The right drop for a Sunday afternoon

Press, 7 April 1989, Page 25

The right drop for a Sunday afternoon

with

Phillip Pye

On a delightful breezefree and almost too-sunny-to-be-real Sunday, the crew got together again with a somewhat different and quite entertaining theme: what to drink on the patio on a Sunday afternoon.

What does one drink in the afternoon? As much as champagne is an any time drink it leans more to brunch on a Sunday. Lunch tends to be more approachable if Chardonnay or sauvignon blanc or the likes are served or maybe a fine rose, and dinner is a great time to pull the cork on a fine red. The one that has all the charm of a luncheon wine and all the sparkle and fun of a brunch wine is a sparkling rose, or even better, a pink champagne.

Pink champagne, it seems, has regained some popularity. The pink champagne market, it seems, has grown up from a deluge of cheap and overly sweet and coloured wines to an array of petilant food wines that please even the most finicky of palates. My favourite — the Taltarni Brut Tache — is sadly unavailable in New Zealand it seems. Mind you, Dominique Portet has much difficulty in supplying the Australian market without even attempting to bless us New Zealanders with what is an absolutely excellent pink champers. There is quite a range available from all over the world, so next time you get a sunny Sunday, try one of these.

MOET AND CHANDON BRUT IMPERIAL ROSE 1980

An absolutely excellent wine showing pintense boysenberry fnit characters and brealy yeast hints in the palafe. Sadly, we consumed tht wine a little too young; another two years will iiake it perfect drinking.'

YALUMBA ANGAS BRUT ROSE, j This wine is mbelievably great for ariund $l2 with its fresh ap?e characters and sure signs of the use of god clean fruit. A real oust for pink champers fins. SEPPELT JREAT WESTERN BRUI ROSE.

Although not an unpleasant wine it s in no way the star of he Australian pink bubdies. It is a little lackingin fruit flavour. It was gben the thumbs down >y the crew.

ORLANDO CAIRINGTON BLUSH FINE CUVEE. |

Definitely the most preferred of the Australian wines becaue of its clean, crisp and fry palate. It really is ather a refreshing winfi with great yeast characters. It is almost French in style and excellent vilue at

$l2. HENKELL ROSE. A wonderful salmon pink shade with soft and creamy fruit in the palate. This great German pink bubbly is most certainly underrated and wonderfully priced at around $l2. MONTANA LINDAUER ROSE. The crew fell head over heels in love with this wine and I certainly could not blame them. I found it particularly pleasant, with its delightful salmon colour, full fruit flavours and clean finish with a little astringency. A little expensive at $16.26 it was thought, but it is understood that this wine is around town at far less. If it is around at $l4, it is a steal.

MCWILLIAMS MARQUE VUE PINK CUVEE. At a mere $5 this wine just reeks of wonderful Muller Thurgau-like characters and is delightful if you like your wines a little on the fruity side. PENFOLDS CHARDON PINK.

The crew found this wine a little cloying, although that is what the other 95 per cent seem to prefer in this style. It is, according to the retailers I visited, the biggest seller in the pink bubbly stakes and actually quite appealing around a late afternoon barbecue. MONTANA PASCALE. This wine in no way pretends to be outstanding yet the crew loved it with dessert and raved about the intense sher-bet-like characters. For a mere $5 try it out on your friends without them seeing the label.