Zephyr Marlborough Gewürztraminer 2019 $29 West of the Gin Wharf and the Whitebait Pozzie, on the Northside of the Opawa River, lies the Stopbank Block, and that’s where the Glover family have their gewürztraminer grapevines growing in deep, Kaiapoi silt loam soils. Back in 1988 Owen Glover began converting the family dairy farm to vineyards … Read More
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Tony Bish Skeetfield Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Tony Bish Skeetfield Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $59.99 I got an email recently from Tony Bish, (who in my opinion should be given a knighthood for his services to chardonnay) saying “We are very pleased to announce the release of the 2018 Skeetfield. This is a great follow on from 2017, and from a better … Read More
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $49.50 The tiny, 3ha, organically-farmed Doctor’s Flat site in Bannockburn is composed of deep gravels laid down by receding glaciers 480,000 years ago. Shepherded into the bottle by winemaker/owner Steve Davies since the mid-2000s, in 2016, 27% of the hand-harvested fruit was popped into the tank as intact … Read More
Brookfields Sun-Dried Hawke’s Bay Malbec 2018
Brookfields Sun-Dried Hawke’s Bay Malbec 2018 $25 Peter Robertson, owner and winemaker of Brookfields is one of New Zealand’s most experienced winemakers, accumulating huge knowledge of techniques since beginning his career in 1974. Drying grapes in the sun prior to fermentation dates back to the early Greek and Italian times (like 6th century BC early!) … Read More
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017 $75 When I say this pinot noir brings the funk, I don’t mean the kind of funk occurring in the ‘used mats’ bin down the local Bikram studio, I mean freshly-turned-earth funky, old, seasoned leather funky, wild cherries and spiced rhubarb funky. Unfined and unfiltered, it’s cloudiness … Read More
Obsidian Waiheke Island Pinot Gris 2019
Obsidian Waiheke Island Pinot Gris 2019 $30 Hands up if you’ve been hunting high and low for a pinot gris that’s both lusciously sweetish up front, yet finishes deliciously dry and long. The team at Obsidian have cracked it well and truly. With nashi pear niceness, lemonade apple and baked quince characters which merge into … Read More
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 $49.95 Named in honour and memory of Elspeth Preston, grandmother of Mills Reef’s winemaker/owner Tim Preston, and only created in years when Tim and his team feel the fruit is superlative, when the fruit cannot be faulted, and when the positive chi flows through from the East … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2018
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2018 $24.95 Right from the very first sip you’ll understand how this wine scooped a gold medal at the 2019 NZ Wine of the Year Awards and why it’s been the darling of wine critics around the traps. 68% cabernet sauvignon was blended with 32% merlot, fermented and … Read More
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2018
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2018 $44 The vines that pump out the fruit from which this chardonnay is crafted are over 30 years old. Now that might not seem that old, but if you think about New Zealand’s modern wine industry really only kicking off in the late 1980’s, and even then, the nation … Read More
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Merlot Cabernet 2018
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Merlot Cabernet 2018 $33 Boasting more berries than a jam session at Strawberry Shortcake’s house, this feisty, fleshy blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon shows that the southern climes can indeed shine so far as the big reds are concerned. Showing signature plum, pepper and cocoa characters of merlot, alongside bay … Read More