Church Road Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2013 $20 ★★★★★ I really, really, really, really like this wine for loads of reasons. It’s not just its elegant aromas of peppercorn, plum, violet and red fruits freshly dusted with cocoa powder, or its buoyant acidity and ethereal texture or even its sandy, emery-like tannins with just the right … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 17 Plateau Merlot 2014
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 17 Plateau Merlot 2014 $33 ★★★★½ Cleverly crafted by winemakers Matt Thomson and Hamish Clark (who has a background in microbiology, zoology and forensic science interestingly enough) from fruit grown in the Gimblett Gravels, this is a wine with deeply earthy aromas of chocolate, liquorice and cured meats. Those same characters … Read More
Mahana Clays and Gravels Nelson Riesling 2014
Mahana Clays and Gravels Nelson Riesling 2014 $30 ★★★★ Arriving in a slimline, classic germanic blue-green bottle, this ultra-pure, intense lime and crabapple-scented riesling has a steely dry, lip smacking texture and a finely-tuned, length finish. Just the faintest seam of honeysuckle adds complexity and juiciness. Great drinking now but give it another 2-3 years … Read More
Mahana Clays and Gravels Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2014
Mahana Clays and Gravels Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2014 $25 ★★★★ Previously known as ‘Woollaston Estate’, this is sauvignon blanc made ‘off road’ in that it’s about as far removed from the clean, green, crispy-clean style that New Zealand is famous for. Ripe fruit was fermented on its skins (to extract chew and astringency for texture), … Read More
Bannock Brae Goldfields Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014
Bannock Brae Goldfields Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014 $30 ★★★★ This is one heck of an exotically perfumed pinot made for the Bannockbrae team by world-class winemaking wahine, Sarah-Kate (SK) Dineen. Boasting plum, black tea, hedgerow fruits, savoury, peppery notes and a chunk of cherry on the palate, it has freshness, buoyancy and real character. … Read More
St John’s Road ‘Line & Length’ Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
St John’s Road ‘Line & Length’ Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 $20 ★★★½ Here’s a bottle of banging Barossa cabernet that’ll tick all your boxes if you’re looking for bolshy sweet plum and blackcurrant notes, chocolate, peppercorn and classic minty characters. There’s a plush, fleshy sweetness, fruitcake spices and a smoky, toasty finish that just cries … Read More
Beach House ‘The Levels’ Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2014
Beach House ‘The Levels’ Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2014 $35 ★★★★★ Crafted from the ‘Stony Beach Gravels’ of the Te Awanga coastline, this is a stonkingly good chardonnay that oozes smoked grapefruit, roast peach, juicy stonefruit intensity all rugged up in a blanket of vanilla, buttered cinnamon toast and cashew characters. Fresh, funky and quite simply … Read More
Giesen ‘The Brothers’ Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2014
Giesen ‘The Brothers’ Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2014 $29.80 ★★★★ An explosion of lychee and ginger, peach and plush, musky sweetness is going to hit you in this ripe, rumpty gewürztraminer that’ll have you asking for another glass pronto. If the tropical, spicy, juicy flavours don’t wow you, then the pure, refreshing, finish definitely will. While it’s … Read More
Don’t slip into a rut
Published NZ Herald Sat 30 Jan 2016 Well that’s it then. January’s over, the kids head back to school next week and routine will reign again. But this is no time to get all normal when it comes to your wine however. Push the boat out with these babies… Champagne Lanson Black Label … Read More
Tropical tang for sipping
Published NZME Regional Papers Tue 26 Jan 2016 It’s a rare thing, (seeing as the modern New Zealand wine industry is still so very young in the bigger scheme of things) that anyone gets to sit down, taste wine and chat with a person whose been making wine at the same company for over … Read More