Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

1 May 2020By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 $28 Winemaker Guillaume Thomas managed to secure cabernet sauvignon fruit exclusively from the famous Gimblett Gravels district for the 2018 vintage, and egads and forsooth!  Has it made a difference! His style is still typically super-elegant and smooth (and that’s just his hairstyle and dress sense) yet the … Read More

Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018

19 April 2020By Yvonne

Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $34.99 Reviewd in dish Magazine July/Aug 2020 and paired with Beef Cheeks with Parmesan Polenta The Vidal Soler Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 ($34.99) is the glossiest, most gorgeously fruit-saturated and spice-soaked thing to pair with this beef cheek recipe. Is it because of its lifted, pepper punchiness, … Read More

Stonecroft Old Vine Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer 2019

6 April 2020By Yvonne

Stonecroft Old Vine Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer 2019 $45 So I have no idea what religion you follow but I’m like, if you love the sun, or the soft or howling rain, or the laughter of children, or the ability to buy fruit, meat and vegetables, or the satisfaction of picking up a worm off the … Read More

Stonecroft Undressed Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019

3 April 2020By Yvonne

Stonecroft Undressed Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019 $31 I love how exotically perfumed this organically-grown Gimblett Gravels merlot is, and the fact that it’s made with no added sulphites (hence the ‘undressed’) – so I’m loving what it has, and what it hasn’t.  Perky plum, pepper and pomegranate layers set the pace for boatloads of berries … Read More

Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

16 March 2020By Yvonne

Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 $49.95 Named in honour and memory of Elspeth Preston, grandmother of Mills Reef’s winemaker/owner Tim Preston, and only created in years when Tim and his team feel the fruit is superlative, when the fruit cannot be faulted, and when the positive chi flows through from the East … Read More

Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2018

15 March 2020By Yvonne

Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2018 $24.95 Right from the very first sip you’ll understand how this wine scooped a gold medal at the 2019 NZ Wine of the Year Awards and why it’s been the darling of wine critics around the traps.  68% cabernet sauvignon was blended with 32% merlot, fermented and … Read More

Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018

8 March 2020By Yvonne

Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018 $22 This is my go-to wine when I need something snazzy to pair with dishes featuring brussels sprouts.  Yep.  Brussels sprouts.  I don’t know how it works; it just does.  There must be some science, but like Trump fans I’ll choose to ignore it.  Instead I’ll opt to be fully … Read More

Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2017

2 March 2020By Yvonne

Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2017 $39.99 Wow and what-the-blazes and woah Nelly!  This chardonnay is all about a-hollerin’ and a-hootin’ to the world how exceptionally fantastic the Gimblett Gravels is at turning out clean yet character-packed chardonnay that handles oak like a brain surgeon, light-fingered yet powerfully in tune with what they’re working … Read More

Trinity Hill 125 Gimblett Single Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018

30 January 2020By Yvonne

Trinity Hill 125 Gimblett Single Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018 $80 100% Clone 95 chardonnay  was harvested from their Tin Shed Vineyard at 125 Gimblett Road, then lovingly shepherded into the bottle by the Trinity Team to create the debut ‘125’.  And I am all over it like a chardonnay-obsessed limpet.  Aromatically it shows stylish … Read More

Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot Malbec 2015

13 September 2019By Yvonne

Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot Malbec 2015 $23.75 Previously sold under the ‘Metals and Gravels’ label, this 57:43 M & M blend is showing how fantastic 2015 was in Hawke’s Bay for merlot-dominant, Bordeaux-style red wines.  Elegant, statuesque and stacked with buckets of black fruits, masses of Christmas pudding spices and … Read More