Mount Michael The Mountaineer Central Otago Pinot Gris 2019

22 September 2019By Yvonne

Mount Michael The Mountaineer Central OtagoPinot Gris 2019 $24.99 While it’s been crafted in a ‘dry’ style, this new addition to the Mountaineer range is actually incredibly rich and shows great nashi, apple and peachy intensity on the nose and palate. Clean, precise, focused and flavoursome, it’s perky and pure and has great cellaring potential … Read More

Blank Canvas Escaroth Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017

22 September 2019By Yvonne

Blank Canvas Escaroth Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017 $49 Here’s a wine showing total class and elegance and you should own it immediately because that’s you in a nutshell right?  Grown by Andy and Kyna Laurie, in their dry-farmed, north-facing Taylor Pass vineyard (named after the fictional lake town where the elves in The Hobbit sourced … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2019

21 September 2019By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2019 $22 Hailing from northern Italy and nicknamed ‘little rascal’ because of it being notoriously tricky to grow, Guillaume Thomas has given it a very happy home in the limestone and clay soils behind the Te Mata Peak range on the way to Waimarama Beach.  Chock full of floral intensity, … Read More

Odyssey Wines Hera Gisborne Chardonnay 2018

18 September 2019By Yvonne

Odyssey Wines Hera Gisborne Chardonnay 2018 $70 Hera is winemaker Rebecca Salmond’s flagship chardonnay.  Rebecca is a chardonnay obsessive, so if she deems fruit worthy of ‘Hera’ status then chardonnay lovers like me sit up and take notice.  Before I launch into telling you how much I love this wine, here’s a quick Greek mythology … Read More

Organic Wine Wine Week is ON

16 September 2019By Yvonne

Organic Wine Week is ON with an impressive list of events across New Zealand and within the heart of London.  Please help us spread the good word! There is something for everyone.  With the simple goal of sharing NZ’s best wine in a series of innovative and fun formats, Organic Wine Week will reiterate the … Read More

Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot Malbec 2015

13 September 2019By Yvonne

Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot Malbec 2015 $23.75 Previously sold under the ‘Metals and Gravels’ label, this 57:43 M & M blend is showing how fantastic 2015 was in Hawke’s Bay for merlot-dominant, Bordeaux-style red wines.  Elegant, statuesque and stacked with buckets of black fruits, masses of Christmas pudding spices and … Read More

Muré Signature Alsace Pinot Gris 2016

13 September 2019By Yvonne

Muré Signature Alsace Pinot Gris 2016 $27 This Alsatian pinot gris kicks and punches like a teenage MMA fighter. Stacked to its chiselled cheekbones with pear, Golden Delicious apples, yuzu mandarin and classic honeysuckle characters, it’s bracing, brisk, and racy to drink and rocks with pear, chorizo, and mint salad. Fact: the Muré property is … Read More

Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018

11 September 2019By Yvonne

Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $25 Sourced from their ‘Riflemans’ vineyard (which is fast becoming known as a national treasure) this new chardonnay ticks all the boxes for fruit weight, bright acidity, caramelised, coconutty oak and citrus complexity in the mid-palate and finish.  It’s richly structured, toasty and shows a whisker of … Read More

Pegasus Bay Aged Release Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2009

8 September 2019By Yvonne

Pegasus Bay Aged Release Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2009 $120 I think the ‘Aged Release’ program that the team at Pegasus Bay have created (in order for people to be able to enjoy what a perfectly cellared, 10yo wine tastes like) is a joyous thing for muppets like me who didn’t manage to get … Read More

Universe Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018

7 September 2019By Yvonne

Universe Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $34.99 The heat trap that is the ancient glacial soils of Alexandra is responsible for this baked cherry, leather and prune-packed pinot noir.  New to the market, and  crafted in a completely vegan fashion, it’s a savoury, spice-fest of a wine boasting gentle, fleshy tannins, soft, medicinal notes and … Read More