Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020

March 4, 2022By Yvonne

Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $40 Wow. This is one sexy wine! Deep, glossy and crimson-hued, I love the waft of caramelised spices, coffee, sweet cocoa and buckets of baked fruit on the nose. It’s intensely fragrant and gushes with peppercorns, red currant and smoked cherry flavours on the palate. The tannins … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020

March 4, 2022By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $25 With its deliciously soft tannins, pencil shavings complexity, fragrant pepper, redcurrant, pomegranate, juicy spices and Black Doris plum punchiness, this is a superb example from a hugely exciting red wine vintage. Just 85 dozen bottles were made to satisfy a growing fanbase, so best you get in quick … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Freisa 2021

March 4, 2022By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Freisa 2021 $25 re-tasted Sept 24 2022 – rating re-evaluated to 4 star Bright, garnet-hued, Freisa is Latin for ‘strawberry’ and it’s a very rare little Italian grape that grows mainly in the Monferrato and Langhe areas in the Piemonte region. It dates back to the middle ages. Despite the name … Read More

Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Chenin Blanc 2021

March 4, 2022By Yvonne

Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Chenin Blanc 2021 $30 Grown in the deep limestone soils of winemaker Guillaume Thomas’ home vineyard high up on the Waimarama Road, this bracingly fresh, frisky, apple-edged chenin blanc is absolutely heaving with flavour and personality. Grapefruit, guava, stacks of citrus and overflowing with honeysuckle and jasmine florals. it’s … Read More

Maison Noire Ngatarawa Road Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021

March 4, 2022By Yvonne

Maison Noire Ngatarawa Road Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $28 Just 120 cases were made of this refreshing, roast peach and citrus-laced chardonnay sourced from a vineyard in the iron-rich soils of Bridge Pa on Ngatarawa Road. Caramelised toasty oak, balanced acidity, cashew characters, orange zest, it’s all here. French winemaker Guillaume Thomas has crafted a … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2021

October 31, 2021By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2021 $24 Wow! This grape is best known for being a Northern Italian stallion. However, when Frenchman Guillaume Thomas got hold of some and decided to grow it in the ancient soils left by the Tuki Tuki River in Havelock North, it’s become a Hawke’s Bay hero well and truly. … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2021

October 11, 2021By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2021 $21 If the stunning colour doesn’t rip your rompers, the instant hit of red apple and raspberry, a face smash of watermelon, creaming soda and cherry will finish the job in fantastic fashion. Crisp, punchy, citrus-stacked and deliciously dry, it’s a bright, refreshing, stylish sip. Maison Noire

Maison Noire Fraicheur Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021

October 10, 2021By Yvonne

Maison Noire Fraicheur Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $22 If you’re looking for chardonnay that’s not cloaked in oak, then you’ve arrived in the right avenue my friend. Crafted by Guillaume Thomas from fruit grown in a tiny vineyard in the Puketapu region, this wine is layered with lemon, pineapple and grapefruity goodness and boasts a … Read More

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019

April 4, 2021By Yvonne

Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 $25 Just 90 dozen bottles were produced of this wine. To give you an idea of scale, that’s less than two pallets. For the whole country. And overseas markets. So you snooze, you lose, I’m afraid. It’s a lush, complex, dried herb and spice-saturated style edged with baked berries, … Read More

Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2019

February 16, 2021By Yvonne

Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2019 $28 Sourced from their tiny vineyard located high up on the Waimarama Road, this is a local take on a French favourite grape from the Loire Valley. This is Cabernet Franc crafted in a softer, more restrained style than most with fine-grained astringency in the mid-palate. … Read More