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
Hawke’s Bay
Brookfields Marshall Bank Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020
Brookfields Marshall Bank Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020 $37 Just gonna put it out there to say I feel this is the best Marshall Bank chardonnay Pete Robertson and his team have ever produced. Dangerously drinkable, and deliciously defined, it absolutely pops with pineapple, roast peach, rockmelon, yellow plum and toasted almond notes on the nose … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2020
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2020 $25 When the 2020 grape harvest wrapped up, winemakers were hopping, skipping and clapping about the excellence of it all and right about now the reds being released are absolutely proving that point. This syrah is always exceptional value however 2020 is a squeak above the rest. Bold … Read More
Church Road Gwen Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2020
Church Road Gwen Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2020 $21 Paired with: Zucchini Noodles with Corn and Tomatoes by Annabel Langbein in Canvas Magazine Saturday 15th Jan 2022 in the NZ Herald All that punchy pesto and creamy, avocado indulgence screams out for this crunchy-crisp, deliciously dry, cheek-slappingly sippable wine. Named in homage to the wife of … Read More
Mills Reef Elspeth Hawke’s Bay Methode Traditionnelle NV
Mills Reef Elspeth Hawke’s Bay Methode Traditionnelle NV $39.95 Wow. Golden in the glass and heaving with heavenly scorched brioche, toasted almond and grilled citrus, it’s got all the hallmarks of thoroughbred champagne at a fraction (and I mean fraction) of the price. Generously proportioned, stacked with baked apple, rising dough notes, soothing caramelised characters … 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
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2016
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2016 $49 Six quiet, sleepy years on from vintage, this gorgeous Gimblett Gravels-grown merlot is awake and ready to roar. With cocoa-dusted boysenberry, plum and blackcurrant characters on the nose and palate, buckets of rich spices and edged with soft, smoky, caramelised oak tones, it’s a joy to drink. … Read More
Trinity Hill 125 Gimblett Chardonnay 2020
Trinity Hill 125 Gimblett Chardonnay 2020 $80 Crafted from fruit grown at their Tin Shed vineyard at 125 Gimblett Road, this chardonnay is supremely elegant. Boasting an aromatic hit of smoked almonds, caramelised oak, buttered cinnamon toast, grilled grapefruit and baked nectarine, it’s intoxicating from the first whiff. All those characters osmose onto the palate … Read More
Squawking Magpie Daisy Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2021
Squawking Magpie Daisy Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2021 $24 Crafted from syrah and merlot, this ripe and rumpty new rosé absolutely fangs with florals and bright berries from woah to go. Awash with plum and red apple flavours in the mid-palate, there’s a lacing of pink peppercorn and citrus on the finish, making it a deliciously … Read More
Petane Late Harvest Gewürztraminer 2021
Petane Late Harvest Hawke’s Bay Gewürztraminer 2021 $32 Clearly, the weather gods found favour with Philip Barber and his tiny wee crop of gewürztraminer in the summer of 2021. They were kept clean and dry and managed to hang on the vine long enough to start gently raisining and increasing their natural sugars. They were … Read More