It’s amazing to think of how our winescape has changed in the last 20 years. In 1996 I was all about the ‘buttery chards’ and the more squint-inducing and cats pee-like the sauvignon blanc, the better. In terms of ‘aromatic’ or ‘other’ white wines, I don’t think I’d even seen a pinot gris, let alone … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Giorgio Pelissero Barbera d’Alba 2010 $45 ★★★★★
New favourite alert!! I love the earthy, saddle-leather; dusty carpenters workshop and old cigar box aromas in this wine. The fresh cherry, spice, cocoa and prune flavours and vibant, furry tannins will have you wanting a second sip in seconds flat. With beautiful fruit concentration and a round, cuddly finish, it’s definitely my kind of … Read More
Black Cottage Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $15 ★★★★½
This is a sauvignon for fans of super-lemony, herbaceous, passionfruit-packed styles. Dave Clouston is the winemaker and he’s a serious talent when it comes to turning out tangy, tropical tastiness in a bottle. www.blackcottagewines.co.nz
Clearview Three Rows Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2015 $32 ★★★★
The roast nectarine, grilled grapefruit and luscious, spicy, smoky flavours of this chardonnay make for a super sipping experience that’s for sure. It has rich, juicy mid-palate impact, tangy, tropical layers and the textural, nutty finish is amazing. Sip with Chinese Five Spice Chicken. Cellar door only – ph 06 875 0150 or www.clearviewestate.co.nz
Squawking Magpie The Gravels Syrah $30 ★★★★½
The impenetrable, inky-dark colour saturation is the first thing that gets you with this wine; it’s incredibly dense, dark, a stormcloud in a glass. Perfumed with blackcurrant, cherry and pepper-dusted damson plums, the nose is exciting, spice-driven and has smoke around the edges. Elegantly structured, the core of this wine has dark fruit, exotic … Read More
Squawking Magpie The Gravels Chardonnay 2015 $30 ★★★★½
For starters I really love the slick new label design at play here, mysterious, brooding and very ‘magpie’. Here’s an incredibly ‘pure’ chardonnay that’s packed with tropical tang, so expect pineapple, nectarine and tangelo notes alongside honey-buttered cinnamon toast and creamy layers in the mid-palate. The acidity is elegantly structured, there’s lovely balance and interest … Read More
Wine column week commencing July 9th, 2016
This morning I woke up wearing just one sock. I know donning socks in bed is hardly a sexy thing, but it’s winter and it’s freezing, therefore I feel it’s perfectly acceptable. My husband An earnest search of the nooks and crannies of the bed turned up nix. Had it siezed its chance and fled … Read More
Septima Mendoza Malbec 2014 $22 ★★★½
If you were thinking the national animal of Argentina was the llama you’d be wrong. It’s Bolivia’s. Argentina’s is the rufous hornero, or, as they say in the islands, the ‘red ovenbird’. But in my opinion their national animal should be Malbec. It might be a wine, but it’s muscular and meaty, furry around the edges, … Read More
Omaka Springs Single Vineyard Falveys Marlborough Chardonnay 2015 $19 ★★★★
Aromas of grilled pineapple, marshmallow and incredibly ripe nectarine merge with toasted coconut characters along a rich, tropical finish. Nine months maturing in French oak barrels has given the wine a slight ‘bacony’ flavour which I really love, making this little bit of magic from Marlborough deliciously complex and downright yummy (that’s a technical term … Read More
Terra Sancta Miro’s Block Central Otago Riesling 2014 $27 ★★★★½
If you only had just seven rows of ungrafted, old vine riesling struggling away on steep, hand-cut, schist terraces in the desert-like conditions of Bannockburn – it hardly seems worth the dollars and effort of trying to coax anything into a bottle. Yet winemaker Jodi Pagey and viticulturist Len Ibbotsen are diehard fans of the … Read More