Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021

31 October 2021By Yvonne

Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $22 Holy pea pods Batman! This snappy new sauvignon from one of Marlborough’s pioneering wine families is ripe, rumpty and roaring with classic passionfruit, basil, lush lemon and a shed-tonne (technical term) of citrus and fresh herbs. It’s zesty and vibrant and has vavoom up the wahzoo (another technical term). … Read More

Wairiki Wines Grace Hawke’s Bay White Pinot 2021

31 October 2021By Yvonne

Wairiki Wines Grace Hawke’s Bay White Pinot 2021 $25 This ultra-pale, apricot hue of this wine is the result of handpicked pinot noir being pressed as soon as the grapes arrive at the winery. This means only a teensy tweak of colour from those dark, pinot noir skins is able to bleed into the clear … Read More

Martinborough Vineyard Te Tera Pinot Gris 2021

31 October 2021By Yvonne

Martinborough Vineyard Te Tera Pinot Gris 2021 RRP $22 Bright, shiny and new to the market, this deliciously dry, nashi and apple-stacked pinot gris has vibrancy, freshness, a rich, generous mid-palate that’s edged with a tweak of nutmeg and elderflower. Superbly sippable. Martinborough Vineyard

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2021

31 October 2021By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2021 $24 Wow! This grape is best known for being a Northern Italian stallion. However, when Frenchman Guillaume Thomas got hold of some and decided to grow it in the ancient soils left by the Tuki Tuki River in Havelock North, it’s become a Hawke’s Bay hero well and truly. … Read More

Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020

30 October 2021By Yvonne

Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020 $22 Sourced from the famed Claim 431 vineyard, this superb value for money pinot noir is packed with punchy raspberry and cherry characters, floral feistiness on the nose, fresh acidity and saucy spice layers on the finish. Easy, lush and very very nice for the price. Mud House

Calvert Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018

29 October 2021By Yvonne

Calvert Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $64 Lovers of great New Zealand pinot noir will be familiar with the name ‘Calvert’. It appears on some of the greatest examples to ever come from Central Otago. The vineyard itself is located on Felton Road in Bannockburn and the Calvert family were one of the first … Read More

Folding Hill Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017

28 October 2021By Yvonne

Folding Hill Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $45 A bumper 2017 harvest means that finally there’s more Folding Hill pinot noir to go around than previous vintages and that’s an excellent thing. This year the pinot has less of the meaty, earthy, savoury tones of the 2016 and more of the blueberry, tamarillo and spice … Read More

Folding Hill Orchard Block Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016

28 October 2021By Yvonne

Folding Hill Orchard Block Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $45 Just 80 cases were made of this smooth, silky pinot noir, which grows in a small block next door to an orchard of cider apple trees. Wild fermented and matured in oak barrels for 20 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, this is a … Read More

Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Redstone Syrah 2019

26 October 2021By Yvonne

Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Redstone Syrah 2019 $120 The ‘treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen philosophy applied by winemaker Chris Scott to these vines, is pretty hardcore. I mean dropping the crop by 60%-70%? That’s practically abuse! And yet this Bridge Pa-grown wine tastes like its long, loose bunches have been lovingly cuddled and … Read More

Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Malbec 2020

26 October 2021By Yvonne

Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Malbec 2020 $120 Cropped to just one bunch per shoot, a very meagre amount equating to roughly 1.2 – 1.3kg of fruit per 1m of canopy, it’s no wonder the wine smells and tastes so densely concentrated. Soft, suede-like tannins cloak a core of seasoned leather, graphite, smoky … Read More