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
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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
Selaks 1934 Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2019
Selaks 1934 Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2019 $16.99 Reviewed in Canvas Magazine in the NZ Herald April 4 2020 and paired with Annabel Langbein’s Lamb and Chickpea Curry Well I’ll be fragrantly footstomped! Here we have a supertasty smorgasbord of 67% merlot, 29.5% sauvignon blanc, 1.3% pinot gris, 1.2% malbec, 0.7% cabernet sauvignon and 0.3% cabernet … Read More
Goshawk Estate Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Goshawk Estate Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018$poa Well well well. If I haven’t just managed to snaffle a bottle of the top-secret solo project from Mills Reef’s long-time, legendary winemaker, Paul Dawick. The name is taken from his mum’s maiden name (Drummond) and there happened to be a Goshawk bird attached to the coat of … Read More
Cypress Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Cypress Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $26 The 2018 vintage of what’s become a huge favourite of mine, is absolutely saturated with ripe plum, blackberry, blueberry and that all-important, syrah-staple, buckets of cracked pepper. There’s a lovely layer of charred oak, black olive and a sniff of soy, meaning its everything I’m looking for in great … Read More
Zephyr Marlborough Gewürztraminer 2019
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
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