Valli Bendigo Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 $65-$75 A powerfully structured pinot noir comprised of a mix of Abel, 115, UCD 5, 667 and 777 clone fruit grown in the Chinaman’s Terrace where 65% of it was fermented hot (30°C) in 31% new French oak barrels, where it spent a quiet, sleepy 11.5 months maturing … Read More
Te Mata Hawke’s Bay Bullnose Syrah 2020
Te Mata Hawke’s Bay Bullnose Syrah 2020 $68-$80 One of New Zealand’s true icons, not just for Syrah but for wine in general. Grown in the iron-rich soils of the Bridge Pa Triangle, Te Mata’s Bullnose vineyard, is a 15-hectare site planted in 1990 and it’s home to former winemaker Peter Cowley and his family. … Read More
Trinity Hill 125 The Gimblett Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021
Paired with Baked Brie with honey, walnuts and thyme in the NZ Herald Canvas Drinks matches Sept 9th 2023 Trinity Hill 125 The Gimblett Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $80 Deeply golden in the glass, this roasty, toasty, citrus-centric chardonnay was hand-harvested fruit from Trinity’s “Tin Shed” vineyard, gently pressed then fermented with wild yeasts in a … Read More
Village Vineyards Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2020
Village Vineyards Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2020 $30 Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. I love spending time in our Auckland office because people put names on the food in the fridge which is really quaint. Right now I’m eating some spag bol called ‘Debbie’. It needs salt. This merlot … Read More
Black Cottage Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
Black Cottage Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022 $20 20% of the fruit has been added into the ferment as whole bunches by winemaker Sanna Stander and this has given the wine extra plushness and silkiness in the palate. It’s an easy-breezy style from fruit sourced from Marlborough’s Southern Valleys that shows soft rhubarb, raspberry and redcurrant … Read More
Massey Dacta Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
Massey Dacta Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022 $19 Named after the Glover family’s red Massey Ferguson family tractor – known to the kids as the ‘Massey Dacta’, this wine is an excellent introduction to good pinot engineering. And like that farm workhorse, this wine gets the job done and creates an immediate impression, rolling soft cherry … Read More
Massey Dacta Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Massey Dacta Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023 $19 Lemon? check. Passionfruit? check. Peach? check. Green herbs? check. Lime zest and grassy notes? checkitty check. Named after the way the little Glover brothers used to pronounce the word ‘tractor’, this wine is a tribute to their faithful family farm Massey Ferguson. These days they’re grown men, who … Read More
Neudorf Tiritiri Nelson Pinot Gris 2023
Neudorf Tiritiri Nelson Pinot Gris 2023 $27 The Finn family has harnessed Nelson’s famously long sunshine hours to create a fully solar-powered winery, heavily geared around organic winegrowing and sustainable production and using only electric forklifts and vineyard vehicles. AND the wines are packaged in new, lightweight glass bottles to reduce their carbon footprint. Their … Read More
Decibel Giunta Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2022
Decibel Giunta Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2022 $24.99 If you’ve been hunting for a crunchy-crisp, spice-laced pinot gris that’s packed with fresh-cut pear and yellow apple complexity – then hang up your boots because you’ve stepped right on it. Dry, zesty-fresh and seriously juicy on the palate, it has great tension and lipsmacking textures. It’ll … Read More
Moy Hall Martinborough Syrah 2020
Moy Hall Martinborough Syrah 2020 $90 While Martinborough is considered one of the greatest Pinot Noir regions in the world, yet the results that Phill and Carolyn McArthur are having with Viognier and Syrah, you could also say it’s a little spot of the Rhone at home. Co-fermented with a tiny splash of 3% viognier, … Read More