Elephant Hill Salomé Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $95 Crafted from a 100% handpicked blend of clone 15 and Mendoza fruit from their Sea (Te Awanga) and Earth (Bridge Pa Triangle) vineyards, this, their flagship chardonnay is a powerfully structured wine erupting with complex baked stonefruit and scorched citrus, layers of cleverly balanced, caramelised oak notes, … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023 $24 The Trinity Hill team overcame a tricky season, including a devastating cyclone (Gabrielle) to craft a pinot gris with energy and edginess. Generously textured and dry, it erupts with classic baked quince and cut nashi complexity and finishes with a vein of exotic spices. Trinity Hill
MĀWHERO A celebration of pink wine
After over 5 successful years as Rosé All Day, the annual festival has rebranded to Māwhero! “Te Reo for the colour pink, Māwhero represents a more fun, relaxed and welcoming approach to wine festivals,” says organiser and winemaker Jules van Costello, “and it’s exciting to see the event grow and move forward.” First hosted in Wellington in … Read More
Atypical and super-sippical – Bay Buzz Magazine Sept/Oct 2024 by Yvonne LorkinSeptember 24, 2024 Greg Collinge, Supernatural. Photo: Florence Charvin [As published in September/October BayBuzz magazine.] Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s oldest and second-largest wine region boasting over 200 vineyards and 76 wineries. It’s also an incredibly diverse region and one that I unashamedly call ‘the … Read More
Petane Maraekakaho Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023
Petane Maraekakaho Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023 $31 If you’re a fan of crispy-dry pinot gris sourced from a lovingly-tended organic vineyard grown in the shelter of the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges, then you’ve driven down the correct cul-de-sac my friend. Aromatically it sings with green apple, soft pear, a lick of lime, feijoa zest … Read More
Bostock Airini Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2022
Bostock Airini Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2022 $48 Māori princess Airini Karauria was one of Hawke’s Bay’s most highly respected and influential women, and in her honour the Bostocks created this impactful organic rosé. This is the second vintage and it’s crafted from syrah and merlot grapes grown in the iron-rich soils of Bridge Pa, her … Read More
Q Waitaki Pinot Noir 2022
Q Waitaki Pinot Noir 2022 $65 Waitaki is one of the hardest places in the world to grow grapes, the climate is extreme, it’s a harsh environment but grapevines thrive in that ‘treat em mean, keep em keen’ situation and who are we to judge? This pinot noir has a gentle earthiness, baked cherry and … Read More
Q Waitaki Valley Pinot Noir 2021
Q Waitaki Valley Pinot Noir 2021 Sipping this wine gave me a flashback to a dream I had recently, in which I remember swirling, sniffing, and sipping a pinot, then saying, ‘This is delicious. I’ll take a bottle!’ to which someone replied, ‘Ms Lorkin, this is a church. Let go of the cup and sit … Read More
Q Waitaki Valley Barrel Reserve Pinot Gris 2023
Q Waitaki Barrel Reserve Valley Pinot Gris 2023 $34 What a gris this turned out to be, with its apricot and quince paste perfume that merges with notes of Golden Delicious apple and scorched nashi to create rich, lengthy lusciousness on the palate. It’s energetic, exciting, a little raunchy, and a lot like a Guy … Read More
Q Waitaki Valley Chardonnay 2021
Q Waitaki Valley Chardonnay 2021 $42 Never heard of Q? It’s a tiny producer growing grapes in Waitaki’s deep limestone soils, only making wine when the fruit is perfect. The Waitaki wine region sits right on the southern edge of Canterbury and the northern lip of Otago, and it’s one of the most inhospitable climates … Read More