Blackenbrook Nelson Montepulciano 2021

November 8, 2023By Yvonne

Blackenbrook Nelson Montepulciano 2021 $38 Daniel and Ursula Schwarzenbach of Blackenbrook have a thing about giving alternative varieties a go, and Montepulciano (from the Abruzzo region in Italy) is one of them. They figured it’d enjoy living in Nelson and it does. Firm tannins, dark rhubarb and cocoa notes are bound together by leather and … Read More

Bushmere Estate Gisborne Montepulciano 2020

August 22, 2021By Yvonne

Bushmere Estate Gisborne Montepulciano 2020 $25 Intensely inky, in fact it’s impenetrably purple in the glass and showing a massive lift of bay leaf, blackberry leaf and herbaceous notes, this new vintage has high acidity and tannins with decent chew and grip around the gums. It’s an east coast version of an Italian favourite and … Read More

Framingham F-Series Marlborough Montepulciano Rosé 2018

November 23, 2018By Yvonne

Framingham F-Series Marlborough Montepulciano Rosé 2018 $34.99  It’s great to see rosé from Marlborough being constructed from a variety other than pinot noir, and if anyone’s going to get the best from southern-grown montepulciano, then it’s the folk from Framingham.  Perfumed with strawberry, creaming soda, and a hint of peppercorn, it has fleshy, plush textures … Read More

Beach House Gimblett Gravels Montepulciano 2013

March 22, 2016By Yvonne

Beach House Gimblett Gravels Montepulciano 2013 $45 ★★★★★ I swear the wines made by the small but perfectly formed team at Beach House wines on Hawke’s Bay’s Te Awanga Coast, just get better with every passing year.  Crafted from fruit sourced in the sun-trap that is the Gimblett Gravels (it’s always at least 2 degrees … Read More

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Montepulciano 2014

December 1, 2015By Yvonne

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Montepulciano 2014 $30 ★★★★ There’s less than 1ha planted of this super-savoury Italian red in Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Gravels vineyard – and there’s precious little planted elsewhere in the country.  It’s a hearty, ribsticking red with really interesting meaty, leathery notes, lovely hints of coughdrop and cocoa alongside pepper and smoky, … Read More

Hens, Chickens and Frost…

February 3, 2012By Yvonne

You’d expect at the end of January things out there in winery land would be all go.  With harvest just weeks away surely there’d be no end of things to do; tanks to clean, barrels to wash, equipment to sterilise and loads of general endeavour by everyone concerned.  So on a sneaky little trip to … Read More