Linden Destination Series Dam Block Hawke’s Bay 2020 $64 While there’s a seriously decent splash of merlot in the mix, the cabernet force is strong in this one. Delivering layers of lifted tobacco, dark cocoa, espresso, iron filings, and dusty carpenter’s workshop notes on the nose and palate, it’s roaring with toasty, smoky complexity. The … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Brown Brothers King Valley Limited Edition Prosecco NV
Brown Brothers King Valley Limited Edition Prosecco NV $19 Released in a limited edition, ultra-lightweight aluminium bottle with a re-sealable, screwcap lid, this Prosecco is the ultimate for laid-back picnics or full-on weddings. Masters of growing the classic Italian grape Glera, in Australia’s King Valley, the team at Brown Brothers have worked out how to … Read More
Mount Four The Patriarch Martinborough Pinot Noir 2024
Mount Four The Patriarch Martinborough Pinot Noir 2024 $35 Martinborough Pinot Noir has its own signature. Intensely floral yet deeply earthy and finishing with a creamy, savoury finish, it’s the liquid lovechild of Marlborough-based, French winemaker Marie Navailles. Scented with smoked cherry, soft rhubarb and dried bouquet garni, her wine rolls out fresh, slippery, soothing … Read More
Mount Four Brookby Marlborough Pinot Gris 2025
Mount Four Brookby Marlborough Pinot Gris 2025 $28 Crafted by French winemaker Marie Navailles, this Pinot Gris sails down the dry side of street and I am here for it! Scented with petanque pit minerality, freshly snapped apple core, green walnut, nashi notes, persimmon and white pepper; the mid-palate reveals soft pear and a touch … Read More
Mount Four The Matriarch Marlborough Chardonnay 2024
Mount Four The Matriarch Marlborough Chardonnay 2024 $30 Brand new from French winemaker Marie Navailles comes a Chardonnay stacked with punchy peach, taut tangerine, a lick of grapefruit pith and soft, creamy, almond notes on the nose and palate. Elegantly styled, plushly textured and laced with gently smoky oak, cleansing acidity and softly biscuity length … Read More
Crab Farm Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024
Crab Farm Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024 $29 Macadamia magic in terms of the toasty, creamy, nutty niceness going on in this Chardonnay. Ultra-golden and definitely swaggering on the savoury, mineral and smoky, buttery side of the street, this wine is less of a fruit bomb and more of a thinker’s sip. Hints of butterscotch and … Read More
Pegasus Bay Aged Release Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2015
Pegasus Bay Aged Release Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2015 $130 How is it that 2015 was ten years ago already? I’m sorry but that just cannot be true. One way to inject some joy into a rather jarring fact is to sip this incredible aged-release version of Pegasus Bay’s flagship Pinot Noir. Only crafted … Read More
Villa Maria Gimblett Gravels Ngakirikiri Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Villa Maria Gimblett Gravels Ngakirikiri Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 $145 From one of the ‘Holy Trinity’ of vintages (2019, 2020, 2021) comes a Cabernet Sauvignon for the ages. Erupting with bay leaf intensity, dark cocoa, dried herbs and deep, brooding tobacco-laced layers wrapping themselves around black fruits and seasoned leather. The tannins have chew and grip … Read More
Home Fields Single Vineyard Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2023
Home Fields Single Vineyard Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2023 $47 New from a tiny, lesser-known Wairarapa producer, comes a Pinot Noir that slinks down the lighter side of the street. Colour-wise it’s leaning into the earthy, raspberry cola colour spectrum and in addition to its ultra-light hue, its aroma layers lean toward the savoury, leafy, dried … Read More
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2022
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2022 $45 Impressively glossy and golden in the glass and for a Chardonnay, it’s a serious supermodel. Roaring with grilled grapefruit, baked nectarine, toasted almonds and lemon pith, it only gets better as the slippery, silky textures kick in. Hints of struck match, smoked walnutty complexity and a brisk, yet … Read More