Universe Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $34.99 The heat trap that is the ancient glacial soils of Alexandra is responsible for this baked cherry, leather and prune-packed pinot noir. New to the market, and crafted in a completely vegan fashion, it’s a savoury, spice-fest of a wine boasting gentle, fleshy tannins, soft, medicinal notes and … Read More
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Chard Farm Mason Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Chard Farm Mason Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $79 Very different to Chard Farm’s other single-vineyard wines and sourced from a high-altitude site in the Cromwell basin, winemaker John Wallace has created a spice-saturated wine that has a leaner, statuesque, tuxedo-wrapped profile with dried herb and seriously savoury elements. Pepper, redcurrant, olive, leather, and … Read More
Chard Farm Viper Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Chard Farm Viper Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $79 From a tricky, back-to-front harvest season, the pinot noir from Chard Farm set solid form. Sourced from their Viper vineyard located in the Parkburn area on the western side of Lake Dunstan. The site takes its name from the wildflower ”Vipers Bugloss” that carpets the … Read More
Chard Farm The Tiger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Chard Farm The Tiger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $79 Wine match for Annabel Langbein’s Prosciutto & Bocconcini Pizza (Canvas NZHerald sat 14 2019) Prosciutto is my drug of choice. I can’t help myself when it’s around. If I see it on a platter I snaffle it, on hors d’oeuvres, get in my belly, and … Read More
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2016
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2016 $22 This is a wine that really benefits from some ‘swirl-time’ in the glass. It may appear a tad closed when first poured, but lordy be, y the time you get to the second half of the glass, she’s a disco queen. Dried herbs, baked cherry, all manner of … Read More
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2018
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2018 $29.99 Subtle yet wild-at-heart aromas of cherry and baked raspberry leap out of the glass and in the mouth it’s got that ‘young wine’ friskiness that comes with high acidity – yet there’s an underlying savouriness and structure that supports the ability to age. But right now it’s a … 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
Brightwater Vineyards Te Kāhu Nelson Pinot Noir 2016
Brightwater Vineyards Te Kāhu Nelson Pinot Noir 2016 $26.99 Three years on from harvest and the wine is taking on a lovely brick-red hue and aromas that lead you down the wild side of the hedge. Named after the native harrier hawk which patrols the vineyards of Gary and Valley Neale, it’s softly savoury and … Read More
Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2015
Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2015 $95 From the second the first whiff of cocoa-covered cherries, black tea, wild berries, truffle and spice assail your nostrils, you know there’s no escape from its clutches. It’s a dense, deliciously structured, statuesque example of what Waipara is capable of. So lush, plush and poised, it’s … Read More
Churton The Abyss Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017
Churton The Abyss Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017 $75 The Abyss is the highest altitude block of this organic and biodynamic producer in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley. Backing onto a precipitous cliff, it’s also home to Churton’s oldest vines, which grow bunches exposed to the easterly sun, creating fruit with complexity and coolness. Hints of musk, wild … Read More