Petane Station Hau Hau Block Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2018 $27 This tiny estate located out Eskdale-way, manages to turn out pinot gris that’s consistently mammoth in the personality-stakes. With its new vintage offering a creamy, apple pie and cashew character on the nose, followed by a poached quince and roast pear punch on the … Read More
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Bodegas Piqueras Valcanto Almansa Syrah 2014
Bodegas Piqueras Valcanto Almansa Syrah 2014 ($15.95) A soft, easy, super-fruity syrah like this is just the ticket for a soothing sip to serve with anything meaty and spicy. This Spanish smooth-talker adds berries and spice and all things nice to anyone who prefers blueberry and leather notes in their syrah and less of the … Read More
Squawking Magpie The Chatterer Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2018
Squawking Magpie The Chatterer Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2018 $19.95 This is one of my sure-fire, never-fail, no-hold-barred, people pleasing pinot gris choices. There’s a ripeness and robustness in the Squawking Magpie style that promotes a pear, quince and quick-fix of spiced apple awesome into every sip. It’s crisp, clean, cranking with honeysuckle and heaving … Read More
Lowburn Ferry Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016
Lowburn Ferry Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $50 Stuffed with cranberry, redcurrant, rosehip tea, succulent acidity, slippery lithe mouthfeel, warming, luscious, lovely and spicy and velvety. It’s a classic, old vines, Central Otago style that works beautifully with roast beetroot soup and anything game-related. It’s a juicy, spice-centric style that’s created from fruit grown by … Read More
Te Kairanga Runholder Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017
Te Kairanga Runholder Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017 $28 I think this could very well be my favourite vintage of Runholder. Plush, lush and packed with flavour, it roars with cherry, cranberry, rosehip tea and layers of earthy cocoa characters on the palate. While it’s slippery and silky to sip, it also has powdery, emery-like tannings … Read More
Tinpot Hut Marlborough Late Harvest Riesling 2017
Tinpot Hut Marlborough Late Harvest Riesling 2017 $28 Winemaker Fiona Turner has worked her magic on this stylishly sticky, sweet wine that carries candied citrus, toffee apple and heavenly honey notes on the nose and palate. Fresh and flirtatious, it’s seriously sweet, yet finely tuned and beautifully balanced. Great stuff! www.tinpothut.co.nz
Caythorpe Family Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017
Caythorpe Family Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017 $24.99 From the Bishell family farm comes a shiny new vintage of pinot noir that definitely leans on the lighter side of the fence. Scented with raspberry, cranberry, strawberry and pretty much every other red fruit imaginable, this wine shows softness, silkiness and a dangerously easy, eensy-weensy-spicy finish. … Read More
Chardonnay Lovers Ahoy!
Chardonnay Comeback Oh chardonnay – it’s so lovely to see you back! A couple of decades ago New Zealand’s chardonnay-scape was almost a no-mans land. After the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) club had declared the bold, fat, super-oaky, buttery examples we’d been served since the 70’s decidedly unfashionable, it basically became the corduroy of wine. … Read More
Windrush Empire Marlborough Chardonnay 2018 $25
I was listening to “Jitterbug” by WHAM! when I first tasted this chardonnay by Callum Linklater and it definitely did make me want to do a happy dance. Bright, shiny and lighter, white-fruited style, chablis-like with a hint of funk and frisk. Nice texture and length. Dry and citrus-driven with a lick of white pepper … Read More
Mas de Daumas Moulin de Gassac Pont de Gassac 2017 $36
A fleshy-soft blend with cabernet at the helm, backed up by syrah, merlot and grenache, a blend that cuddles the gums and tongue in cashmere-like tannins and a cloak of bright boysenberry and plum fruit. It has cherry, baked beetroot and a lick of leather, plus fresh acidity keeps this dancing on the palate and … Read More