Soho Stella Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $24 ★★★★½ Ahoy there sauvignon blanc fans! You’ll be wanting to get your mits on this if you’re a fan of crunchy, crushed herbs, punchy passionfruit and peach flavours, sweetpea and lime in your wine. It might be slick and stylish, but it definitely doesn’t just stand in the … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Hãhã Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014
Hãhã Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014 $19.99 ★★★½ Bright cherry, raspberry and spices waft from the glass and merge with gentle cola and cocoa notes in the mouth. Youthful and fruity, it’s easy, fresh and silky to drink. www.hahawine.co.nz
Wairau River Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015
Wairau River Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015 $19.99 ★★★ This is a bright, shiny new pinot gris that has classic green apple, pear and squinty quince characters alongside lifted spicy notes and a seriously tangy finish. The texture has a powdery, chalky feel to it which adds interest – but a few more months in the … Read More
Saint Clair Pioneer Block Cell Block Chardonnay 2013
Saint Clair Pioneer Block Cell Block Chardonnay 2013 $32 ★★★★★ Sourced from the fantastic, free-draining Dillons Point dirt in Marlborough, this chardonnay just hammers home the message that our largest wine region is really on a roll churning out world class white Burgundy. Saint Clair have never been slouches when it comes to creating great … Read More
Sparkling Spring
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Sat 10 Oct 2015 There’s something about the onset of Spring which sparks the desire for something well, sparkling. Mimi Sparkling Pink $13.99 ★★★½ Aromas of delicate strawberry shortcake and cranberry cashew trail mix lead the way to soft cherry, breadcrust and biscuit flavours. It’s fresh, smooth, lengthy and the … Read More
Cloudy Bay 30 Years 2015
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Sat 10 Oct 2015 In 1985 about this time, I was sitting in a movie theatre watching Michael J Fox as Marty McFly travel via his silver DeLorean thirty years into the future, to 2015. 1985 was when our family moved from Takapau to the big smoke of Hastings and … Read More
Wine Roulette
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Sat Oct 3 2015 A text message arrives from my friend Jen. She’s given up on trying to pin me down for coffee, or for a proper, well-behaved, big girls glass of wine at a reputable establishment to ‘catch up’. To say I’ve had a busy two months is a bit … Read More
Northern Hemisphere Niceness
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Sat 26 Sep 2015 There’s a place in Italy called Salento. It’s located in the Puglia peninsula region of southern Italy, the one that looks like the heel of a boot, and it’s exceptionally good at growing a red grape that I’m fast becoming a serious fan of. That grape is … Read More
Exercising the palate
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Sat 19 Sep 2015 I’m writing this column during breaks whilst judging at the New Zealand International Wine Show at QBE Stadium in Auckland. It’s the home of the North Harbour rugby team and I would have thought that after their 48v32 loss to Hawke’s Bay two days beforehand, that the … Read More
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Gimblett Gravels Grenache 2014
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Gimblett Gravels Grenache 2014 $24 ★★★★ Grenache is super-rare in this country, and Villa Maria have just one solitary hectare of vines planted smack bang in the middle of New Zealand’s most prestigious red wine region. This is also the only New Zealand grenache made on it’s own, not blended with … Read More