Known Unknown Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $25 Prepare for a hit of meaty, savoury, classic violet and peppercorn characters on the nose of this new syrah and enjoy how it’s followed by smooth, earthy, dark cocoa flavours and layers of nicely chewy tannins. All that good stuff is boosted with solid acidity as well. It’s … Read More
Uncategorized
Monowai Upper Reaches Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2020
Monowai Upper Reaches Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2020 $35 The ‘upper reaches’ refers to Emma Lowe and husband Marcelo Nunez’ vineyard, which sits high up on the ancient terraces carved out by the mighty Ngaruroro River in the sub-region of Crownthorpe at the foot of the Kaweka Range. Vanilla-dipped cherry and choco-berry aromas lead to … Read More
Bushmere Estate Gisborne Montepulciano 2020
Bushmere Estate Gisborne Montepulciano 2020 $25 Intensely inky, in fact it’s impenetrably purple in the glass and showing a massive lift of bay leaf, blackberry leaf and herbaceous notes, this new vintage has high acidity and tannins with decent chew and grip around the gums. It’s an east coast version of an Italian favourite and … Read More
Black Estate Wild Life Profilo North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019
Black Estate Wild Life Profilo North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $40 From grapes grown in sandstone and greensand soils in the South-facing block owned by the Naish family’s Netherwood vineyard, this organic, biodynamically grown pinot noir has been fermented and aged in clay amphora vessels. It’s cloudy in the glass due to it being unfined and … Read More
Black Estate Wild Life Winery Block North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2020
Black Estate Wild Life Winery Block North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2020 $40 Created from fruit grown organically in clay soils outside the winery in the Naish family’s Netherwood block, it’s fermented wild in an open-top vat before being aged in a clay amphora, this pinot noir has been made with no additives and no sulphur … Read More
Rapaura Springs Bouldevines Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2019
Rapaura Springs Bouldevines Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2019 $30 Wow! Crafted from fruit grown in the Omaka Valley, a chardonnay hotspot, this new release from the folk at Rapaura Springs heaves with buttery cinnamon toast terrificness, peachy complexity, a core of cashew-dusted citrus and lush, plush textures all the way through to the finish. It’s a … Read More
Black Estate Wild Life North Canterbury Riesling B 2019
Black Estate Wild Life North Canterbury Riesling B 2019 $38 Fans of a funky, feral, orange-style riesling should definitely explore this. Personally, I prefer to see some semblance of classic lime and apple in my rieslings and this organic, biodynamically crafted style really reaches across the other end of the spectrum. Fermented on its skins … Read More
Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Riesling 2020
Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Riesling 2020 $35 Prepare for a rather different experience of riesling right from the get-go in this organic, biodynamically crafted example. For starters, almost half the bunches were foot-stomped in the old fashioned way and left to soak on its skins for 24hrs to add texture, plus it’s unfined and … Read More
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $75 Established back in 1986, this little vineyard patch is widely believed to be the first hillside planting in all ye olde North Canterbury. Planted on mudstone and Sandstone, hand-harvested and fermented with a yeast starter derived from the vineyard itself, these organic, biodynamically managed grapes are … Read More
Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019
Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $52 Floral floral floral! Crafted from fruit grown in the organic, biodynamically-managed Damsteep vineyard which was established back in 1999 on a patch of sandstone and limestone loveliness in North Canterbury. Winemaker Nicholas Brown opts to kickstart the ferment using the yeasts present in the vineyard canopy … Read More