Bald Hills Single Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $45.99 Five years on from vintage, and this Central Otago star is finally confident enough to start putting its head above the fence to yell, ‘Yoo-hoo, boys!’ With seductive spices on the nose, wild rhubarb and tamarillo notes on the palate, and a warming, savoury, sandy … Read More
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McArthur Ridge Southern Tor Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020
McArthur Ridge Southern Tor Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020 $39 Gold Medal – Decanter World Wine Awards Gold Medal & Trophy Winner at International Wine Challenge 2022 Gold Medal & Champion Pinot Noir Trophy NZ International Wine Show If you’re looking for a Central Otago pinot noir with both depth, intensity and also playful perkiness … Read More
Squawking Magpie Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020
Squawking Magpie Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 ($25tbc) Glossy garnet coloured and inky in the glass, scented with bouquet-garni and bay alongside ripe berries and plum complexity. 2020 was a stunning year for syrah in Hawke’s Bay and the team at Squawking Magpie are guns when it comes to maximising every opportunity where great fruit … Read More
Carrick The Magnetic Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Carrick The Magnetic Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $65 ‘The Magnetic’ was a floating gold dredge which operated in the Kawarau River back in the mid-1800s in the height of the regions’ gold rush period – it’s picture is on the back label. Crafted by winemaker Rosie Menzies, from a tiny block of Abel … Read More
Butterworth Estate Layline Martinborough Pinot Noir 2020
Butterworth Estate Layline Martinborough Pinot Noir 2020 $35 Masses of fresh cherry, cocoa powder and tamarillo aromas greet the nose and the palate is soaked in classic su bois (forest floor), savoury sensations. Fresh acidity and racy tannins elongate the spicy layers which give this wine real finesse and character. Very nicely made, beautiful drinking … Read More
Diegale Rossoscuro Rosso Toscana IGT 2015
Diegale Rossoscuro Rosso Toscana IGT 2015 $31 This blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Syrah and 15% Grenache unleashes a smoky, savoury impression, with white pepper, a whisper of Brettanomyces funk that cloaks prune and baked cherry notes. The acidity is fresh and feisty, the tannins powdery and the finish is long and persistent. CSI Wines
Zorzettig Friuli Merlot 2019
Zorzettig Friuli Merlot 2019 $26.10 Italian merlot is not a common thing, but after tasting this, I wish it was! Juicy and cherry-driven, its a gentle, berry and plum-packed example with mid-palate smoothness and sweetness, a spicy edge and softly structured length of flavour. CSI Wines NZ
Kokako Farms Ohiti Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2014
Kokako Farms Ohiti Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2014 $30 While Hawke’s Bay syrah fans are geeking out over the Gimblett Gravels, I’m quietly having an Ohiti house party over here in Lorkinland. Winegrower Bruce Nimon is obsessed with finding great soils, and in between a cow paddock and an old stockman’s station is a little … Read More
Te Kano Estate Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Te Kano Estate Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $49 Paired with: Slow Baked Mushrooms by Annabel Langbein in Canvas Magazine NZ Herald July 16 2022 I’ll be honest. There are some weeks when I’m literally just a slow-baked mushroom away from performing seppuku on myself over the state of things. Yet what soothes my … Read More
Pepperjack Mendoza Malbec 2019
Pepperjack Mendoza Malbec 2019 $23 Aussie icons Saltram wines have fallen head over tacones for Argentinean malbec to the point where they just had to find their own fruit and have a crack at it themselves. The result is a black fruit-centric, chocolate and liquorice layered wine that has an instant warming, comforting mouthfeel, juicy, … Read More