Eggs in One Basket
Easter might be a distant memory of finding bits of crème egg and chocolate buttons down your bra for days on end, but don’t let that stop you from indulging in a little egg-centric indulgence of a more exotic kind. Chardonnay whisperer Tony Bish is Chief Winemaker at Sacred Hill Wines and the man responsible for creating, Riflemans, my favourite chardonnay of all time. When I say ‘favourite’, I mean I have left instructions for when I die, this wine is to be pumped through my veins instead of embalming fluid – such is my infatuation. However Bish has, in recent years embarked on his own project to extract extra levels of complexity from chardonnay on a much smaller scale, by using concrete, egg-shaped fermenters to create his own range of wines, rather than the conventional tanks and barrels. And how do these vessels impart extra layers of loveliness into a wine? It has something to do with how the wine moves in unique ways inside the egg during fermentation, resulting in greater integration of textures, natural oxidation of the wine and more layers of complexity due to the lees (or dead yeast cells) coating the lower interior of the egg and providing increased structure. Plus they look really space-age and groovy. These fermenters aren’t uncommon – however they proved to be eyewateringly expensive to import to our shores from France or America. So Tony teamed up with cement expert Josh Winters to create his own 1600lt, 2 tonne vessels that he’s now selling for $NZ13,000. Tony has just released his first ‘Golden Egg’ Chardonnay 2015 ($35) from hand harvested, Mendoza-clone fruit from Te Awanga. Softly aromatic and gently juicy with pure white stonefruit, seashells, lemon pith and creamy, nutty notes – it’s definitely a chardonnay that’ll appeal to Chablis fans. Only 160 dozen bottles were made. Buy from www.tonybishwines.co.nz
Philip Shaw The Architect Chardonnay 2015 $20 ★★★½
Sourced from the high altitude Koomooloo vineyard on the slopes of the extinct volcano of Mount Canobolas, this wine is refined, elegant, lean and flinty. There’s a lemony, pith-like layer in the mid-palate – a reflection of the limestone and volcanic soils. I don’t get to drink wines from the Orange region of New South Wales very often, but now my appetite is definitely whetted. Sip with lemony garlic steamed clams. For stockists email orders@dnfinewine.com
Pruners Reward Waipara Pinot Noir 2013 $25 ★★★★
This is a very snazzy mid-priced label produced by the talented Porter family team at Bellbird Spring. Don’t let the light, brick-red colour fool you, this is quite a dense and complex wine. Scented with wild strawberry, cherry, pot pourri, sandalwood and allspice, plus it has lovely silky texture and deliciously savoury freshness. It’s extremely good value for money because it’ll last a few years yet.
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Jules Taylor Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $33★★★★
The unmistakeable aroma hit of passionfruit curd, candied lemon zest and dried mango carries completely across a palate saturated with honey, toffee and tangy, limedrop lollies. Sauvignon blanc done sweetly is an absolute treat and Jules Taylor is an expert at getting it fresh, vibrant and loaded with vavoom. Stunning stuff with slivers of hard, salty cheese.
www.glengarrywines.co.nz
Stanley Estates Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2013 $19.99 ★★★½
This canny Awatere Valley producer has beefed up their portfolio by buying up a bunch of quality Hawke’s Bay fruit from a bumper vintage, to create a bold, berry-driven bottle of niceness and spiceness. There’s a soft, powdery ‘chew’ to the texture of this wine, which ticks pretty much every box for good, flavoursome, all-purpose merlot that’ll have you hankering for gourmet sausages and mash swimming in gravy…
Matavino Matakana Viognier 2015 $25 ★★★½
Matakana is like an El Dorado for rich, aromatic white wines – and this viognier is definitely in it’s happy place here. Grown in Warkworth, the wine oozes sunshine and classic apricot kernel characters alongside hints of jasmine, ripe peach and a seam of sea salt. I like the slippery, oily character of this wine because it bodes well if you’re thinking of serving it with milk-poached pork belly with crispy crackling.
www.matavino.co.nz
