McPherson Wines XV PURE South East Australia Cabernets 2020 $22 Hands up if you’ve ever tasted wine made from the Ruby cabernet grape before. No? Well here’s your initiation. Ruby cabernet is a grape created by cross-breeding cabernet sauvignon and carignan, and it has a pronounced cherry flavour. It was created in California back in … Read More
Author: Yvonne
Sur Andino Argentina Sierra Los Andes Mendoza Malbec 2018
Sur Andino Argentina Sierra Los Andes Mendoza Malbec 2018 $21 Hello malbec my old friend! Grown in a vineyard in Ugarteche (ooh-garr-tetch-eh) in the southern part of the Luján de Cuyo (loo-harn-de-koo-yoh) in Mendoza, Argentina’s largest wine region, this little red is so soft and velvety and warm, it’s like a spicy, berry-laden mink blanket … Read More
Le Grá Wairarapa Merlot 2018
Le Grá Wairarapa Merlot 2018 $30 This is a super-fresh style with youthful acidity that I’m sure will soften out over the next year or two. Intense boysenberry and blackberry flavours join forces with spicy oak notes and lengthy, elastic tannins. If you’re looking for bigand meaty, this is more fresh and leafy, but an … Read More
Kōpū Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020
Kōpū Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $24.99 From the lovelies at Lake Road Wines comes this bright, pepper-dusted syrah sourced from vineyards around Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s syrahvana. Showing classic violet vavoom and an edge of iron filings, blackcurrant, blueberry and seasoned leather, it’s a style that requires a large, swirlable glass so that you can … Read More
Mischief with Wine Waipara Riesling 2021
Mischief with Wine Waipara Riesling 2021 $22 Beware! Sniffing this wine will send you back to that old 1980s tv ad for Fruju iceblocks where the beautiful, tanned people in bikinis all leap off a yacht and splash into the sea screaming “Ooh Aahh!” It’s awash with grapefruit, apple and punchy, citrus-centric freshness. And while … Read More
Monowai Estate Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020
Monowai Estate Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020 $25 Twas waaay back in ye olde early days of my wine journey that I first encountered the mighty Monowai chardonnay and now it’s something I look forward to seeing each year because it’s changing (for the better) all the time. Emma Lowe and Marcello Nunez are the evil … Read More
Te Pa Wines Signature Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019
te Pā Wines Signature Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 $24.99 I’ve got a feeling that news of how good this wine is could spread around the country faster than Twitter sharing the identities of a Covid-breaching couple seeking name suppression after being snapped in Wanaka. Powerfully aromatic, soaked in cherry and tamarillo, berry tea and … Read More
ME by Matahiwi Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2020
ME by Matahiwi Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2020 $20 Woah! If bright, bouncy, cherry-choc pinot noir is your jam then you’ve come to the right party here. Grown just outside of Masterton, home of the Golden Shears, the ME is one of those ripe, ready-for-action pinot noirs that absolutely scream Spring wedding, or a shindig … Read More
Richmond Plains Admiral Nelson Merlot 2019
Richmond Plains Admiral Nelson Merlot 2019 $27 Red Admiral butterflies flootle their way around Lars Urlich and Sam Jensen’s Richmond Plains vineyard, getting up to all sorts of mischief, flirting with the other butterflies, skiting about their fashionable wings and whatnot. But while they’re really pretty, they don’t taste that great (apparently), they leave being … Read More
Stanley Estates Single Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Stanley Estates Single Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $29 From the Awatere (or should I say Awesometere) Valley, comes this lemongrassy lovely from the super-talented folk at Stanley Estates. Winemaker Eveline Fraser manages to coax oh so soft aromas of elderflower, passionfruit and peach from every berry and in the mouth it’s awash with tart … Read More