Cloudy Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 $37 Arriving in a new bottle embossed with ‘1985’ Cloudy’s foundation year and bearing a unique, glass-relief depiction of the iconic view of the Richmond Range overlooking the vineyards, the 2022 vintage is scented with classic green pea, capsicum and tropical, passionfruity, peachy characters. On the palate, the layers … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Petane Wines Kōtare Block Hawke’s Bay Gamay 2022
Petane Wines Kōtare Block Hawke’s Bay Gamay 2022 $30 Grown at their Eskdale vineyard, this is the very first bottling of Gamay for Petane Wines. Handpicked and fermented with partial carbonic maceration (where whole berries are left in an oxygen-free environment to ferment inside their own skins) and then pressed into older, neutral French oak … Read More
Petane Wines It’s Only Hawke’s Bay Gamay Piquette 2022
Petane Wines It’s Only Hawke’s Bay Gamay Piquette 2022 $22 Winemaker Philip Barber has had a crack at this ancient, yet newly trendy style by using gamay grape skins, rainwater, a few baskets of pinot gris and a decent 60lt splash of gamay juice which was re-fermented for 5 days in tank to close to … Read More
Petane Kōura Block Hawke’s Bay Pinot Blanc 2022
Petane Kōura Block Hawke’s Bay Pinot Blanc 2022 $28 Pinot Blanc is a marvellously tasty mutation of pinot noir and its spiritual home is over in the Alsace region of France. You’ll also find it in Germany, Italy, Hungary and now Hawke’s Bay. This is the debut pinot blanc for winemaker Philip Barber, who has … Read More
Mills Reef Estate Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020
Mills Reef Estate Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $18 Great value syrah here, buckets of red fruit. redcurrant, red apple and plum layers on the nose and palate merge with soft tannins, hints of pepper and earthy spices on the palate. Juicy, easy and a superb introduction to Hawke’s Bay syrah. Mills Reef
Main Divide North Canterbury Gewürztraminer 2022
Main Divide North Canterbury Gewürztraminer 2022 $21 From a cooler-than-average summer, comes a spicy, zesty gewurztraminer which boasts all the classic aromatics I love (lychee, ginger, manuka honey and jasmine) but injects baking spices like clove and nutmeg alongside dried citrus peel and crystalised mango. It’s a plump, plush, sexy thing to sip, yet has … Read More
Villa Maria Sparkling Cuvée Brut NV
Villa Maria Sparkling Cuvée Brut NV $20 Paired with Summer Corn and Avocado Salad with pesto by Annabel Langbein in the NZ Herald CANVAS magazine Sat December 10 2022. Brand new from the Villa stable comes a lemon shortbread-scented sparkler made from chardonnay and pinot noir that’s smooth, nutty, ultra-creamy and perfect with the richness of … Read More
19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Rośe 2020
19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Rośe 2020 $20 I love how it’s presented in smoked glass. Of course, it is. We are talking about Snoopy doopy after all. There’s not a lot of info on the back label about what grapes it’s made from or where exactly in California it’s made, but it is a … Read More
Hastings Distillers Posy Pink Gin
Hastings Distillers Posy Pink Gin 700ml $75 I love the little picture of a posy (or tussie-mussie as my mate Kim calls them) of flowers on the label. I also love the font. Which, yes, exposes me for being firmly in the ‘appearances matter’ camp, but I do not care. Morganite-pink and diamond-bright, this organic … Read More
Pinot Brothers Gold Label Martinborough Pinot Noir 2019
Pinot Brothers Gold Label Martinborough Pinot Noir 2019 $49 Ben Dugdale and his daughter Rose are the talent behind Pinot Brothers (or should that be Pinot Parent and Progeny? or Pinot Dad and Daughter?) Anyhoo, they’ve done an excellent job of capturing the classic Martinborough florals and cherry intensity on the nose and palate. Lifted … Read More