Le Grá Wairarapa Merlot 2018 $30 This is a super-fresh style with youthful acidity that I’m sure will soften out over the next year or two. Intense boysenberry and blackberry flavours join forces with spicy oak notes and lengthy, elastic tannins. If you’re looking for bigand meaty, this is more fresh and leafy, but an … Read More
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Kōpū Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020
Kōpū Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $24.99 From the lovelies at Lake Road Wines comes this bright, pepper-dusted syrah sourced from vineyards around Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s syrahvana. Showing classic violet vavoom and an edge of iron filings, blackcurrant, blueberry and seasoned leather, it’s a style that requires a large, swirlable glass so that you can … Read More
Te Pa Wines Signature Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019
te Pā Wines Signature Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 $24.99 I’ve got a feeling that news of how good this wine is could spread around the country faster than Twitter sharing the identities of a Covid-breaching couple seeking name suppression after being snapped in Wanaka. Powerfully aromatic, soaked in cherry and tamarillo, berry tea and … Read More
ME by Matahiwi Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2020
ME by Matahiwi Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2020 $20 Woah! If bright, bouncy, cherry-choc pinot noir is your jam then you’ve come to the right party here. Grown just outside of Masterton, home of the Golden Shears, the ME is one of those ripe, ready-for-action pinot noirs that absolutely scream Spring wedding, or a shindig … Read More
Richmond Plains Admiral Nelson Merlot 2019
Richmond Plains Admiral Nelson Merlot 2019 $27 Red Admiral butterflies flootle their way around Lars Urlich and Sam Jensen’s Richmond Plains vineyard, getting up to all sorts of mischief, flirting with the other butterflies, skiting about their fashionable wings and whatnot. But while they’re really pretty, they don’t taste that great (apparently), they leave being … Read More
Massena The Twilight Path Barossa Valley Primitivo 2020
Massena The Twilight Path Barossa Valley Primitivo 2020 $45 From the Southern Moppa sub-region of the Barossa Valley, from their Dadd’s Block vineyard comes a primitivo that’s bursting with berries and cream characters, a soft plummy mid-palate, a tweak of tobacco leaf on the tongue and boasting a long, powdery finish. Established 21 years ago … Read More
Terra Sancta Shingle Beach Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2018
Terra Sancta Shingle Beach Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2018 $44.95 Translating to ‘sacred dirt the Shingle Beach block provides winemaker and immunologist Austin Black, bunches of tiny berries, stacked with spice and cherry intensity. But speaking of intense, how crazy is the label? So many animals! Beside the Kawarau River is a crocodilia, representative of the … Read More
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020 $35 From Southern Valley’s fruit comes this ultra-fresh, earthy, tamarillo and cherry-centric pinot noir from Jules Taylor, winemaker extraordinaire and maker of seriously good chutney. It’s true. Her gift for harnessing just the right amount of spice, acidity, fruit concentration and texture is plainly evident in this new release … Read More
Bushmere Estate Gisborne Malbec 2020
Bushmere Estate Gisborne Malbec 2020 $25 This Gisborne malbec has deliciously meaty, leathery layers and a core of redcurrant and deep spice that roars across the mouth. Inky magenta-black colour and glossy in the glass and loaded with bay, dark cherry and pepper notes, it’s a rich, beautifully structured example. Bushmere.com
Te Mania Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020
Te Mania Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $27.99 While the team at Te Mania have kept us copasetic with their bottles of Nelsonian niceness, this time they’ve journeyed north to the syrah capital of the country to hunt out fruit that’ll not only curl your lashes and epilate your limbs, it’ll also expand your nostrils with … Read More