Sacred Hill Wine Thief Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2016 $29 I’m tasting this wine right as white flesh nectarines begin appearing in heaping quanitites on roadside fruit stalls around where I live, (Hastings, in case you were wondering) and this wine reminds me so much of their scent and the juicy intensity of biting into one. … Read More
Hawke’s Bay
Saorsa Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2016
Saorsa Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2016 $30 The name Saorsa is a Scottish Gaelic word that not only means but also represents a radical sense of freedom, liberty and salvation according to owner Alex Hendry. Crafting just viognier and syrah, his 2016 vintage of syrah is very soft, very earthy, very smooth and lightly structured. Savoury layers and hints of dried … Read More
Linden Estate Reserve Dam Block 2016
Linden Estate Reserve Dam Block 2016 $48 Trevor Shepherd has finally released his series of Reserve ‘Dam Block’ blends, and this is my favourite so far. Featuring 72.5% merlot, 17.5% cabernet sauvignon and 10% cabernet franc, this savoury black-olive-and-spice fest shouts ‘Make way for the King!’ to a parade of berries and plums on the … Read More
Little X Hawkes’ Bay Syrah 2014
Little X Hawkes’ Bay Syrah 2014 $14.99-$20 Pepper and berries and cherries and all things merries. This is a cracker of a syrah with a ripe core of black fruits, violets, buckets of spice and a hint of cocoa. Made by Tim Adams from a small parcel of fruit from a vineyard located in the sun-trap … Read More
Snapper Rock Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2016 $16.99
Snapper Rock Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2016 $16.99 Sweetly fruited on the nose, this is, like its namesake, a snappy little red blend that’s a great value quaffer. Smooth, velvety and showing plum, cherry and redcurrant characters on the finish. Simple, yummy and dangerously drinkable. trade $11.08
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2017
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2017 $21.99 Punchy and peppery right upfront then followed by juicy raspberry and cherry and light leathery, earthy notes on the palate. It’s a great introduction to good, affordable, Gimblett Gravels syrah and as soon as you’ve tasted it you’ll be hooked!
Redmetal Vineyards Basket Press Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2015
Redmetal Vineyards Basket Press Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2015 $36 Direct from the jazz hands of master Bridge Pa syrah winemaker, Grant Edmonds, this is a plump, plush, softly-peppered style that is drinking darn nicely now. Earthy, and with elaborately elastic tannins, this is supple and sumptuous. Buy now, drink now or forever kick yourself.
39°below Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2016
39°below Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2016 $25 Paul McEvoy has created one of the smoothest, cuddliest, most dangerously drinkable blends of merlot and cabernet that I’ve had the pleasure of slipping down my esophagus in a long time. Erupting with vanilla, sweet, smoky layers, buckets of ripe berries and soft plum on the nose and … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Late Harvest Arneis 2018
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Late Harvest Arneis 2018 $22 Arneis created in a dessert wine style is not something you see every day – especially not here in New Zealand. It’s rare to even find arneis in its normal, dry form, let alone fashioned into a tantalisingly sweet, mandarin and quince-like triumph such as this. … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2018
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2018 $20 Made by French winemaker Guillaume Thomas, this cabernet franc-based rosé is bursting with redcurrant, cranberry and pomegranate aromas and flavours. It’s pretty and trout-pink in the glass and there’s even a touch of creaming soda and tamarillo in there, too. Fresh, succulent, saucy, and with a hint of … Read More