Serbal Mendoza Malbec Rosé 2015 $25 (3.5 stars)

6 September 2017By Yvonne

If sweet rosé wines are not your thing, fret not. I’ve hunted high and low to address that issue and have found a little star you’ll love because it’s lipsmackingly lean and dry. Malbec rosé is not common and yet the team at Serbal are clearly experts in creating sophisticated, South American style rose that … Read More

Yvonne Lorkin Canvas Column for Sat August 26th 2017

6 September 2017By Yvonne

Going Gaga for Gewurz Forget those flabby, sweet and sifty experiences of old, todays gewurztraminer’s are pure, precise and packed with punch-in-the-face flavour… Soljans Estate Gisborne Gewurztraminer 2016 $19.90 You’ll be wanting to move the Monaro and the Commodore to get to the Cortina so you can take this little bottle from West Auckland out … Read More

Soljans Estate Gisborne Gewurztraminer 2016 $19.90

6 September 2017By Yvonne

You’ll be wanting to move the Monaro and the Commodore to get to the Cortina so you can take this little bottle from West Auckland out to the local BYO Thai. With classic musky notes on the nose, ginger, lychee and all that gewürztraminer good stuff, stylistically it’s grown on the East coast, schooled out … Read More

Kaimira Estate Brightwater Nelson Gewurztraminer 2016 $25

6 September 2017By Yvonne

Certified organic, this wine is one huge high-five as to why Nelson is considered New Zealand’s spiritual home of the aromatic white wines. ‘Kaimira’ is named after an old flour mill built near the site of the original winery, but today it’s all about the grapes. Perfumed with nectarine and jasmine and sultry, dusky, musky … Read More

Natural Wine Co. Organic Gisborne Gewurztraminer 2015 $17.99

6 September 2017By Yvonne

This is about as natural as it gets for gewurztraminer production. Nicola and Geoff Wright are organic pioneers in Gisborne and alongside not adding any herbicides, insecticides or fungicides, they’re also not adding any yeast, opting instead for wild, ‘natural’ yeasts to conduct the ferment. Here’s a funkier, smokier, drier style, laced with lychee and … Read More

Yvonne Lorkin Canvas Column for Sat August 19th 2017

6 September 2017By Yvonne

In New Zealand and France, we call the syrah grape ‘syrah’. In Australia they call the exact same grape ‘shiraz’. Why? No one has any idea mate… Redmetal Vineyards Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2015 $22 As far as red wine guru’s go in this country, Grant Edmonds has got to be one of the most revered. … Read More

Langmeil Valley Floor Barossa Shiraz 2013 $37

6 September 2017By Yvonne

On the property at Langmeil grow some of the world’s oldest shiraz vines, yet the winemaking team are always on the scout for great fruit from independent growers around the Barossa to inject diversity into their wines. This wine is crafted from a smorgasbord of stunning shiraz sites and simply erupts with blackcurrant, boysenberry and … Read More

Redmetal Vineyards Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2015 $22

6 September 2017By Yvonne

As far as red wine guru’s go in this country, Grant Edmonds has got to be one of the most revered. He leads a double life as the chief winemaker for Sileni Estates while also nurturing his own fruit into the bottle. This is a pure, perfumed, peppery example grown in the famous, iron-rich gravels … Read More

Baron de Badassière Syrah Pays D’OC 2014 $26

6 September 2017By Yvonne

Badassière by name and badass by nature, this spicy, roundhouse kick of a syrah is produced in the Languedoc region in the south of France and is named after Baron Charles Emmanuel, the illegitimate son of King Louis XV. Plump plummy characters are buttoned up with pepper and dusty notes and a lick of leather. … Read More

Yvonne Lorkin Canvas Column Saturday August 12 2017

6 September 2017By Yvonne

So you’re 40-something, female and finding whiskers in weird places on your face? Fret not. Sip these and forget the horror. Vidal Legacy Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2016 $59.99  Oh lordy, what a wine! With its alluring aromas of grilled grapefruit, roast peach, toasted almonds and a hint of smoke, I struggled to peel the glass … Read More