Astrolabe Beacon Hill Southern Valleys Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 $40 There is nothing about crafting great Sauvignon Blanc that winemaker Simon Waghorn doesn’t know. He’s basically the Obi-Wan Kenobi of New Zealand Sauvignon. The Gandalf of the good stuff. In his new Beacon Hill vintage, prepare for a fragrant tsunami of freshly-shelled sugar snap peas, … Read More
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Zephyr Marlborough Blanc de Blancs Methode Traditionnelle 2019
Zephyr Marlborough Blanc de Blancs Methode Traditionnelle 2019 $75 Created from just 600 Chardonnay vines grown in their Alice Mills vineyard in Rapaura, this deliciously dry, mineral-laced sparkling wine captures the delicate citrus florals and soft, nutty lacings that great blanc de blanc demands. Almost 6 years on lees has injected depth, freshness and precision … Read More
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2024
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2024 $24.99 2024 is proving to be an absolute banger of a vintage for Hawke’s Bay reds, and I think this example is one of the best-value merlots on the market right now. Grown in their Gimblett Stones vineyard, this wine is a smoky sensation that’s rich, dense and yet … Read More
Known Unknown Vin Jeanne Bridge Pa Sauvignon Blanc 2019 375ml
Known Unknown Vin Jeanne Bridge Pa Sauvignon Blanc 2019 375ml $35 It pretty much is what it says on the tin. Or should I say ‘label’ but in unique fashion. Inspired by the wines of Jura, winemaker Jules van Costello has crafted a single barrel of organic Bridge Pa Sauvignon Blanc that’s been barrel-fermented and … Read More
Known Unknown Bloody Vermouth (500ml)
Known Unknown Bloody Vermouth (500ml) $45 This Negroni-friendly sweet vermouth is crafted using a Blood Orange oleo saccharum syrup made with equal parts sugar and Blood Orange Peel (“to bring out the peel aromatics”), alongside dried orange zest, cardamom, saffron, dried kawakawa berries, and bittering aromatics like wormwood, rhubarb root, and cinchona bark. It’s then added … Read More
Valli Waitaki Valley North Otago Pinot Gris 2025
Valli Waitaki Valley North Otago Pinot Gris 2025 $30 Ultra-crisp and bursting with freshly sliced apple, white peach, white pepper and nashi niceness. Cleansing, floral and buoyantly bright and boasting a marathon-like finish. Another magical Grant Taylor-made wine. More please! Valli
Known Unknown Maraekakaho Cabernet Franc 2022
Known Unknown Maraekakaho Cabernet Franc 2022 $35 If you like your Cabernet Franc sailing down the leafy, herbal, fabulously feral side of the sea, then this is your jam. From an unusually cool year, unfiltered, unfined and layered with earthy, funky tones, this wine is developing a sweet-sour complexity which cloaks a core of acidity … Read More
Te Mata Estate Hawke’s Bay Coleraine 2024
Te Mata Estate Hawke’s Bay Coleraine 2024 $175 If there’s one way of describing the 40th vintage of Coleraine, a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc, it’d be that it’s scented with gunflint and smoked blueberry, delicate graphite dust, black olive and freshly bitten liquorice. On the palate, it offers … Read More
Latour-Martillac Lacroix-Martillac AOC Pessac-Léognan 2018
Latour-Matillac Lacroix-Martillac AOC Pessac-Léognan 2018 $56 Who says you need to pay hundreds of dollars for good Bordeaux? Not me! Definitely not after tasting this cocoa-dusted, tobacco-crammed blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 60% Merlot. Grown in a vineyard located on the plateau above the village of Martillac, it’s stacked with dark fruit, layers of liquorice, … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023 $20 Deliciously rich and softly smoky, this is an ultra-ripe style, typical of Hawke’s Bay’s warmer, Northern climate. Bursting with peach, lemon zest, bruised basil and lime notes laced with a hint of marzipan typical of a splash of barrel fermentation. Delicious. Mills Reef