From Kazakhstan with Love… Oleg Yakutin, owner of Yakutin Family Wines (a 1 hectare vineyard, marked by an ancient brick chimney on Matakana Road, Warkworth), is the first Kazakhstani winemaker in New Zealand. A corporate marketing career in a past life fed his love for fine food and wine, so when the time came for … Read More
cabernet franc
Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2019
Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2019 $28 Sourced from their tiny vineyard located high up on the Waimarama Road, this is a local take on a French favourite grape from the Loire Valley. This is Cabernet Franc crafted in a softer, more restrained style than most with fine-grained astringency in the mid-palate. … Read More
Beach House Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2018
Beach House ‘F’ Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2018 $25 Here’s a fact. If it weren’t for cabernet franc, we wouldn’t have any cabernet sauvignon. You see, back in the mists of time, cabernet franc had some sexy-time with a saucy little sauvignon blanc vine and when the sap began to rise in the springtime, a … Read More
Coxhead Creek Matakana Rosé 2020
Coxhead Creek Matakana Rosé 2020 $25 How gorgeously pretty is this wine! You’re looking at it right? So perfectly pale, this rosé is made from cabernet franc grown by Michael Lorimer. Cabernet Franc classically adds fullness, volume, and delicately sweet red fruit notes to any wine, so when it’s crafted into a rosé, it’s a … Read More
Coxhead Creek Inlet Red Matakana Cabernet Franc 2013
Coxhead Creek Inlet Red Matakana Cabernet Franc 2013 $18 That waft of vanilla smoke on the nose indicates that winemaker Warren Knudsen has made excellent use of a combination of French and American oak. That oak wraps around the bay leaf, blackcurrant, and leather layers in this strapping wine from our northern climes. Solid tannins … Read More
Petane Station Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc 2018
Petane Station Hawke’s Bay Merlot Franc 2018 $30 Well kachango my mango, if this merlot blend isn’t by far the most saucy, seductively-spicy, fruit-soaked thing to sniff and sip, then I’ll be a cross-eyed coyote. I also need to stop watching so many spaghetti Westerns on Netflix. Ahem. In all seriousness however, this wine is … Read More
Coxhead Creek Matakana Rosé 2019
Coxhead Creek Matakana Rosé 2019 $25 I love this wine! Crafted by the crazy-talented Warren Knudsen, from 100% cabernet franc, this rosé is the real deal. It’s incredibly concentrated, spicy, floral and deliciously dry to drink. Crisp, focused and showing superb purity of flavour, it’s a style that I’d love to see more of from … Read More
Redmetal Erinview Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc 2007
Redmetal Erinview Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc 2007 $soldout Twelve years. Twelve years is clearly the magic number for this wine. Crafted by Grant Edmonds from fruit sourced from the long-ago sold Erinview vineyard, this merlot-dominant dominatrix is clad in leather and scented with berries and spice and is long and leggy and darn … Read More
Hancock & Sons Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Hancock & Sons Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 $29.50 From John Hancock and his son Willy, comes this deliciously drinkable blend of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon that shows blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, in fact, everything berry in the glass and apart from the bottle itself looking like absolute money on the table, this … Read More
Taiao Reserve Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Malbec 2015
Taiao Reserve Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Malbec 2015 $49.95 So deliciously decked out with dark chocolate, cherry, plum and soft pepper on the nose and palate, this exceptional wine from the Bridge Pa Triangle Winegrowing District has a deep, dark, smouldering personality, liquorice-licked layers of complexity in its statuesque structure. Earthy, wild at heart … Read More