Burn Cottage Central Otago Pinot Noir 2013 $60 ★★★★½ True to their biodynamic philosophies, Ted Lemon and Clair Mulholland conduct all their winemaking work in accordance with lunar and celestial rhythms. They use naturally-occurring, wild yeasts, minimize their sulphur use and avoid using additives or filters. If you want a definition of complexity, this pinot … Read More
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Craggy Range Sophia 2013
Craggy Range Sophia 2013 $72.95 ★★★★★ This rose and cedar-scented red is a blend of 62% merlot, 19% cabernet sauvignon, 18% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Juicy and concentrated, this wine offers exotic aromas of bitter cocoa, sun-dried herbs and dense, dark berry fruit. There’s also an instant hit of warmth and woodsmoke, graphite, … Read More
Craggy Range Aroha Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2013
Craggy Range Aroha Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2013 $99.95 ★★★★★ Highly floral aromatics, with rosehip and black tea, plum, rhubarb and a smorgasbord of red fruits burst through on the nose and make way to pillowy, cherry-bramble and spice-forward flavours. There’s a hint of cassia bark, pomegranate, white pepper and smoke followed by leafy, … Read More
Matariki Quintology 2009
Matariki Quintology 2009 $80 ★★★★★ After a few years in the bottle, this Gimblett Gravels-grown blend of merlot, cabernet’s sauvignon and franc, malbec and syrah, is really hitting its straps. With sexy, exotic aromas of ripe blackberry and sweet plum smashed into seasoned saddle leather and sprinkled with dried herbs, violets, bitter chocolate and white … Read More
Tatty Bogler Central Otago Pinot Noir 2013
Tatty Bogler Central Otago Pinot Noir 2013 $35 ★★★★ It might be named after a scruffy, Scottish scarecrow, but this pinot is pure class. Fresh, clean and showing nice lines of red fruits, cocoa and spice on the nose, the palate is followed by a juicy, long finish. Very nice indeed, and destined for more … Read More
Sacred Hill Helmsman 2010
Sacred Hill Helmsman 2010 $85 ★★★★★ My first taste of this wine was a few years before the millennium and back then I was told the name represented something that led the way that stood ahead of the pack and steered you in the right direction. A Helmsman is released only in years when the … Read More
Craggy Range Sophia 2010
Craggy Range Sophia 2010 $73 ★★★★★ Sophia is Craggy Range’s flagship example of how the classic Bordeaux varieties of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot can be sewn together to create a sublime red wine right here on our shores. Scented with anise, blackcurrant, dried herbs and gamey, earthy notes; in the mouth … Read More
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $59 ★★★★★ Inky purple in the glass and boasts aromas of pomegranate molasses, sweet fruit-wood smoke and prune followed by layers of complex, berry and cocoa notes. It’s built like a skyscraper, each level opening up to a floor with a different décor. With … Read More
Newton Forrest Cornerstone 2010
Newton Forrest Cornerstone 2010 $60 ★★★★★ Glossy and gorgeous in the glass, but prepare to be seduced by the hot-cross bun and Christmas pudding perfume. If you can tear your nose away from the glass for long enough to sip – you’ll be rewarded with buxom berry and chocolate flavours and a smooth, velvety texture. … Read More
Babich Irongate Gimblett Graves Cabernet Merlot Franc 2010
Babich Irongate Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot Franc 2010 $35 ★★★★★ Intense red rose, berry and seasoned leather aromas open up to punchy plum flavours and a deliciously warming, medicinal mouthfeel. I love how poised and elegant this wine is, and the persistence of flavour is just outstanding. www.babichwines.co.nz