Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2021

6 January 2025By Yvonne

Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2021 $29 Things I want: to be cosy at home but also socialise and travel. To buy everything I want but also save money and to get super fit, but also eat what I like and not exercise. That’s not too much to ask for, right? Things I … Read More

Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021

6 January 2025By Yvonne

Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $28 From the ‘holy trinity’ of Hawke’s Bay vintages (2019, 2020, 2021) this Syrah is stacked with classic florals, violets, red roses, plum blossom and buckets of cracked pepper and smoky oak. Vibrant and energetic, it dunks your taste buds into dark berryfruit and then dusts them with … Read More

Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2024

6 January 2025By Yvonne

Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2024 $20 – $25 Classic, ripe, robust Hawke’s Bay signatures sing in this wine, with pungent jalapeno, lime, passionfruit and bruised basil merging with red apple and clean capsicum characters. Zesty acidity is complimented by crushed shell minerality and a lacing of creamy complexity on the finish. It’s … Read More

Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Gewürztraminer 2024

6 January 2025By Yvonne

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

Maison Noire Reserve Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2023

1 October 2024By Yvonne

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

Fancrest Estate Reserve Organic North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019

20 December 2023By Yvonne

Fancrest Estate Reserve Organic North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $65 Crafted without fining or filtration, this organic pinot noir grown high up on the deep, limestone soils of the North Canterbury hills, has a slight cloudiness, but a very bright, spicy aromatic spectrum. Stacked with smoky, mushroom and soft pepper notes on the nose, the … Read More

Maison Noire Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022

25 November 2023By Yvonne

Maison Noire Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022 $35 Glossy-dark and inky in the glass, this new syrah from winemaker Guillaume Thomas has a distinct, pepper-soaked sarsparilla note on the nose, with black guava, tea leaf and tamarillo characters sashaying their way nostrilward also. To taste, it’s incredibly fresh and youthful, stitched together with peppercorn and … Read More

Clearview Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021

10 May 2023By Yvonne

Clearview Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $45 The colour of this wine is what will wow you first. Pour it on a sunny day and marvel at its ruby, crimson, glossy gorgeousness. On the nose and palate, it’s a lightly-styled, soothing, gently-peppered example, showing lifted florals and a long, smooth finish. Crafted using fruit sourced … Read More

Yealands Reserve Marlborough Pinot Gris 2021

13 February 2023By Yvonne

Yealands Reserve Marlborough Pinot Gris 2021 $19.95 Stacked with Summer flowers, anise, nashi and ginger-laced, soothing spices on the nose, it has a rich, creamy, leesy, feel to it and roars with red pear notes on the finish. Stylish and showing superb fruit purity, it’s refreshing yet richly structured and a satisfying sip that’ll wow … Read More

Wairau River Reserve Grüner Veltliner 2021

20 January 2023By Yvonne

Wairau River Reserve Marlborough Grüner Veltliner 2021 $29 How’s them apples! This little bit of Austria here in Aotearoa gives an immediate hit of freshly cut apples, lemon pith, yellow plums and wildflowers on the nose and palate making this grüner groovy in all the right places. With a squeak of tarragon and soft, peachy … Read More