Wow this riesling is so dry and bony it’s practically skeletal – so those who love masses of lime in their wine will be happy campers with every sip. It has intense green apple notes, buckets of squinty acidity and acres of zesty, quartzy minerality on the finish. www.kahurangiwine.com
Author: Yvonne
Cloud Break California Chardonnay 2017 $23 (4 stars)
Here’s a barrel-fermented chardonnay that doesn’t feel like you’re licking a plank. Created from fruit sourced from different sites across Clarksburg, Lodi and Madera. The toastiness is there, yet it swings toward the creamy, buttery style while edged with white peach, hints of grapefruit, nutty nougat notes and caramelised characters. Made by Mark Rasmussen and … Read More
Yvonne Lorkin Wine Column for Week beginning Sat 21 July 2018
It finally happened. I actually gave in and let my husband throw away the ever-increasing collection of blackened bananas in our freezer. Bananas that I’d been ferociously protecting “For when I make banana cake!” And that’s a big ‘when’. Some of those ropey, wrinkly, fossilised bananas had been there for two years. Two. Which is … Read More
Gomersal Wines Barossa Valley 2017 Vintage Fortified Shiraz
Gomersal Wines Barossa Valley 2017 Vintage Fortified Shiraz (price tbc) I don’t know about you, but I don’t get to sip fortified shiraz every day – but after tasting this from 131-year-old Gomersal Wines, I’m on the hunt for more! Deliciously comforting cocoa, Christmas pudding spices and cough drop characters sneak through on the nose, … Read More
Parcelle Merlot 2011
Parcelle Merlot 2011 $25 Between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers lies Bordeaux’s Entre-Deux-Mers region. The ancient Romans began crafting wine there over 2000 years ago – so it’s fair to say there’s much skill and experience at play in this part of the wine world. The vines here are trained low to absorb the heat … Read More
Montsable Languedoc Chardonnay 2015
Montsable Languedoc Chardonnay 2015 $24.95 With its bright lemon-gold hue and lifted grapefruity fragrance, this gorgeous French chardonnay from the Languedoc (long-wah-dock) region had me doing a happy dance as soon as I popped the cork (got your corkscrew handy?). Pronounced ‘mon-sah-blur,’ it’s a gently juicy little beauty that shows pings of pineapple and peach … Read More
Bella Modella Extra Dry
Bella Modella Extra Dry NV $24.99 Some people see the word ‘prosecco’ and assume it’s always going to be on the sweet side, but that’s not the case with this little cracker. Crafted from ‘glera’ grapes grown in Veneto, Italy, it’s exactly my kind of prosecco: light, crunchy-crisp, refreshing, and zesty. It’s deliciously dry and … Read More
Bannock Brae Goldfields Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $35
This new vintage is un-fined and unfiltered, so you’re simply getting pure flavours of cherry, baked strawberry, wild thyme, tamarillo and hedgerow fruit notes. Grown in the desert-scape of Bannockburn’s Cairnmuir Road, this is a gorgeously gamey, elegant pinot noir with soft, fruit leather layers and deserves to be consumed by pinot noir lovers across … Read More
Tony Bish Golden Egg Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2017 $40
Immediate creamy nougat notes waft up the nostrils, followed by cashew butter, roast peach and plucky, pineapple and citrus layers that all osmose onto the palate. Fresh, frisky yet smooth and silky to sip, it proves without shadow of doubt that Bish is basically the Gandalf of good stuff, the Tsar of taste, the Obi … Read More
Pukeora Estate Ruahine Range ‘The Benches’ 2013 $28
From what was heralded as the ‘vintage of the century’ comes this powerfully built blend of merlot, malbec, syrah and cabernet sauvignon from the limestone-laden hills of Central Hawke’s Bay. Sweet saddle-leather, pepper, mocha, hints of prune, liquorice and showing bold, juicy tannins – it’s a muscular, sinewy sip that has loads of life in … Read More