Elephant Hill Stone Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019

May 23, 2023By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Stone Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 $60 Just 110 cases were produced of this superb syrah grown in the deep, stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels district (hence the ‘stone’ title) from a vintage that’s fast becoming known as one of the 21st-century greats in Hawke’s Bay. Seductive aromas of peppercorn, violets, red apple … Read More

Elephant Hill Stone Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019

May 13, 2023By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Stone Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019 $60 Deep, richly structured Merlot sourced from the Gimblett Gravels has had a floral boost from a splash of 8% cabernet franc sourced from the Bridge Pa Triangle sub-region, and the result is an absolutely plush and perfectly balanced, refreshing red wine stacked with classic damson plum, dark … Read More

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Le Phant Rouge 2021

May 13, 2023By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Le Phant Rouge 2021 $28 From the holy trinity of Hawke’s Bay vintages (2019, 2020, 2021) comes a blend of 40% merlot, 36% syrah, 14% tempranillo, 8% malbec, 1% cabernet sauvignon and 1% cabernet franc grown across their three vineyard sites, 13% from the ‘Sea’ vineyard at Te Awanga, 53% from … Read More

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021

May 13, 2023By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $34 This Chardonnay is a cracker. Boasting incredible freshness and stonefruit intensity laced with attractively balanced oak and zesty citrus textures on the finish. Crafted by winemaker Hugh Crichton and his team, this chardonnay is made mostly from Elephant Hill’s ‘Sea’ vineyard on the Te Awanga coastline, just metres … Read More

Elephant Hill Sea Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020

March 9, 2023By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Sea Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020 $59 Wow! You definitely know this has come from an oceanfront vineyard (Te Awanga) because the vein of salinity is strong in this one. I love it! Super-juicy, beautiful oak handling, silky, succulent and crammed with grapefruit it’s 88% clone 15 and 22% clone 95 handpicked, whole bunch … Read More

I review the 2020 Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Chardonnay Selection

January 5, 2023By Yvonne

I review the 2020 Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Chardonnay Selection. Twelve wines whittled down from dozens submitted that were judged by Cameron Douglas MS to reflect the absolute finest examples created from the 2020 vintage from the Hawke’s Bay region. I love that there’s a healthy sub-regional spread in terms of where they were grown and … Read More

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Hieronymus 2019

December 24, 2022By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Hieronymus 2019 $125 A blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, (clone 10), 29% cabernet franc (clone 326) and 11% merlot (clone 181) sourced from predominantly their ‘Stone’ Gimblett Gravels vineyard, this wine is the epitome of what the Elephant Hill team can achieve from an excellent vintage. Inky-dark and glossy, this wine … Read More

Elephant Hill Airavata Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019

December 23, 2022By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Airavata Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 $125 From what’s fast becoming known as the holy trinity of Hawke’s Bay vintages (19.20,21) Airavata is the absolute pinnacle of what the Elephant Hill winemaking team can achieve with syrah. And I’ll tell you right now, it’s so gorgeously, garnet-hued, glossy and inky-dark, it wins stars on … Read More

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2018

October 8, 2021By Yvonne

Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2018 $27 Quick word. Peel your eyes away from this necktag and let them bathe in the sight of this dark, glossy, gorgeous thing pouring into your glass. Impenetrably inky, and smelling like saddle leather rubbed with baking spices, blackberries and dark cocoa. This wine was made by the scarily … Read More

I taste the 2018 Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection

August 26, 2021By Yvonne

It’s one heck of an exciting feeling cracking open the box containing the newest Gimblett Gravels selection wines. Twelve of the greatest red wines to come from New Zealand’s most famous red wine region, selected independently by Andrew Caillard MW. They’re also selected from a talent pool consisting of dozens of hopefuls from dozens of … Read More