Alana Estate Freedom Nelson Pinot Gris 2020

27 March 2024By Yvonne

Alana Estate Freedom Nelson Pinot Gris 2020 $22 If you like your pinot gris on the crisp, crunchy-fresh side, then this will tickle your pinks. Hints of  fig, nashi pear and scorched stonefruit merge with white pepper and clean mineral-laced textures on the palate. Dry, focused and fresh. The Alana Estate whanau are hellbent on … Read More

Carrick Bannockburn Billet-Doux Pinot Noir 2022

22 March 2024By Yvonne

Carrick Bannockburn Billet-Doux Pinot Noir 2022 $35-$39 Pronounced “Be-yay-doo” which translates to ‘love-note’ in French, this wine is the result of a collaboration between winemaker Rosie Menzies, creative director Leon Ofsky and artist Elana Marie Szezepanski and comes from fruit carefully hand-picked from Carrick’s certified organic Arthur’s Vineyard. A mixture of Pommard clones from three … Read More

Vilaura Hawke’s Bay Methode Traditionelle Extra Brut Blanc de Blanc 2019

20 March 2024By Yvonne

Vilaura Hawke’s Bay Methode Traditionelle Extra Brut Blanc de Blanc 2019 $65 Impeccably stylish. It’s crafted from 100% clone 95 chardonnay grapes by sparkling wine specialists Jascha Oldham-Selak and his partner Sanne Witteveen and it’s immensely tasty. Lifted and citrus scented, it’s accentuated with clean apple, lemon shortbread characters, creamy cashew notes and boasts generosity, … Read More

Aces and Arrows Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021

17 March 2024By Yvonne

Aces and Arrows Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $27 Stu Marfel is the group winemaker for Pernod-Ricard New Zealand and he’s opted to give his regional winemaking team a bit of freedom to get creative with the fruit they know best. Craig from Hawke’s Bay has opted to use his favourite grapes sourced from the Bridge … Read More

Aces and Arrows Greg’s Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021

17 March 2024By Yvonne

Aces and Arrows Greg’s Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 $27 Lifted and plummy, with a solid cherry spine, this wine is designed by winemaker Jamie Marfell in conjunction with his team of regional winemakers to celebrate their individual talents and creativity, hence why this is named after ‘Greg’ in Central Otago. This pinot is wild … Read More

Bryterlater Still Life North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2022

13 March 2024By Yvonne

Bryterlater Still Life North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2022 $39.99 With its scorched capsicum nose, compacted lawn clippings, bruised basil and lime layers on the nose and palate, it’s a complex, high-acid, fun, feral style. Barrel fermented then aged on lees for a further 10 months, the clear wine then has a portion of its lees … Read More

Supernatural Wines The Quiet Earth Martinborough Pinot Noir Syrah 2022

13 March 2024By Yvonne

Supernatural Wines The Quiet Earth Martinborough Pinot Noir Syrah 2022 $55 This natural, unfined, unfiltered red is a collaboration between Supernatural’s owner Gregory Collinge and Lance Redgewell at Cambridge Road wines in Martinborough. Blending a parcel of pinot noir from the Cirrus Estate vineyard with one of Lance’s blends of pinot and syrah from his … Read More

Michael Cooper’s Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wines Comes To An End

12 March 2024By Yvonne

Well, this is truly the end of an era. Michael, thank you. For the last 30 years I’ve been poring over your annual Buyer’s Guides. They’ve formed an enormous part of my wine education and appreciation journey and I was crestfallen when they moved from print to online. Now I’m feeling that way again. I … Read More

Supernatural Wines The Green Glow 2022

11 March 2024By Yvonne

Supernatural Wines The Green Glow 2022 $39.90 The Green Glow 2022 comes from the famous Millton biodynamic vineyard in Gisborne and is a totally different take on what we’d normally expect from a muscat-dominant style. 66% muscat was blended with 34% marsanne and its dry, textural effect is the result of combining whole berry carbonic … Read More

Supernatural Wines The Paranormal 2022

9 March 2024By Yvonne

Supernatural Wines The Paranormal 2022 $45 The fruit for this blend of 65% syrah and 35% malbec was grown biodynamically in Millton Estate’s Te Arai vineyard in Gisborne. Lightly structured at just 10.5% this is an energetic red with rooibos tea, rhubarb, soft pepper and dried herb aromatics which wash into a refreshingly earthy palate … Read More