Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2011 $43 ★★★★ Sourced from one of the most spectacularly scenic vineyards in the Martinborough region comes this shiny new pinot which is already showing excellent depth of flavour for one so young. Sexy and fragrant with hints of mace, truffle, hedgerow fruits and cherry while in the … Read More
Mills Reef Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2011 $18 ★★★★ This is an absolute plum and spice fest in a glass. Loaded with bright berry fruit and yet it’s also very smooth, chocolatey, with a hint of liquorice which is followed by a warming, meaty mouthfeel. Great value. www.millsreef.co.nz
WOLF BLASS GOLD LABEL BAROSSA SHIRAZ 2009, $25 If the heady, exotic perfume of red rose, anise, cigarbox, sweet dark cocoa, violets and seasoned leather don’t wow you, the succulent dark fruit flavours and velvety finish definitely will. It’s a sensational wine, in the true Aussie style but without a hint of jamminess. The acidity … Read More
PENFOLDS BIN 28 KALIMNA SHIRAZ 2009, $29 The Bin 28 Kalimna is the oldest of all the Penfolds Bin series wines and there’s no surprise as to why it’s stayed a firm favourite for generations. I love the sweet, spicy, vanilla-infused oak and concentrated plum, boysenberry and smoky notes in this wine. It’s warm, velvety … Read More
Saint Clair Premium Marlborough Pinot Noir 2011 $26 Incredibly rich, bright, vibrantly fruited with wild strawberry, cherry and exotic spices. It’s a sensational pinot for the price and boasts lovely complexity and luscious length of flavour. www.saintclair.co.nz
Yalumba ‘The Reserve’ 2001 $128 Impenetrable, squid ink colour, and for an 11 year old wine it’s still so incredibly fresh with sweet cocoa, christmas pudding spices, exotically rich and densely concentrated dark fruit flavours. A blend of Barossa-sourced Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz which is only made in exceptional vintages, it’s a wine that’s really … Read More
Neudorf Home Vineyard Moutere Pinot Noir 2010 $79 Wow! Scented with exotic baking spices, cinnamon, black guava, cocoa, rhubarb, succulent tannins and beautifully balanced acidity and lush, sexy length of flavour. A little more time in the cellar and it’ll be a showstopper for sure. www.neudorf.co.nz
Balthazar Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc 2010 $25 Inky and glossy in the glass, it’s a deep, brooding, earthy wine which is stitched together with violet, dark berryfruit, pepper, smoke and hints of graphite. Succulent, solid tannins add to its chewy length of flavour and its potential to cellar nicely indeed.
Riverby Estate Marlborough Syrah 2011 $27 These syrah grapes have been in the ground for 20 years, making them some of the earliest planted in the Marlborough region. Boysenberry, black cherry and soft spices ooze through on the nose and it’s a very gentle, warming, comfortably textural wine with slippery-soft tannins. www.riverbyestate.com
Riverby Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2010 $28 Soft strawberry and cherry notes on the nose and in the mouth the fruit is very gentle to the point of being perhaps a touch subdued. It’s a pleasant pinot, very easy to drink and one that will be great for those new to the style, but I … Read More