Zephyr Marlborough Pinot Noir 2018 $29.99 Hands up if fresh strawberries, fresh, squinty rhubarb and fresh cherries are something you’d like all up in your cakehole? Well fret not, the pinot noir equivalent of special agent John Wick unleashing a hail of flavoursome weaponry upon thee. Ben Glover is the winemaker at the helm of … Read More
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Te Awanga Estate Wildsong Sauvignon Blanc Sparkling Cuvée 2018
Te Awanga Estate Wildsong Sauvignon Blanc Sparkling Cuvée 2018 ($poa) Truth be told, I’ve not been a big fan of the sparkling sauvignon blanc style, but this little export-only lovely from Te Awanga Estate in Hawke’s Bay has more personality packed into it than a high school drama troupe (and we all know how OTT … Read More
Sugar Loaf Marlborough Riesling 2019
Sugar Loaf Marlborough Riesling 2019 $21 Fresh from scooping a coveted gold medal at the NZ International Wine Show, this riot of a riesling from Sugar Loaf has us roaring for more-ing. Kate Acland is both the owner and the winemaker and she’s also a hurricane of a businesswoman and a young mum to boot. … Read More
Little Wing Waiheke Island Marsanne 2019
Little Wing Waiheke Island Marsanne 2019 $39.90 How could they resist the lure of a semi-abandoned, oceanfront vineyard on Waiheke Island? Young travelling winemakers Gillian and Gareth MacLachlan became obsessed with marsanne after working in the Northern Rhône in 2010 – and hoped to find the spot where they could (literally) put down roots back … Read More
Bob short for Kate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019
Bob short for Kate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 ($tbc) Well if you were amping to taste a feisty, frisky, fanging-with-flavour sauvignon blanc then this is the knees of the bees. Certified organic and created by sauvignon blanc master Ben Glover, Awash with lemon verbena, passionfruit and lime sorbet, peach and crushed basil brilliance, it’s a … Read More
Bob short for kate Organic Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019
Bob short for Kate Organic Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 $tbc So your plan’s not cunning enough to pin a tail on and call it a weasel? Fret not. It’ll never measure up to Kate’s scheme of disguising herself as a boy and calling herself ‘Bob’ to become Lord Blackadder’s manservant and keep a roof over … Read More
Mr Glover Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018
Mr Glover Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $42 I’ve said it before, but in case you missed the memo, for professional pinot people, Ben Glover is about as top-of-the-tree as it gets in this country. With ‘chief winemaker’ titles from Wither Hills, Mud House and Zephyr, and a past Chair of Pinot Noir New Zealand, … Read More
Mr Glover Marlborough Chardonnay 2019
Mr Glover Marlborough Chardonnay 2019 ($27) This wine is exactly what I’m looking for in chardonnay. In terms of fruit concentration, it’s epic. In terms of oak-soaked tropicality, it’s epic. In terms of having peachy, shortcakey complexity and all the makings of being a bad boy in a bottle, it’s again, epic. Fresh acidity accentuates … Read More
Stonecroft Old Vine Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer 2019
Stonecroft Old Vine Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer 2019 $45 So I have no idea what religion you follow but I’m like, if you love the sun, or the soft or howling rain, or the laughter of children, or the ability to buy fruit, meat and vegetables, or the satisfaction of picking up a worm off the … Read More
Norman Hardie Unfiltered VQA Prince Edward County Pinot Noir 2016
Norman Hardie Unfiltered VQA Prince Edward County Pinot Noir 2016 ($60) Canadian pinot noir isn’t something we see in New Zealand very often (much like appropriate footwear and eye protection when mowing the lawns, the correct use of hair straighteners or affordable house painters). So I get a tad excited whenever one lands on my … Read More