Middle Earth Nelson Viognier 2020

July 18, 2021By Yvonne

Middle Earth Nelson Viognier 2020 $24.99 Well butter my crust and call me crazy if this isnt just the freshest, friskiest, zestiest viognier I’ve seen in aeons. Nelson has again proved that it’s an aristocrat where producing aromatic wines is concerned. Scented with classic apricot, jasmine and honeysuckle while in the mouth it does a … Read More

Churton Natural State Marlborough Field Blend 2020

December 23, 2020By Yvonne

Churton Natural State Marlborough Field Blend 2020 $28 Each year the younger Weaver lads create a field blend that always brings a smorgasbord of citrus, spice and herbaceousness to the table. This organic, biodynamically grown and crafted 2020 wine is a blend of sauvignon blanc, petit manseng and viognier, meaning it shows white stone fruit, … Read More

Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2017

April 20, 2020By Yvonne

Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2017 $32 If you’ve been searching for a viognier that’s not a headrush of sweetness and oiliness and OTT everything, then here’s your wish granted. Grown in the iron-rich soils of the Bridge Pa sub-region of Hawke’s Bay, this viognier has subtle orange blossom aromatics, a soupçon of spice … Read More

Brookfields Barrique Fermented Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2018

April 15, 2020By Yvonne

Brookfields Barrique Fermented Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2018 $27 While the winery is already on to the 2019 vintage of this wine if you’re able to find any bottles of this 2018 around the traps, snap it up!  This multi-award winning style is a masterclass in how viognier should be crafted.  Boasting all the classic apricot, … Read More

Churton Marlborough Viognier 2016

July 9, 2019By Yvonne

Churton Marlborough Viognier 2016 $37 The thing that winemaker Sam Weaver absolutely nails with this wine, is the acidity.  Viognier is notoriously difficult to achieve freshness and balance in, because its a grape that naturally wants to increase its sugar holdings during ripening and couldn’t give a fig about retaining acidity.  So the trick is … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2015

July 6, 2019By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $12 Here’s where you need to get your thoughts away from the words ‘sauvignon blanc’ and think about it more as being a white wine made in a reduced, funky style, that’ll definitely spark debate if you took it along to a blind tasting.  A splash of viognier … Read More

Saorsa Cornerstone Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2016

June 16, 2019By Yvonne

Saorsa Cornerstone Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2016 $30 Pronounced “Sore-Sha”, the name Saorsa is a Scottish Gaelic word that not only means but also represents a radical sense of freedom, liberty and salvation according to owner Alex Hendry, one of Hawke’s Bay’s most exciting and ‘one-to-watch’ winemakers.  Crafting just viognier and syrah, his 2016 vintage … Read More

Petane Station Tracks Block Viognier 2018

April 27, 2019By Yvonne

Petane Station Tracks Block Viognier 2018 $30 Viognier (pronounced ‘vee-yon-YAY’) is one of my favourite things. Like clean, sunshine-dried sheets and emails saying ‘remittance advice.’ It’s a scary, lots-can-go-wrong grape, yet Philip Barber at Petane Station appears to have some sort of shamanistic supremacy over his vineyard, because the resulting wine is crunchy-fresh to taste … Read More

Moulin de Gassac Viognier 2017 $22

January 10, 2019By Yvonne

Classic fresh-cut apricot aromatics, white nectarine, ripe peach and white pepper and loads of character coming through in this wine from southern France, an area extending from Provence to the Pyrenees Mountains and the border with Spain, which is now part of Occitani. The length of flavour is outstanding – clean, fresh and frolicksome. http://www.planetwine.co.nz

Moulin de Gassac Pont De Gassac Blanc 2017 $36

January 10, 2019By Yvonne

Looking for something lipsmackingly dry, apple-driven and crunchy-fresh?  Then you’ve come to the correct cul de sac in the Moulin de Gassac.  A blend of Grenache Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and a squeak of Terret and Viognier from the village of Villeveyracin the Thau Lagoon area of the Languedoc – it’s like a charge of … Read More