Beach House Wines, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

My experience with New Zealand wines was limited prior to moving here. My conclusion since moving is that NZ wines are woefully misrepresented in the USA.

The dull Pinot Noirs that line the shelves in the USA are somewhat an afterthought here from what I can tell. There are some very nice Bordeaux blends at very decent prices that never get over to the USA.

Here are my notes from a tasting of one of the better houses I've tried here so far, Beach House wines. The pricing here runs about $20 to $40 for these, which translates to $16 to $32. The chardonnay at US$ 20 and the Cab Franc at US$ 18 are both a steal. Very solid wines.

• 2009 Beach House Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/28/2011)
  Full flavored with tangy acidic edge and some fine tannins. Brambly and a little wild, this won't win any style contests, but it has nice solid fruit, toasty tannins and stays well within it's own structure. A good solid wine and well priced at under $20.
  B-
• 2009 Beach House Cabernet Franc - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/24/2011)
  No formal notes. Very impressive, concentrated Cab Franc. Bought half a case based on this tasting.
• 2009 Beach House Chardonnay Levels - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/23/2011)
  Broad with some yeasty malo flavors. Some butter and a nice steely edge, flower petals, wax. Full flavored with some citrus. A little unfocused but very nice. A bit young. Could mistake this for a young modernish white Burgundy. I like this. A bargain in the mid $20s. Buy.
  B/B+
• 2009 Beach House Gewürztraminer - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/23/2011)
  Rich, dense, floral, sweet. A bit flabby. Nice expansive quality. Orange peel, asian spice. Not a big fan of the grape. This is a forward version.
  C+
• 2009 Beach House Merlot Reserve - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/23/2011)
  Rich, soft, lush. Licorice, espresso, strong and powerful. Some mint. Some vanilla. Fine tannins. Sweet, plummy core. Big finish. Could use a little more time in bottle.
  B/B-
• 2009 Beach House Montepulciano - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/23/2011)
  Dense, strong, sweet core. Big with a cutting edge and very nice aromatics. Full of class. Lots of espresso, glycerine. Deep with fine tannins.
  B/B+
• 2009 Beach House Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (11/23/2011)
  Bright and grapey. Light bodied for the style. Bubble gum sweet. Lacking that caramel. Very young.
  B
• 2009 Beach House Syrah - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay, Gimblett Gravels (11/23/2011)
  Full bodied with some bright acid, dense and chewy. Long coffee finish. Some toasty burnt oaky tannins. Some light baking spices. Fresh. From ungrafted vines.
  B/B-

Matt,
Hawke's Bay (and Waiheke Island, IIRC) is the site in NZ for Bdx blends as it's the warmest microclimate. Thank you for the heads-up about Beach House. When I was there in '01 I was particular impressed by Te Mata, CJ Pask, Matariki and Esk Valley in Hawke's Bay. The latter, though owned by the Villa Maria group, was doing some very interesting things.

Mark Lipton
p.s. We'll be taking sabbatical in Christchurch Jan-Apr of 2012. Feel free to PM me if you'd like contact information.

Stonyridge, which I believe is Waiheke Island, is world class. I had an older bottle recently (don't recall the vintage) and it was wonderful.

Keep an eye on Hawke's Bay syrah. That may be what NZ becomes known for once the pinot noir thing dies down.

Thanks for the tips, I've not had CJ Pask or Matariki, I'll look for them.

I'm located in New Plymouth, Taranaki. Let me know if you'll be around here!

I am a retailer here in Oregon who sells a lot of New Zealand wines. I have heard of Beach House but have never seen it available here. Do you know who the importer is ? All they seem to show on their website is New Zealand.

Michael-

They are not exported to the US. I'm in New Zealand so I have access to it here. I think they'd be well received in the US at the right price point.

Perhaps you could suggest some other NZ wines I should keep an eye on?