Responsible Hedonist Gift of Gab Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2024 $28 Crafted from Bridge Pa-grown Syrah, this rosé by Chicago-born-now-Waiheke-winemaker Diana Hawkins, has boldness, juiciness, spiciness, florality (love that word) and zesty textures. Which is exactly what you’d expect from a Syrah-based rosé. There’s a solid ribbon of salinity wrapping around cherry, fresh citrus and soft … Read More
Hawke’s Bay
Responsible Hedonist Glow Up Hawke’s Bay Pink Pinot Gris 2024
Responsible Hedonist Glow Up Hawke’s Bay Pink Pinot Gris 2024 $28 The skins of Pinot Gris grapes have a pinky-grey tint to them, hence why when the skins are left to soak in the juice overnight, like winemaker Diana Hawkins has done with this new vintage, the juice takes on a pinky, apricot colour. Perfumed … Read More
Tironui Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2026
Tironui Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2026 $27 Crafted by owner Richard Brown from a blend of 74% Malbec, 19% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon grown high up on terraced vineyards overlooking Napier, this rosé has so much energy it’s like a CrossFit class in a glass. Roaring with spiced watermelon, salted raspberry, pink … Read More
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2024
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2024 $24.99 2024 is proving to be an absolute banger of a vintage for Hawke’s Bay reds, and I think this example is one of the best-value merlots on the market right now. Grown in their Gimblett Stones vineyard, this wine is a smoky sensation that’s rich, dense and yet … Read More
Known Unknown Maraekakaho Cabernet Franc 2022
Known Unknown Maraekakaho Cabernet Franc 2022 $35 If you like your Cabernet Franc sailing down the leafy, herbal, fabulously feral side of the sea, then this is your jam. From an unusually cool year, unfiltered, unfined and layered with earthy, funky tones, this wine is developing a sweet-sour complexity which cloaks a core of acidity … Read More
Te Mata Estate Hawke’s Bay Coleraine 2024
Te Mata Estate Hawke’s Bay Coleraine 2024 $175 If there’s one way of describing the 40th vintage of Coleraine, a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc, it’d be that it’s scented with gunflint and smoked blueberry, delicate graphite dust, black olive and freshly bitten liquorice. On the palate, it offers … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023 $20 Deliciously rich and softly smoky, this is an ultra-ripe style, typical of Hawke’s Bay’s warmer, Northern climate. Bursting with peach, lemon zest, bruised basil and lime notes laced with a hint of marzipan typical of a splash of barrel fermentation. Delicious. Mills Reef
Linden Estate Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc 2022
Linden Estate Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc 2022 $36 Meeting Alex Hendry, Linden’s winemaker, is like meeting an elf-warrior who also happens to be a Mohican punk god that can conjure up magical Merlot-based blends that’ll drag you into his very tasty cult before you can scream “God Save The Queen!” Google him, click ‘images’ … Read More
Linden Estate Hawke’s Bay Syrah Blanc de Noir 2023
Linden Estate Hawke’s Bay Syrah Blanc de Noir 2023 $32 It’s not everyday you see syrah made in the style of a white wine, right? But in a year when most of his vineyards were obliterated by Cyclone Gabrielle, winemaker Alex Hendry felt it couldn’t hurt to experiment. What did he have to lose? Well, … Read More
Linden Destination Series Dam Block Hawke’s Bay 2020
Linden Destination Series Dam Block Hawke’s Bay 2020 $64 While there’s a seriously decent splash of merlot in the mix, the cabernet force is strong in this one. Delivering layers of lifted tobacco, dark cocoa, espresso, iron filings, and dusty carpenter’s workshop notes on the nose and palate, it’s roaring with toasty, smoky complexity. The … Read More