Ayrburn Central Otago Bonnet Rouge Nouveau Pinot Noir 2023 $45 The winemaking team at Ayrburn have opted to have a crack at crafting a lighter ‘nouveau’ style pinot noir that’s just as happy being chilled down to serve on a sizzling day, or sipped fireside during winter. Aromatically it’s ultra-bright, perky, roaring with redcurrant, raspberry, … Read More
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Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Syrah 2016
Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Syrah 2016 $46 Nine years on from vintage, and this syrah is heading into its tertiary period, where the fruit is morphing into deeply savoury, gamey spectrums, the once peppery aromatics are now more leather and earth-focused, and the tannins have softened considerably. Shepherded from berry to bottle by local legend Karl … Read More
Ayrburn Central Otago Pinot Gris 2024
Ayrburn Central Otago Pinot Gris 2024 $40 From one of the most exciting new wine businesses emerging from Central Otago comes a Pinot Gris that’s so beautifully balanced it’s been headhunted by the Cirque du Soleil tightrope team. No joke. Sourced from vineyards in Gibbston Valley, it’s scented with poached pear, softly spiced quince and … Read More
Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2014
Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2014 $42 Hear me out. Sometimes you can find absolute treasures inside the most unassuming packaging. This wine is an excellent example of that. Eleven years old and made by one of the Wairarapa’s legendary winemakers, Karl Johner, this pinot noir, grown on the original Beetham-owned farm (famous for Heritage … Read More
Pegasus Bay Virtuoso Waipara Chardonnay 2021
Pegasus Bay Virtuoso Waipara Chardonnay 2021 $68 Mat Donaldson and his team only create a Virtuoso when the fruit is exceptional, and in 2021, clearly the Chardonnay gods were smiling on their vineyards in Waipara, North Canterbury. The result is a deeply smoky, complex wine laced with baked stonefruit, charred pineapple and grilled grapefruit. Caramelised, … Read More
Hungarian Wine Tasting June 2025
Csányi Teleki Válogatás Villány Olaszrizling 2024 One of Hungary’s most popular wine grape varieties, Olaszrizling is responsible for producing loads of different styles, mostly on the light, zesty, citrus-forward spectrum. Known internationally as Welschriesling, and despite its name’s reference to Riesling, it’s not related to Riesling. I know. Confusing much? “Olasz” translates to “Italian” in … Read More
Le Grá Cut Cane Wairarapa Merlot 2023
Le Grá Cut Cane Wairarapa Merlot 2023 $67 Crafted in an experimental ‘Amarone’ style, the team at Le Grá have cut the grapevine canes, which denies the ripe berries access to water and nutrition, so they naturally begin to shrivel, concentrating the sugars and creating a really unusual style of merlot. Aromatically it’s a different … Read More
Lateral Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2022
Lateral Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2022 $40 Crafted by Austin Black and Pip Battley are the talented twosome behind this punchy, plucky pinot noir. Slightly unusual in that it comes in a Bordeaux bottle, but nothing unusual about its classic Gibbston Valley vavoom. Stacked with ripe rhubarb, dark cherry, bright berries, black tea and complex … Read More
Le Grá Wairarapa Sparkling Cuvée 2024
Le Grá Wairarapa Sparkling Cuvée 2024 $47 Brian and Nicky Geary have blended a parcel of their Sauvignon Blanc with a hefty splash of skin-fermented Pinot Gris and put the wine through a method traditionnelle fermentation to create a uniquely herbaceous, citrus-stacked style of sparkler that’ll get any party started. Le Grá
Alta Alella Privat Brut Nature Organic Cava Rosé 2021
Alta Alella Privat Brut Nature Organic Cava Rosé 2021 $40 Entering its mature phase, this wine is organically certified and crafted from monastrell (or mataro) grapes grown in sauló (sandy-granitic) soils in Catalonia, just south of Barcelona. In fact, Alta Alella is the closest winery to the city. It’s an attractively dry, minerally, spicy, chalky … Read More