Durvillea Marlborough Chardonnay 2016

2 November 2018By Yvonne

Durvillea Marlborough Chardonnay 2016 $15.99 It beggars belief at how this wine can sell for under $20.  It is such a complete and beautifully rewarding and generously proportioned wine that it should be double the price.  With roast stonefruit notes, caramelised oak, fresh, flirtatious acidity, and creamy complexity, it’s a buxom and generous chardonnay that’s seriously … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Late Harvest Arneis 2018

29 October 2018By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Late Harvest Arneis 2018 $22 Arneis created in a dessert wine style is not something you see every day – especially not here in New Zealand.  It’s rare to even find arneis in its normal, dry form, let alone fashioned into a tantalisingly sweet, mandarin and quince-like triumph such as this.  … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2018

29 October 2018By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2018 $20 Made by French winemaker Guillaume Thomas, this cabernet franc-based rosé is bursting with redcurrant, cranberry and pomegranate aromas and flavours. It’s pretty and trout-pink in the glass and there’s even a touch of creaming soda and tamarillo in there, too. Fresh, succulent, saucy, and with a hint of … Read More

Huia Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2016

29 October 2018By Yvonne

Huia Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2016 $32  If you’re not fond of blowsy, sweet gewürztraminer then you’re in luck here because this organic example is clean, dry, spicy and stitched together with lacy lychee and gorgeous ginger notes. The team at Huia are experts when it comes to growing good gewürztraminer (which means ‘spicy wine’ in its … Read More

LV Marlborough Chardonnay 2016

27 October 2018By Yvonne

LV Marlborough Chardonnay 2016 $48 Straight off the bat, this is by far the most delicious chardonnay I’ve tasted in aeons!  Aromas of creme caramel and freshly cut grapefruit and grilled stonefruit lead to the most elegant and statuesque palate that’s oh so concentrated and saturated with citrus and stonefruit.  Winemaker Louis Vavasour has gone … Read More

Cambridge Road Martinborough Pinot Noir 2011

27 October 2018By Yvonne

Cambridge Road Martinborough Pinot Noir 2011 $80  It’s very easy to see why Lance Redgwell put a ring on it and announced at the time of release that this is his finest pinot vintage to date, because seven years on from harvest, it’s absolutely blowing my mind.  Sourced from a small 5.5 acre (3 hectare) … Read More

39° Below Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2018

15 October 2018By Yvonne

39° Below Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2018 $25  For starters how pretty does this look in the glass?  A touch of skin contact has given it the softest, sexiest blush of pink and I love how it rocks classic quince and nashi niceness on the nose, followed by ripe stonefruit, punchy acidity and tongue-tingling textures … Read More

39°Below Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2018

14 October 2018By Yvonne

39°Below Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2018 $17.95  So fresh, frisky, vibrant and packed solid with lemongrass, basil, sweet lemon verbena notes, this wine also boasts buckets of passionfruit and nectarine on the nose and palate.  It’s a ripe and rumpty sauvignon blanc that’s so friendly and feisty, it’ll please even the fussiest sauvignon snob.  Paul McEvoy … Read More

Gibson Bridge Tasting Oct 2018

10 October 2018By Yvonne

Gibson Bridge Estate Blend Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015 $38 This pinot gris is deeply golden in the glass, perhaps due to its age and also its partial barrel fermentation and the addition of 12% gewurztraminer already barrel fermented itself.  On the nose it has nutty complexity, musky florals and spiced stonefruit characters.  The acidity is fresh … Read More

Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2017

8 October 2018By Yvonne

Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2017 $24  Bold, juicy and ready for action, this velvety-smooth red has cocoa, dark cherry, plum and peppery warmth on the palate.  It’s fleshy, beautifully textured and fabulous with moussaka. www.millsreef.co.nz