Gladstone Vineyard Wairarapa 340 Blanc 2019 $45 I just lurve me a blended white. Like, really love them. To the point of obsession, where people keep a wide berth and try to avoid my gaze in the tasting room. Grown just outside of Carterton, this magical mélange shows the soft herbaceousness of sauvignon blanc, the … Read More
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Forrest Wines Marlborough Semillon 2021
Forrest Wines Marlborough Semillon 2021 $28 Up until 2021, it had been 10 years between bottlings of Forrest semillon in a classic, dry style. I was beginning to think it’d never happen again. Oh the horror! Like Wellington on a good day, nothing beats Marlborough semillon in a great vintage, and this is absolute proof. … Read More
Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2020
Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2020 $25.99 Paired with: The Ultimate Beef Burgers by Annabel Langbein in the NZ Herald Jan 28 2023 Eating burgers isn’t something you can do sexily. Unless you’re Anya Taylor-Joy of course. Her character Margot gets to masticate Chef Slowik’s meaty offering in that mind-bending movie The Menu. … Read More
The Hunting Lodge Homeblock Waikoukou Waimauku Sauvignon Blanc 2021
The Hunting Lodge Homeblock Waikoukou Waimauku Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $29 Not many people know that the actual, actual, actual birthplace of commercial, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, is out in West Auckland. Yep. Originally planted by the Spence brothers in 1970 with 400 bottles produced in the first vintage of 1974, they then decided to propagate … Read More
Bostock Wines Vicki’s Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2017
Bostock Wines Vicki’s Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2017 $70 Grown in the Bridge Pa sub-region, with iron-rich soils famous for producing high-quality syrah, this certified organic syrah is entering a pretty darn wonderful drinking window. Dusty plum and pepper complexity on the nose and palate adds to the earthy layers in this softly-styled syrah. Refreshing, … Read More
Penkridge Farm Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018
Penkridge Farm Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $40* There’s a lot of lusciousness going on in this little-known wine from one of the best Central Otago producers you’ve never heard of. A LOT of lusciousness. There’s also a lot of fresh spice, redcurrant and cherry complexity, a lick of mushroomy meatiness and it’s packed with … Read More
Penkridge Farm Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Penkridge Farm Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $40* Exotically aromatic and maturing very nicely, this pinot is awash with cranberry and cherry complexity, energetic, refreshing textures and lush, savoury, black tea notes on both the nose and palate. Youthful, yet developing some depth and earthiness which makes it really shine. Made by Antony Worch for … Read More
Greywacke Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Greywacke Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $27 Choosing fruit grown across a smorgasbord of great sites in Marlborough’s Wairau and Southern Valley’s, this nighttime-harvested sauvignon was crafted in individual vineyard batches that were left on their yeast lees for 3months before the final blend was created then it was bottled in mid-August. This has added a … Read More
The Wrekin Needle’s Eye Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015
The Wrekin Needle’s Eye Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015 $55 Sourced from the now certified organic Wrekin vineyard in Marlborough’s southern valleys, this Gold Medal-winning pinot noir has, despite its seven-year age, an incredibly fresh, youthful structure and buckets of florals, exotic spices and cherry-centric layers on the nose and palate. Vibrant, yet deliciously complex, this … Read More
The Wrekin Needle’s Eye Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014
The Wrekin Needle’s Eye Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014 $45 This is one of the first pinot noir’s to come from an old hill country sheep farm in the Fairhall region of Marlborough’s Southern Valley’s. It was, as the back label explains, named after a hill in east Shropshire, England which has an ancient Iron Age hill … Read More