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
Author: Yvonne
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
A white flight
Published NZ Herald Sat 23 Jan 2016 During these summer days it’s okay to be a bit of a white wine snob — but be warned, overchill and you’ll kill the aromas, dull the flavours and ruin everything. Mahurangi River Estate Albarino 2015 $28 I’m really excited about Albarino and the potential it … Read More
Orlandi Contucci Rubiolo Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2013
Orlandi Contucci Rubiolo Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2013 $24 ★★★½ I LOVE that this Italian wine smells like Christmas cake, all cloves, mixed peel, allspice and cranberry. In the mouth it is savoury, smooth, juicy and ultra-earthy, with hints of leather and pepper. Light & fleshy. For stockists near you contact Macvine International 09 5797451
Banfi Col Di Sasso Toscana Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Banfi Col Di Sasso Toscana Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 $16 ★★★ The words ‘Col Di Sasso’ translate to ‘Stony Hill’, which describes the site of the steep, rocky slope in which the fruit for this wine grows in the Montalcino region of Italy. It’s like someone took a handful of ripe, squishy raspberries, rubbed them … Read More
Bladen Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013
Bladen Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013 $33 ★★★½ A very light coloured pinot, that has a soft raspberry and cherry lift, tannins with powdery grip in the mouth and a long, medicinally-spicy finish. If you like your pinot smooth, easy, light and juicy, then this is for you. www.bladen.co.nz
Big Sky Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2012
Big Sky Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2012 $40 ★★★★ Katherine Jacobs and Jeremy Corban are the couple behind this rising star Martinborough brand. The ancient Te Muna terraces provide deep, mineral-driven texture to the pinots which grown on its soils and this is no exception. A dusty, musky mouthfeel cloaks earthy cherry and cocoa … Read More