Drummond Farm Martinborough Pinot Noir 2018 $31 Just a baby, this pinot noir crafted by Alex Muir, is dedicated to his Dad “for all the words of wisdom and reassuring arm over the shoulder moments”. He’s two rows of each clone planted and co-fermented them together to create a signature style from their land. Plump … Read More
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Drummond Farm Back Block Martinborough Pinot Noir 2018
Drummond Farm Back Block Martinborough Pinot Noir 2018 $29 Alex Muir has crafted an unfined, unfiltered pinot noir with only the bare minimum of sulphur added from his Back Block vineyard and it’ll definitely appeal to those who like their pinot light and spicy. Its a softly-styled example with a slightly funky vein running through … Read More
Drummond Farm Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017
Drummond Farm Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017 $31 I really love how on the label of this bottle it says very succinctly “harvested in 2017, matured in barrel until 2018 and finally bottled in July 2018”. It gives you a quick scan of how their winemaking season runs for pinot noir. Unfined and unfiltered, with only … Read More
Drummond Farm Martinborough Pinot Gris 2018
Drummond Farm Martinborough Pinot Gris 2018 $24 Alex Muir and Leah Creaven are the forces behind Martinborough’s newest splash in the wine pond and they’re determined to educate people that it’s what’s NOT in the bottle that makes it distinctive. Produced at a positively demure 9.5% alcohol and showing clean, lightly-styled, apple and greengage plum … Read More
Drummond Farm Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019
Drummond Farm Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 $20.40 I tasted this wine as a cleanskin sample and it was a roasty, toasty example packed solid with stonefruit tones and showing a creamy complexity on the finish. Punchy and slightly wild at heart, its a ripe, rumpty style that has loads of potential. Very food-friendly too. Soft … Read More
Porters Estate Martinborough Cuvée Madeleine 2015
Porters Estate Martinborough Cuvée Madeleine 2015 $60 I thought I was across all the players in New Zealand’s fizz-mos-phere however, this gorgeous thing snuck up from nowhere, slapped my chops with lemony loveliness and walked me down the wild side in seconds flat. Winegrower John Porter is also a busy Wellington lawyer; white-collar or seedy … Read More
Big Sky Te Muna Road Martinborough Pinot Noir 2016
Big Sky Te Muna Road Martinborough Pinot Noir 2016 $40 I love the little depiction of the Southern Cross on the label of this Katherine Jacobs and Jeremy Corban-crafted wine, it fits with the clean, unfussy image of a couple focused on maintaining fruit purity and plushness of style. The ancient Te Muna Terraces are … Read More
Huntress Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017
Huntress Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017 $49 Winemaker Janine Rickards is the ultimate huntin, fishin, divin’ drivin’ damsel (just check out her rugged and rustic instagram pics), and I love what she does with her Huntress wines. Hand harvested fruit from clones 5, 828 and Abel clones has been used, 20% of which has been whole cluster co-fermented … Read More
Te Kairanga Runholder Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017
Te Kairanga Runholder Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017 $28 I think this could very well be my favourite vintage of Runholder. Plush, lush and packed with flavour, it roars with cherry, cranberry, rosehip tea and layers of earthy cocoa characters on the palate. While it’s slippery and silky to sip, it also has powdery, emery-like tannings … Read More
Julicher Martinborough Pinot Noir 2014
Julicher Martinborough Pinot Noir 2014 $45 It’s like inhaling the interior of a horse float, just after all the hay and other ‘stuff’ has been swept out. It’s leathery and sweaty and feral, yet underpinned with wild strawberry, cherry and a hint of rhubarb. Plush, plump and so incredibly smooth, it’s quite a gorgeous thing … Read More