This is a moreish little merlot from Rothschild’s Chilean wine operation that hits the quaffable spot. Savoury, roasting pan juices, pepper and baked plum and berry flavours combine with grippy, dusty tannins and a lengthy, leathery finish. Nice and meaty – classic South American characters here. www.kahurangiwine.com
Author: Yvonne
Graham Norton’s Own Shiraz 2017 $18.99 (4.5 stars)
So our favourite Irish tv personality has teamed up with two kiwi guys from Invivo wines to produce a shiraz from South Australia – how’s that for multinational relations! This is a bonza little bottle that’s deliciously spicy and saturated with blackcurrant and plum flavours and fleshed out with muscular, yet woolly tannins. A bit … Read More
Pretty Paddock Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $10.99 (3 stars)
Classic punchy passionfruit, crushed herbs, green capsicum and pea pod flavours are all crammed into this bottle alongside gum-numbing acidity and long, prickly-fresh length of flavour. A squeak of white pepper and a lick of lemongrass makes this a good little ‘after work’ quaffer. www.vineonline
Framingham Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $21 (4 stars)
Tangy and seriously grassy, this sauvignon has buckets of basil, tomato leaf and capsicum characters all bouncing out of the glass. Herbaceous and heaving with tangy, lemongrass and lime layers. It’s less sweet and more along the zesty, white fruits spectrum than a lot of Marlborough sauvignon out there. I really like it. www.framingham.co.nz
Beach House Reserve Hawke’s Bay Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $25 (4 stars)
If the thought of oak in your sauvignon blanc sends you into a spin, don’t fret. Chris Harrison at Hawke’s Bay’s Beach House wines has mastered the art of subtlety, so you get a whiff of freshly-baled hay and toast wrapping itself around white peach, lemongrass and lime loveliness. It’s ultra-long on flavour and a … Read More
Yvonne Lorkin Canvas Column for Saturday 2nd August 2017
Looking for wines that’ll absolutely slay when the sun comes out? This triple-threat has Spring in its sights… Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $18.99 Incredibly juicy and tropical, this is a passionfruit and lime fest if ever I tasted one. But the other thing I love about this wine is that it’s SO textural. Produced … Read More
Graham Norton’s Own “Pink by DesiGN” New Zealand Rosé 2017 $18.99
Here’s a case of ‘norton hemisphere meets southern hemisphere’ where the eponymous Mr Norton has totally embraced the winemaking process AND agreed to pretty much every example of word play possible on the use of his initials. Crafted from pinot noir sourced from around the country, it’s been given just enough time on its skins … Read More
Matt Connell Rendition Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $44
Matt’s one of the region’s most highly awarded winemakers and this is his solo pinot project after tenure at Olssens and Akarua. Produced from fruit grown in Bendigo and Lowburn, it’s bottled with a label designed by Taranaki artist Andrew J Steel, whose depicted Matt’s ‘meaningful things’ (expect dogs, fish, goats, guns etc..) Oozing savoury … Read More
Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 $18.99
Incredibly juicy and tropical, this is a passionfruit and lime fest if ever I tasted one. But the other thing I love about this wine is that it’s SO textural. Produced from two Awatere Valley vineyards (Starborough + Long Lane) and a Wairau site (O’Dwyers Farm) the result of the blend is a super-concentrated, lemongrass … Read More
Yvonne Lorkin Wine Column for week beginning Sat Aug 12 2017
It’s hardly going to rip anyone’s knickers when I say that one man’s nectar may very well be another man’s engine cleaner. The same wine that sends your tastebuds spiralling into something tantric, might very well send your neighbour speeding to the spittoon. Wine is all about personal taste, it’s such an individual thing. When … Read More