Carrick Cairnmuir Terraces EBM Central Otago Organic Chardonnay 2022 $60 I mean you could go through your life happily knowing the Carrick EBM Chardonnay is so named for its ‘Extended Barrel Maturation’. However, I feel that name kind of doesn’t really give enough oomph to its actual fabulousness. So from here on in, I’m renaming … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Blank Canvas Abstract Three Rows Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Blank Canvas Abstract Three Rows Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 $44 From just three rows of dry-farmed sauvignon blanc growing in the Holdaway Vineyard in Dillons Point comes this carefully crafted wine that’s been naturally fermented in large, older, seasoned oak puncheons, where it’s been aged for 15 months on its lees. That maturation (along with … Read More
Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022 $32-$39 Crafted from a combination of fruit grown in both the Awatere and Southern Valleys, this Pinot Noir is, 3 years on from harvest, fresh and berry-driven, yet is developing hints of savoury, gamy complexity. Bright, energetic and showing fine-grained tannins that dissolve delicately. Nicely made and lightly styled. Whitehaven
Chard Farm Mason Vineyard Central Otago 2022
Chard Farm Mason Vineyard Central Otago 2022 $88 Holy Parkburn Batman! The spectacular Mason Vineyard Parkburn Pinot Noir is deliciously soothing, elegantly structured, stacked with rooibos tea, baked rhubarb, dark cherry, intense earthy complexity and soft, suede-like tannins to round out its generously creamy, berry-soaked, pepper-dusted finish. Pricey but lusciously nicey, it’s a pinot with … Read More
Chard Farm Mata-Au Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
Chard Farm Mata-Au Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 $48 Pronounced ‘matar – oh’, this wine has built a reputation for bringing the very best of the winegrowing talent at Chard Farm into the affordable realm and showcasing the best from their Lowburn and Parkburn vineyards. Mata-Au has a deliciously floral lift of rooibos tea, bright … Read More
Chard Farm The Tiger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
Chard Farm The Tiger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 $88 The Hay family’s team at Chard Farm are specialists in single-vineyard Pinot Noir’s and this particular one hails from a tiny parcel of fruit grown in a vineyard located in Lowburn, between Wanaka and Cromwell near the shores of Lake Dunstan. The Tiger has a … Read More
Chard Farm Viper Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
Chard Farm Viper Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 $88 The Chard Farm winery, owned by the Hay family, is located on land which was a farm founded by Richard Chard in 1868, an entrepreneurial soul who set about growing produce to supply the local gold miners. The Hay’s have crafted a range of single-vineyard … Read More
Alpha Domus The Batten Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024
Alpha Domus The Batten Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024 $44 I cannot stress this enough. The Batten 2024 is my Chardonnay of the year so far, and if you’re a Chardonnay fan or Chardonnay collector, you must beg, steal, borrow, barter, do whatever it takes to get your mits on this vintage as soon as you … Read More
Monowai Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2023
Monowai Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2023 $24 Gorgeously golden in the glass, winemaker and owner Emma Lowe has, from a horrific cyclone year, I might add, created a bold, peach and cashew-crammed style with refreshing acidity, buttered toast dusted with cinnamon characters and a finish that’s like a marathon being run in your mouth. Tropic-tastic and … Read More
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023 $24.99 2023 was a really tricky year for Hawke’s Bay grapegrowers as Cyclone Gabrielle struck with devastating force just as harvest was about to begin. Yet the folk at Trinity Hill managed to craft a snappy, richly-structured, dry-styled gris laced with classic nashi notes and a hint of … Read More