Driven Snow Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020 $39.99 If you’re wondering why this wine is a touch cloudier than your normal, commercial-grade, supermarket pinot noir, fret not. In fact, be happy, because it’s evidence of a wine that’s been crafted without fining or filtration, processes that some winemakers believe can strip some of the original … Read More
Uncategorized
Petane Puriri Block Sfumato Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020
Petane Puriri Block Sfumato Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020 ($70) Pronounced ‘ss-foo-mah-toh’, the name of this new wine from WineFriend favourites Petane Wines, is named after a painting technique describing softening the transition between colours. But you knew that right? Art nerds will also understand that it mimics an area beyond what the human eye is … Read More
Coopers Creek SV Chalk Ridge Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2020
Coopers Creek SV Chalk Ridge Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2020 $24 Absolute classic Hawke’s Bay viognier here from a West Auckland icon. Bright apricot, orange zest and jasmine aromatics all saturate through to the palate and its solid acidity (hard to achieve in viognier) leaves an impressively zingy impression. Great stuff! Cellar door only
Kelly Washington Marlborough Chardonnay 2020
Kelly Washington Marlborough Chardonnay 2020 $50 Organically grown in the Rapaura sub-region, and shepherded into the bottle by star winemaker Tamra Kelly, this chardonnay has a soft, nougat-like nose surrounded by peachy complexity, creamy, nutty notes, grapefruity goodness and fresh, feisty acidity. Kelly Washington Wines
Brightwater Vineyards Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Brightwater Vineyards Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $20 Imagine flinging some basil, lime zest, peapods, passionfruit pulp, lemongrass and tomato leaves into the kitchen whizz, blitzing it all up and slathering it all over your visage like a citrusy, herbaceous beauty mask. It’ll lift the jowels, close the pores, tighten the cheeks, and elevate the eyebrows … Read More
Orlando Bungalow Lane Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Orlando Bungalow Lane Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 $40 Seven years on and this cabernet is maturing into a wine boasting layers of leather, prune and soft cocoa characters. The acidity is still fresh, yet there’s a suede-like mid-palate that’s laced with blueberry and coffee and the tannins are both stretchy and sandy and show … Read More
Orlando Printz Shed Northern Barossa Shiraz 2018
Orlando Printz Shed Northern Barossa Shiraz 2018 $40 Sourced from the legendary Greenock and Ebenezer blocks, this shiraz is clean, spice-soaked and boosted with blackcurrant characters. There are liquorice and pepper layers edged with vanilla and smoke. The tannins are muscular and lengthy and add great texture to the dry, fine-grained finish.
19 Crimes Cali Red 2019
19 Crimes Snoop Cali Red 2019 $19.99 Grown in California, bottled in Australia and now on sale in New Zealand, this blend of petite sirah, zinfandel and merlot had just the right amount of booty for megastar rapper and red wine lover Snoop Dogg to get behind it and swap rhymes for vines and lots … Read More
Rock Ferry 3rd Rock Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Rock Ferry 3rd Rock Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $25 Crafted from fruit grown in their Corners, Orchard and Brookby Springs vineyards, this organic sauvignon blanc is all sorts of delicious. Plumped with punchy passionfruit, lemongrass, bruised basil and buckets of citrus, it’s intensely vibrant and bursting with fruit sweetness and crunchy acidity. Softly herbaceous and … Read More
Rock Ferry The Corners Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Rock Ferry The Corners Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 $30 If you thought all Marlborough sauvignon blanc was squint-inducingly acidic and packed with passionfruit, then wrap your tonsils around this organic example from Rock Ferry will rock you sideways. It’s softly-styled, showing lemon pith and lime blossom characters, peach and even a tweak of caramelisation … Read More