Astrolabe Comely Bank Vineyard, Waihopai Valley Pinot Noir 2020 $44 Plush, lithe and lengthy. These are hallmarks of the pinot noir which comes off Jeff and Vanessa Hammond’s Comelybank site near the confluence of the Waihopai and Wairau Rivers, where the Southern Valleys meet. Its handpicked fruit is wild-fermented, hand-plunged, and oak-matured to create an … Read More
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Villa Maria The Attorney Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2022
Villa Maria The Attorney Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2022 $30 Paired with: CHICKEN CURRY ROLLS dish Magazine Issue 108 Something seductively light and zesty and stacked with clean berries and classic spices is exactly what you need to wash down every crumb of these curry rolls. Bursting with watermelon, raspberry and laced with dry, … Read More
Forrest Marlborough Lagrein 2020
Forrest Marlborough Lagrein 2020 $35 Normally when it comes to chilli, I recommend steering clear of the big reds, however the Forrest Estate Marlborough Lagrein 2020 ($35) – a local version of northern Italy’s Alto Adige classic – is generously juicy, cherry-stacked, sweetly structured and superb with black pepper and chilli lamb ribs. It’s sourced … Read More
Riverby Estate Marlborough Cyrene 2016
Riverby Estate Marlborough Cyrene 2016 375ml $35 Crafted just like a classic Sauternes, this blend of 75% sauvignon blanc and 25% semillon is aged for 11 months in at least 50% new oak barrels and weighs in at a tooth-screamingly sweet 145g/l of residual sugar. It’s incredibly rich and luxurious, turning on toffee, marmalade and … Read More
Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2020
Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2020 $40 If I were in a hostage situation and the gunman said “Somebody better tell me what’s the greatest local Bordeaux-style red wine that I can buy for under fifty bucks, in the next five seconds or the granny gets it!” I would be hollering “Te Mata Awatea … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot Malbec 2021
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot Malbec 2021 $25 One thing will become super-obvious when inhaling the scent of this Bordeaux blend from Hawke’s Bay’s famous Gimblett Gravels region. Meatiness. It’s rich, savoury and roaring with roasting pan juices on the nose. Combine that with dark blueberry, plum, pepper and bay leaf layers, black olive … Read More
Forrest Estate Marlborough Albariño 2022
Forrest Estate Marlborough Albariño 2022 $28 Ultra-vibrant nectarine, apple, lime and white peach will up and punch you in the kisser with every sip. The acidity is whipcrack sharp, like swallowing a sword, yet the underlying citrus and peachy plushness smooths and soothes it all out. It’s like an incredibly tasty exfoliation for your oesophagus … Read More
Bald Hills Last Light Central Otago Riesling 2021
Bald Hills Last Light Central Otago Riesling 2021 $30 At a positively demure 11.5% alcohol this riesling romps in with magic mandarin and apple aromatics, a palate draped in honeysuckle and a finish that’s laced with fresh lime layers. A lick of grapefruit and a teensy tweak of creamy nougat features in the background, making … Read More
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Merlot Cabernet 2019
Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Merlot Cabernet 2019 $34 Three years on from harvest and this soothing, saucy Bordeaux-style blend is soothing, lithe, cocoa and coffee-edged. A saucy blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet franc, it was aged in French oak for 18 months (25% of the barrels were new) which encouraged the wine … Read More
Piwakawaka Gisborne Viognier 2020
Piwakawaka Gisborne Viognier 2020 $25-$28 It’s tricky striking the balance between fruit sweetness and acid tension, but Kristin and Steve Parkes reckon they’ve cracked it. They were landed with 2ha of viognier in front of a home they’d bought back in 2013 and that catapulted them into the crazy world of winegrowing. The grapes are … Read More