was ready and waiting. After a detour to drop off our bags at the motel, wine for the 'off-line' and to purchase a BT-US telephone converter, we were headed north for the 75 minute drive to Martinborough via the winding roads of the Rimutaka Hill. Shut-eye for Robin was again denied.

We arrived earlier than originally planned and as our first appointment was later in the afternoon, an unscheduled stop at Palliser Estate was in order.

Palliser had a good range of wines but the star was without doubt was the first-up Palliser Estate 2000 Pinot Gris. Very dry and intensely flavoured with ripe, pears, stonefruits, nuts, a touch of apple and hints of musk and spice. With great texture and balance it excited the taste buds, setting the standard for the rest of the day. 18.5

I also enjoyed the following two wines: -
Palliser Estate Chardonnay 1999
Lemony oak aromas and opulent mealy characters with lots of buttery spice in the palate. Well balanced, rich and full. 17.5.

Palliser Methode Champenoise 1997.
A blend of 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir. Lifted, lemony, yeasty with full earthy characters and a touch of marmite. A good mouthfeel with lots of frothy mousse. Rich and full with some ripe peach flavours emerging on the finish. 18.

We had noticed, as we arrived, a welcoming sign for Jeni Port an Australian wine writer. There was no welcoming sign for us, but then we hadn't booked. As we were tasting, Ms Port came into the tasting room with Palliser winemaker Allan Johnson. She was given Riedels to taste her wine in !!

Our first scheduled visit was at Margrain Vineyards (photo shows the entrance to the tasting room), with winemaker Strat Canning whom I have a ton of respect for. Robin had never heard of Margrain nor Strat's own boutique label Stratford. The tiny quantities of the latter hardly suffice the demand at home.

So I though it great Robin could taste the wines without any preconceptions. My highlights were

Margrain Riesling 2000
Intense fruit with apples and juicy lemon and orange citrus. Just the slightest hint of oiliness on a mineral backbone. A honey richness emerges on the finish and orange zest flavours linger on. (About 12 to 13 grams residual sugar).

Margrain Pinot Gris 2000 (tank sample)
Lemon flavours at first then follows a full-bodied richness of ripe pear flavours with a honey-like texture. Spice emerges on the finish with apples and citrus intensifying on the full lingering aftertaste. Bone dry but well balanced with great palate structure. Yet to be fined and filtered, this is due for release about February 2001.

Margrain Chenin Blanc Late Harvest 2000
Well, I just went gaga over this wine, totally loving it. Attractive clean and fruity aromas and rich, ripe, sweet fruit in the palate with plenty of acidity balancing the sweetness. Fresh apples and apple shortcake with crisp lemon supporting it and a wonderful glycerolic, almost viscous texture. A fresh clean finish. What a wonderful 'hot summer days' wine for immediate drinking now but this wine will age fantastically. With just 20grams / litre residual sugar, the 'late harvest' is perhaps a misnomer. 18.5

Margrain Gewurztraminer 2000
Fruit is sourced from the leased Haythornwaite vineyard. This wine is so totally closed up at the moment and there is virtually nothing on the nose. Slight at first in the palate but like all good gewurz's, this enriches. Good fruit and subtle gewurz flavours on the finish. I recommend that this wine is given 6 months to let the flavours unfold and blossom in the bottle. 16.5 with reassessment warranted.

Margrain Chardonnay 1999
Love these toasty buttery aromas without the 'over the top' characters that some wines get. 100% barrel fermented and about 40% malolactic. Rich and silky with spicy figs, melons, nectarines and a toasty finish. Very enjoyable. 18.

Margrain Pinot Noir 1999
Rich and smoky with plummy aromas. Just delicious, ripe, full, to the extent of being almost chocolaty with gamey, tarry, earthy complexities. A lovely lifted vibrancy with cherries, strawberries, brambles and herbal spice. Full and very long on the finish. 18 with an up arrow.

Several barrel samples of the components of the Margrain 2000 Pinot Noir followed, and then to completely blow us away, a barrel sample of the Stratford Pinot Noir 2000. With amazing complexity it is rich yet mellow. Juicy and succulent and almost complete as it is, showing ripe fruit, cherries, earthiness, smoky oak and a youthful vibrancy. Can't wait to see both the Margrain and the Stratford pinots released next year. Definitely something to look forward.

Well, after all our travelling, tasting and spitting, we needed sustenance so called in at the Martinborough Cheese Shop for relief.

Ata Rangi Ltd was the next stop and since I've been purchasing their wine since the 1988 vintage I always welcome the opportunity for a tasting. It's only a two-minute drive from the Town Square, and I almost drove right past their gates adorned with the new fancy stonework since my previous visit a few years ago.

Clive Paton welcomed us. He's on the left of this photo with Robin outside their quaint little tasting room.

We started with the Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc 2000 - one of the best from Martinborough I just love this wine with its apple, citrus and grassy flavours and it luscious texture. It's long, full and toasty. 18.5

The Pinot Noir was of the most interest and the current release is the Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 1999. The first sample we tried was from a bottle that was opened several days earlier. Rich, full, smoky, toasty, charry oak, biscuity, red berries, cherries, tar, chocolate, earthy, mushroomy with a sweet, spicy, toasted finish say my notes.
Then we opened another bottle to compare. Varnishy oak on the nose then in the palate flavours of baby boiled beetroots, cherries, plums, spices, lots of acid, rich tannins and a savoury, spicy, lifted finish. This wine was much more closed than the other bottle. Both great textured wines and both delicious in their own way. Great to see the evolution. 18.5

The Ata Rangi Celebre is the blend made predominantly from merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, cabernet franc and the bits and pieces from the new vines including the Italian grapes, sangiovese and nebbiolo. The current release is the 1998, that super-ripe vintage. And so to the wine. Great aromatics of spice, cassis and hints of violets. In the palate rich, ripe, succulent and juicy berry fruit, heaps of oak, big tannins and a minty nuance. This is one for the cellar. 18.

Larry McKenna was our next host. He's recently departed Martinborough Vineyards Ltd to develop his own, named the Escarpment Vineyard for it sits on top of a natural escarpment carved out by the river. He had no wine to show us, but there were great things in store in the way of sightseeing. A trip across a local farm then up a treacherous farm track took us to one of the highest points in Martinborough. From here we looked to the south and southwest, where we had a fantastic vista of the Martinborough Valley (see photo at top of page) - the original plantings to the west (on the right) and the new plantings, including the Escarpment Vineyard, in the next valley to the east.

Then, after driving across the valley to check out Larry's new vineyard sitting on copious metres of river shingles, we headed back to Wellington via the notorious hill to prepare for the 'offline' dinner that evening at the acclaimed Roxburgh Bistro.

An 'offline' is a meeting of Internet buddies who regulary meet online. Computers are off limits and wine lovers bring their best out of the cellar to share over a delicious dinner.

Click here to read Day 2 of our trip - Marlborough.