Fairmont Estate Admiral Hill Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2012 $25 ★★★ Lovers of old-school earthiness in their pinot will be all over this wine that’s produced from fruit sourced from the Gladstone Terraces. Made by Jon McNab, it’s a wine boasting aromas of ancient fallen tree trunks, lush forest floor notes, savoury cherry and shitake mushroom … Read More
Chalk Hill Sidetrack Mclaren Vale 2011
Chalk Hill Sidetrack Mclaren Vale 2011 $27 ★★★½ This is a lush, spicy blend of shiraz and grenache which carries an exotic, slightly medicinal aroma that wraps around slightly earthy characters like prunes and pepper. There’s also a lovely smoky, nutty note and a long, gently savoury finish. Winemaker Jock Harvey fashioned the Sidetrack in … Read More
La Valentina Fiano 2013
La Valentina Fiano 2013 $35 ★★★★ Fiano is an ancient grape traditionally grown in Campania, Southern Italy and the grapes for this example are grown in San Valentino, a hillside town in the province of Pescara. Every November, Pescara hosts the Festa dei Cornuti, a parade that either (and here’s where things get blurry) supports … Read More
Henry’s Drive Dead Letter Office Padthaway Shiraz 2013
Henry’s Drive Dead Letter Office Padthaway Shiraz 2013 $22 ★★★★ Named after the postal clerks of old who had the authority to open ‘undeliverable’ mail. But they had to restrict themselves to only reading the mare minimum of info to expedite safe delivery. This glossy, purple-crimson wine delivers a message of vanilla, pencil shavings, plum … Read More
Parusso Dolcetto D’Alba Piani Noce DOC 2013
Parusso Dolcetto D’Alba Piani Noce DOC 2013 $32 ★★★★ Spice, spice and more spice is what you’ll get in every mouthful of this tasty Italian stallion. The Parusso estate is located right at the border between the Castiglion Falletto and Monforte d’Alba appellation of Barolo and Armando Parusso’s son and daughter, Marco and Tiziana Parusso … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2015
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2015 $24 ★★★★½ I love the aroma of butterscotch, creamy peaches, buttered crumpets and on the palate expect exactly the same but followed by smooth, smoky notes, creamy citrus and gently tropical flavours that wash across a long, persistent finish. It’s a satisfying, old-school style. www.millsreef.co.nz
Kalex Central Otago Rose Brut 2012
Kalex Central Otago Rose Brut 2012 $39 ★★★★ I love the pretty rose-gold colour in the glass, but we all know looks aren’t everything. So I was reassured to find it has alluring aromas of shrewsbury biscuit, berry bagel and soft, toasted nutty flavours in the mouth, followed by a hint of cherry on the … Read More
Penny’s Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2013
Penny’s Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2013 $25 ★★★★½ Named after the way that the soils dry out so much they crack and break the roots of the vines (which is actually a good thing because it controls the natural vigour of the vine) this shiraz has all those desirable pepper, liquorice, cocoa dust and cherry-berry … Read More
Wine talk: Sweet wines
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Tue 29 Mar 2016 Life without the occasional sticky treat would be so boring. Wines that are indulgently delicious, swoon-inducingly sweet, yet make all the cavities in your teeth scream bloody murder with every sip. Bring it on! Pegasus Bay Aria Late Picked Riesling 2014 750ml $30 ★★★★★ Wow. … Read More
Fifty Shades of Gris…
Published NZME Regional Newspapers Tue 29 Mar 2016 Back in the early 2000’s when I said goodbye to my loved ones, packed up my corkscrew and set out to seek my fortune in this wine writing caper, things were already on the turn. There was change in the air, confusion and wonder. The rules … Read More