If you’re a fan of buttery chardonnay, this brand new vintage from Martinborough’s Parkinson family will have you grinning. With roasty, toasty, nutty notes gleaned from barrel fermentation, soft, creamy layers from the full malolactic ferment and tangy nectarine and peach flavours soaking through to the finish, it’s a ‘thinkers’ chardonnay. I’m also certain it’ll … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Craggy Range Te Kahu 2014 $27
Craggy Range’s ‘Giants’ winery (located in Hawke’s Bay’s Tuki Tuki Valley) is often enveloped in early morning mist which rises above the river. They’ve named this wine Te Kahu, (‘The Cloak’ in Maori) in homage to this mist. Like the 2013 vintage, this blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet franc, has deep colour … Read More
Fontanafredda Le Fronde Moscato d’Asti 2013 $35
At just 5% alcohol, this is a super-light, super-sweet little sip that’ll perk up even the most jaded tastebuds. Forget any past experiences with bad old, mass-produced Asti because this is the genuine article. Pure, uncut awesomeness. With a deliciously delicate, creamy mousse, lifted, musky apricot and honeysuckle flavours and a long, spritzy finish – … Read More
Canvas column week commencing 9th April, 2016
You’ve spent the week working hard to be all things to all people. Maintaining through the demands of family, friends, your workplace and those pesky SocMed platforms that’ll forget you in a click if you don’t ‘like’, ‘share’, ‘regram’, ‘retweet’ or ‘snap’ something every seven minutes. Good wine doesn’t care. It always has your back. … Read More
Greystone Waipara Rose 2014 $25.50
Located at the foot of the Teviotdale Hills on the western side of the Waipara Valley is a series of fossil-studded vineyard slopes known as “the golden mile”. The pinot noir used to make this rose grows here. 100% clone 115 grapes are handpicked, gently pressed and put to barrel to be fermented in barrels … Read More
Bladen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $21
The thing that I really like about this wine is that it doesn’t have any thing OTT about it. All the citrus layers of lemon, lime and feijoa are contained in layers of sweet, grassy goodness. Elegant and herbaceous, it’s a wine that Christine and Dave MacDonald have done themselves proud with this snazzy, pea-pod … Read More
Matetic Corralillo Chardonnay 2013 $25
Sourced from the region of Rosario in Chiles San Antonio Valley this chardonnay grows in decomposed granite soils studded with quartz and volcanic material; which probably explains the vein of minerality stitching the stonefruit, yellow plum and slivers of grapefruit together. Pronounced ‘matt – eh – cheech’, it’s nutty, slightly creamy on the finish, and … Read More
Canvas column week commencing 16th April, 2016
We are getting seriously southern this week, from South America to Southern Sauvignon, to a pink that’s been aged in the drink. It’s a smorgasbord of cool treats… Matetic Corralillo Chardonnay 2013 $25 Sourced from the region of Rosario in Chiles San Antonio Valley this chardonnay grows in decomposed granite soils studded with quartz … Read More
Ma Maison Martinborough Chardonnay 2014
Ma Maison Martinborough Chardonnay 2014 $45 Wellington-based dentist-by-trade Edward Leung has worked incredibly hard to produce small amounts of high quality chardonnay from his How on earth winemaker Wendy Potts manages to inject layers of crème caramel, roast nectarine, cinnamon and juicy, grilled grapefruit into this wine I’ll never know. She’ll tell you it’s all … Read More
Wairau River Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 $20
Gently juicy, peachy, zesty grapefruity goodness, followed by beautifully balanced tropical tautness and punchy acidity are all bunched up into a quadratic equation of excellence in this cracker of a wine. The Rose family behind the Wairau River business are all in this thing, every one of them – and the wines keep getting better. … Read More