Butterworth Martinborough Pinot Noir 2018 $55 Harvested on the 28th March 2018 and bottled on the 22nd December 2020, this is a classic, spice-saturated pinot noir with those Martinborough signatures such as dried herbs, dark cocoa characters, cedar, roast beetroot and scorched cherries. It’s still very youthful and is settling into itself. The acidity is … Read More
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Rock Ferry Central Otago Brut Rosé 2016
Rock Ferry Central Otago Brut Rosé 2016 ($55) Crafted by Allan McWilliams, this certified organic bottle of rose gold gorgeousness packs a punch on the palate right from the get-go. With subtle aromas of berry bagel dough, crushed almonds and lemon pith and a lick of Shrewsbury Biscuit and with flavours leaning toward the deliciously … Read More
Tastes Like Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020
Known Unknown Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2020 $25 Prepare for a hit of meaty, savoury, classic violet and peppercorn characters on the nose of this new syrah and enjoy how it’s followed by smooth, earthy, dark cocoa flavours and layers of nicely chewy tannins. All that good stuff is boosted with solid acidity as well. It’s … Read More
Monowai Upper Reaches Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2020
Monowai Upper Reaches Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2020 $35 The ‘upper reaches’ refers to Emma Lowe and husband Marcelo Nunez’ vineyard, which sits high up on the ancient terraces carved out by the mighty Ngaruroro River in the sub-region of Crownthorpe at the foot of the Kaweka Range. Vanilla-dipped cherry and choco-berry aromas lead to … Read More
Bushmere Estate Gisborne Montepulciano 2020
Bushmere Estate Gisborne Montepulciano 2020 $25 Intensely inky, in fact it’s impenetrably purple in the glass and showing a massive lift of bay leaf, blackberry leaf and herbaceous notes, this new vintage has high acidity and tannins with decent chew and grip around the gums. It’s an east coast version of an Italian favourite and … Read More
Black Estate Wild Life Profilo North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019
Black Estate Wild Life Profilo North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $40 From grapes grown in sandstone and greensand soils in the South-facing block owned by the Naish family’s Netherwood vineyard, this organic, biodynamically grown pinot noir has been fermented and aged in clay amphora vessels. It’s cloudy in the glass due to it being unfined and … Read More
Black Estate Wild Life Winery Block North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2020
Black Estate Wild Life Winery Block North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2020 $40 Created from fruit grown organically in clay soils outside the winery in the Naish family’s Netherwood block, it’s fermented wild in an open-top vat before being aged in a clay amphora, this pinot noir has been made with no additives and no sulphur … Read More
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $75 Established back in 1986, this little vineyard patch is widely believed to be the first hillside planting in all ye olde North Canterbury. Planted on mudstone and Sandstone, hand-harvested and fermented with a yeast starter derived from the vineyard itself, these organic, biodynamically managed grapes are … Read More
Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019
Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $52 Floral floral floral! Crafted from fruit grown in the organic, biodynamically-managed Damsteep vineyard which was established back in 1999 on a patch of sandstone and limestone loveliness in North Canterbury. Winemaker Nicholas Brown opts to kickstart the ferment using the yeasts present in the vineyard canopy … Read More
Butterworth Estate Martinborough Layline Pinot Noir 2017
Butterworth Estate Martinborough Layline Pinot Noir 2017 $35 If Martinborough pinot noir had a LinkedIn profile, I’m certain we’d have a thousand mutual connections. There’s something about those ancient, river-gravel soils that inject seriously savoury characters into its pinot noir and it’s a joy to drink with lamb. With fruit supplied by a clutch of … Read More