Evaluating your Waiheke neighbour's wine is fraught with problems. Be too critical and you risk being frozen out; too effusive and you're accused of favouritism and sucking up.
The vineyards of Cable Bay surround me, and their well-reviewed stunning vineyard restaurant and cellar door is within easy walking distance. In such circumstances, one takes on the mantle of a New Zealand referee who finds himself adjudicating in an international rugby game between the All Blacks and Australia. You leave behind all preconceptions and connections and merely rule on what lies ahead.
The wines have been familiar to me for a number of years and, without prejudice, I can now confirm this is another Waiheke producer who is through the tentative years and is now producing consistently great wines.
This should come as no surprise - chief winemaker Neill Culley has an enviable track record. A self-confessed chardonnay buff, he brings an intelligent approach to all the wines in his care and is keen to provide balance and clean fruit flavours, whether it's grapes from the island for viognier, chardonnay, Bordeaux styles and syrah or a mouth-watering pinot noir made from grapes sourced from Central Otago.
It's not unusual for Waiheke producers to buy in grapes for varietals that don't do so well in a Mediterranean island climate, such as riesling and pinot noir.
