Villa Maria a Finest Wine Value from New Zealand By Darryl Beeson, Cellar Master   New Zealand wines are some of the highest priced wines, on average, compared to all other exporting countries. The Villa Maria wines offer some of the best bang for the buck. Villa Maria "Private Bin" Riesling, Marlborough, 2000 Price $12 Rating 90 Founder and Managing Director of Villa Maria, George Fistonich, savored yet another victory for New Zealand's most awarded winery when he received three of the top awards at the 2001 International Wine Challenge Competition dinner in London. This pristine white is a prime example. Bright green apple and a bit of limestone on the nose. The sip offers soft, ripe fruit entry, a hint of "petrol" as found in fine German Riesling. There is ripe apple, lemon zest, and mineral complexity through the long delicate length. This delightful white wine is not sweet and not dry, just lovely. For more information, go to www.villamaria.co.nz Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc "Cellar Selection", Marlborough, 2001 Price $15 Rating 92 Villa Maria collected the Top Trophy for Sauvignon Blanc and the Best Value White Wine of the Year, the last two for it's 2000 Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at the International Wine Challenge Competition dinner in London. The "Cellar Selection" also captures the classic Marlborough grapefruit and pimento nose. A sip exposes spicy cilantro, as well as crenshaw or cantaloupe melon, complex fruit and a mineral meld. The length is good and the wine suited for dining or reception sipping. This is the wine equivalent of drinking a V8.  Vibrant. Villa Maria Chardonnay "Private Bin", Marlborough, 2000 Price $15 Rating 90 Villa Maria stole the show at the International Wine Challenge Competition in 2001. The London event was particularly fierce that year with one of the highest number of entries in the competition's history: 9396 wines from over 50 countries, assessed by 550 judges including 30 Masters of Wine, the world's foremost authorities and harshest critics. This beautiful chardonnay is concentrated with butter and pear/white fruit complexity plus hazelnut/black walnut-like oak contrast. "There is some tropical fruit element," says co-winemaker George Geris, "this is a lighter and fresher chardonnay showing a reasonable amount of oak." Villa Maria Merlot/Cabernet "Reserve", Hawkes Bay, 1998 Price $32 Rating 90 Villa Maria's winemaker Michelle Richardson's triumph in this year's IWC, supported by co-winemaker George Geris, continues an enviable string of national and international awards for Villa Maria. A sniff and a taste exhibits brambly fruit entry, blackberry, blueberry, cassis, some cola flair. There is luscious blueberry, black cherry and cassis, soft tannins, a bigness wrapped in delicate leather and oak, cedar, vanilla, long length. For fun, put this wine as a "ringer" with right bank Bordeaux wines, as it could be confused for such. Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc "Reserve", Clifford Bay, Marlborough 2001 Price $18 Rating 93 This luscious white leads with a clean bell pepper, gooseberry entry. It is crisp, clean and complex, and is typical of the Clifford bay sub region.  Overall, the Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc "Reserve", is an elegant meld of gooseberry and tart tropical fruit, complex and long in length. For more great wine suggestions, click here Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.