Brookfields Hillside Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $45 Peter Robertson only makes this, his flagship syrah, when the fruit is exceptional. Sourced from 26yo vines growing on the gentle, sun-baked slopes of the Lyons’ family Hillside vineyard in the Bridge Pa triangle district. It produces tiny bunches of pure and vibrant, violet-scented, berries that create a … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Quartz Reef Central Otago Mèthode Traditionnelle Vintage Rosé 2016
Quartz Reef Central Otago Mèthode Traditionnelle Vintage Rosé 2016 $110 When Quartz Reef declares a vintage for one of its sparkling wines, you know that winemaker Rudi Bauer and his team are 100% in love with the quality of the pinot noir from that year and infatuated enough to not blend it with any other … Read More
Tironui Estate Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2022
Tironui Estate Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2022 $25-$30 Crafted from a blend of 73% malbec and 27% cabernet sauvignon grown on the steep terraces of the Sugar Loaf hill looking out over Napier, toward Cape Kidnappers. Richard and Jennifer Brown established Tironui Estate back in 2003, and they’ve been turning out tiny amounts … Read More
Domain Road Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020
Domain Road Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020 $42 Oh. Ok. Put your phone down, press ‘mute’ on the remote and divert your gaze away from Aussie Gold Hunters or Repair Shop or whatever it is you’re watching because this pinot noir deserves your eyeballs and tastebud attention. Vibrant, energetic, and saturated with exotic spices, … Read More
Batch Thomas Legacy Waiheke Island Pinot Gris 2019
Batch Thomas Legacy Waiheke Island Pinot Gris 2019 $74 My sister is a very good schoolteacher. From an early age, she was remarkably committed to finding ways of telling people what to do and how to do it. I once called her ‘bossy’. She said she couldn’t help being ‘aggressively helpful’. So I bought her … Read More
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett 2021
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett 2021 $40 The way that winemakers Warren Gibson and Damien Fischer have evolved this blend over the last decade or so has been super-exciting to see, particularly as the proportion of cabernet franc is now sitting at 50%. The remainder of the blend consists of cabernet sauvignon and petit … Read More
Coal Pit The Leo Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Coal Pit The Leo Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $140 Named after the grandson of owner Rosie Dunphy, this is the second wine to be bottled under Coal Pit’s ‘Next Generation Series’. With its distinctive Chris Heaphy-designed label, it’s crafted from a blend sourced from seven of their best barrels from the 2019 harvest and … Read More
Coal Pit Tiwha Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020
Coal Pit Tiwha Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020 $57 2020 was a doozy of a vintage, cooler than usual and seriously tricky in terms of shepherding the grapes from berry to bottle while navigating the health and safety precautions of a global pandemic. Yet the Tiwha reveals a slick, silky, sinewy texture wrapped around dark … Read More
Coal Pit Proprietor’s Reserve Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Coal Pit Proprietor’s Reserve Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $45 If there’s one thing that’ll conjure up tropical imaginings in Central Otago, it’s this fresh, fruity sauvignon blanc. Ultra-tiny amounts are made at Coal Pit, and when it’s released it disappears fast, so I’m extremely fortunate to have snaffled one to taste. Lithe, lemony, and … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2020
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2020 $22 If there’s a range of wines that consistently, crowd-wowingly over-delivers for the money, it’s the Mills Reef Reserves. 2020 is fast being written into the stone tablets of wine bibles as being an exceptional year for Hawke’s Bay reds and this plump, plush, mouthcoatingly rich and cocoa-crammed … Read More