Dominated by cabernet sauvignon and fleshed out with merlot and cabernet franc, all grown on ancient soils in the heart of Waiheke’s Onetangi Valley, this elegantly savoury blend has six years of being a sleeping beauty and now it’s ready to roar. Cherry, prune and blueberry characters are cloaked in leather, cedary oak, smoky notes … Read More
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Prophet’s Rock Central Otago Pinot Gris 2016 $39.99
Winemaker Paul Pujol has created an absolutely stunning pinot gris from fruit grown in their ‘schist-happens’ Rocky Point vineyard and the clay and chalk soils of their Home vineyard in Bendigo. Fermented using wild, indigenous yeasts and matured on its yeast lees, it has incredible freshness and purity, yet has a deep, smouldering complexity on … Read More
Tony Bish Heartwood Chardonnay 2017 $29.99
The chief of chardonnay, the Maharishi of Mendoza and the boss of white Burgundy, Tony Bish, has crafted a supremely elegant, creamy, citrus-edged wine that, in the words of my teenage daughter, is so good I can’t even deal. Matured in barrels made from the heartwood of French oak species Quercus Robur (big up’s botany … Read More
Yvonne Lorkin Canvas Column for Sat June 2 2018
Today in 1953 Elizabeth II was crowned Queen. I bet her wine cellar is an absolute triumph after 65 years… Tony Bish Heartwood Chardonnay 2017 $29.99 The chief of chardonnay, the Maharishi of Mendoza and the boss of white Burgundy, Tony Bish, has crafted a supremely elegant, creamy, citrus-edged wine that, in the words of … Read More
Urlar Select Parcels Gladstone Sauvignon Blanc 2015 $29 (5 stars)
This is an absolutely stunning example of a softly, beautifully balanced, barrel fermented style that’s organically and biodynamically produced. I love that it has aromas of fresh pollen, subtle lime, marzipan and lemongrass rather than the traditional passionfruit and cats pee. Deliciously textural and showing soft herbaceousness, nutty notes and a layer of freshy-baled hay-like … Read More
Toño Mas O Menos 2015 $17.95 (3.5 stars)
Crafted by local lad Antony Mackenzie, Toño (Ton Yo) are a new twist on Spanish wines being grown in sunny Hawke’s Bay and it’s also the nickname of ‘Antonio’ in the Spanish language. This blend includes 55% Syrah, 30% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. ‘Mas o Menos’ means ‘More or Less’ which is the case as … Read More
Hãhã Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2017 $17.99 (3.5 stars)
Brand spanky and bursting with berries, this merlot is lighter in style than the previous vintage, but has a silky, spice-driven backbone and a warming, cuddly, savoury sippability. It’s a soft, supple, crowd pleaser of a wine with buckets of berries to put smile on everyone’s’ face. Available in supermarkets everywhere.
Black Barn Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2017 $26 (4 stars)
Winemaker Dave McKee showed up on my doorstep recently, clutching a bottle of this shiny new wine looking grinny and proud. Deservedly so. Luxuriously textured, bursting with baked apple and spiced pear, white pepper and naturally juicy citrus characters. A hint of quince and racy acidity to finish shoots this gris into the sip-o-sphere. It … Read More
Quest Farm Grand Central Pinot Noir 2014 $28 (4 stars)
If silky, slippery, spice-saturated pinot noir for under $30 is your jam then get the good glasses out of the cabinet and get ready to pour. Crafted by Mark Mason (one of the founders of Sacred Hill) and viticultural consultant Michelle Crawford, this frisky four year old has buckets of moody, broody cherry and boxwood … Read More
Yvonne Lorkin wine column for week beginning Sat 26 May 2018
It’s that time of the year, when the ducks are quacking and the deer are on the roar. The menfolk shake the spiders out of their swanndri’s and talk in code to each other on the phone, hatching plans to hunt and kill anything with fur or feathers. They leave at dusk or dawn and … Read More