Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2020 $40 If I were in a hostage situation and the gunman said “Somebody better tell me what’s the greatest local Bordeaux-style red wine that I can buy for under fifty bucks, in the next five seconds or the granny gets it!” I would be hollering “Te Mata Awatea … Read More
Cabernet Sauvignon
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2021
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2021 $35 The nose of this wine absolutely roars with bay leaf and bouquet garni characters, a dusting of dark cocoa, gentle, plush plums and boysenberries ahoy! Classic cabernet characters of cigar box and cedar merge with blackcurrant, dark cherry, hints of black olive and briny goodness … Read More
Trinity Hill Prison Block Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Trinity Hill Prison Block Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 $120 The way this wine looks as it pours into the glass was enough to elicit an awestruck “woof” from me. Inky, impenetrably dark and gorgeously glossy, it’s the colour of Queen of the Night tulips. It also hoists a payload of intensely pretty, Chocolate Cosmos … Read More
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett 2021
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett 2021 $40 The way that winemakers Warren Gibson and Damien Fischer have evolved this blend over the last decade or so has been super-exciting to see, particularly as the proportion of cabernet franc is now sitting at 50%. The remainder of the blend consists of cabernet sauvignon and petit … Read More
Tironui Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Malbec Merlot Cabernet 2020
Tironui Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Malbec Merlot Cabernet 2020 $39 Deeply glossy in the glass, magenta-black, and heaving with smoked blueberry, plum, and blackberry notes on the nose and palate, this wine is dense, delicious, and dangerously sexy to sip. Tironui sits atop Napier’s Sugar Loaf Hill, and its stunning terraces capture sun all … Read More
Wynns The Siding Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Wynns The Siding Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 $22 Right in the heart of Coonawarra, the skinny, sausage-shaped piece of iron-rich, red soils from where some of Australia’s greatest cabernet sauvignon-based wines are grown, is Wynns Estate. Not far from the historic estate and winery (founded in 1891 is an old railway siding, which served as … Read More
Leftfield The Hatchling Hawke’s Bay Red Blend 2019
Leftfield The Hatchling Hawke’s Bay Red Blend 2019 $17.99 Paired with: Annabel Langbein’s Steak and kidney pie in Canvas Magazine NZ Herald Sat 4th June 2022 Boost your core-ingredient count from two (steak + kidney) to six by serving up a gloriously spicy glass of this blend of merlot, tempranillo, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. … Read More
Golden Child End of the Heartache Single Vineyard Adelaide Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Golden Child End of the Heartache Single Vineyard Adelaide Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 $42.50 Golden Child is the project of father-and-son team, David and James Hamilton. David grows the grapes in his vineyard in Kuitpo in the southern Adelaide Hills, while his son James (often jokingly referred to as the ‘golden child of the family’) … Read More
The Greatest Te Mata Estate Coleraine Vintage Ever?
Te Mata Estate Hawke’s Bay Coleraine 2020 $130 2020 heralds the 36th release of New Zealand’s most famous red wine and the one that the Buck family are calling “the best in Te Mata’s history”. CEO Nick Buck said 2020 was “Simply perfect” and with tiny berries, alongside massive extract and tension, Te Mata’s winemaker … Read More
Brookfields Ohiti Estate Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Brookfields Ohiti Estate Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 $22 If you’re looking for a cabernet sauvignon showing a tweak of that funky, smoky, Old World French stylism about it, then you’re snuggling into the right sleeping bag, my friend. Bold, boho-like, plummy, and bursting with earthy, roasting-pan meatiness, it also boasts grainy tannins, leathery layers, … Read More