Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Gewürztraminer 2024 $22 On your marks, get set, and GO directly to my pick for the BEST VALUE gewürztraminer for the summer. It’s Paddy Preston of Mills Reef started out making kiwifruit wine in Tauranga. He was darn good at it too. But a few years into it, back in … Read More
Hawke’s Bay
Oblix Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021
Oblix Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $18 Crafted by Michelle Richardson from fruit grown in Sir George Fistonich’s family vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels, this is a fresh, nectarine-stacked chardonnay with a core of zesty green apple and zingy acidity and lemony layers. Vibrant and faintly toasty and showing superb length of flavour. … Read More
Zaria Wines Sparkling Rosé 2024
Zaria Wines Hawke’s Bay Sparkling Rosé 2024 $28 Chilled down, this new release sparkling rosé presents in a rather cool, calm and collected style with berry brioche and soft, Shrewsbury biscuit characters. Crafted from merlot grown in the iron-rich soils of the Bridge Pa wine region, it delivers a fresh, softly fleshy, cherry-plumped style with … Read More
Maison Noire Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2023
Maison Noire Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2023 $29 Grown high up on the Waimarama Road in the deep limestone clays of the Tukituki Valley, in a tiny vineyard tended by French winemaker Guillaume Thomas, this cabernet franc is deeply savoury, laced with brick dust and smoked blueberry and has gently drying tannins, fresh … Read More
Hawkesridge Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2023
Hawkesridge Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2023 $25 (not rated) While on the nose this wine has some apricot and jasmine promise, sadly the palate is out of balance, with a sweet-sour note and it finishes short. Not great. But 2023 was a very difficult cyclone vintage, so that could have been an issue.
Maison Noire Reserve Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2023
Maison Noire Reserve Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2023 $29 It’s actually blowing me away how good some of the 2023 reds from Hawke’s Bay are despite coming from a cyclone vintage. Sadly there’s just so little of them available! Just 80 cases of this ultra-floral syrah were crafted and it’s a wine erupting with … Read More
Alpha Domus Leonarda Late Harvest Semillon 2022
Alpha Domus Leonarda Late Harvest Semillon 2022 $28 A blend of partially and fully botrytis-infected, organic Semillon grapes from Alpha Domus’ original vineyards were used to craft this lusciously luxurious dessert wine. A long, slow, three-week fermentation occurred and was only stopped when winemaker Barry Riwai was satisfied that the balance of alcohol (12.5%), acidity … Read More
Elephant Hill Salomé Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021
Elephant Hill Salomé Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $95 Crafted from a 100% handpicked blend of clone 15 and Mendoza fruit from their Sea (Te Awanga) and Earth (Bridge Pa Triangle) vineyards, this, their flagship chardonnay is a powerfully structured wine erupting with complex baked stonefruit and scorched citrus, layers of cleverly balanced, caramelised oak notes, … Read More
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2023 $24 The Trinity Hill team overcame a tricky season, including a devastating cyclone (Gabrielle) to craft a pinot gris with energy and edginess. Generously textured and dry, it erupts with classic baked quince and cut nashi complexity and finishes with a vein of exotic spices. Trinity Hill
Atypical and super-sippical – Bay Buzz Magazine Sept/Oct 2024 by Yvonne LorkinSeptember 24, 2024 Greg Collinge, Supernatural. Photo: Florence Charvin [As published in September/October BayBuzz magazine.] Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s oldest and second-largest wine region boasting over 200 vineyards and 76 wineries. It’s also an incredibly diverse region and one that I unashamedly call ‘the … Read More