Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 $32 There were rumblings and rumours and all manner of murmurs on the grapevine, that 2018 would be a pretty yowza year for cabernet sauvignon in Hawke’s Bay’s Bridge Pa sub-region. I’m pleased to report the gossip was true and correct. This Lauren Swift-crafted cabernet is … Read More
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Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 $25 Just 90 dozen bottles were produced of this wine. To give you an idea of scale, that’s less than two pallets. For the whole country. And overseas markets. So you snooze, you lose, I’m afraid. It’s a lush, complex, dried herb and spice-saturated style edged with baked berries, … Read More
Ash Ridge Estate Bridge Pa Merlot 2019
Ash Ridge Estate Bridge Pa Merlot 2019 $21.99 From those russet-red, iron rich soils of the Bridge Pa Triangle comes this dark, inky-scarlet sensation from Lauren Swift and the team at Ash Ridge. Showing earthy, dried herb, tar, black olive and mushroomy notes drifting across the blueberry and blackberry mid-palate, it’s a soft yet generously … Read More
OTU Otuwhero Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020
OTU Otuwhero Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020 $22.99 Crafted from fruit grown in the Awatere Valley, this bright shiny new pinot has buckets of raspberry and rhubarb and cherry charm on the nose and palate. Not too spicy or complex, just juicy and easy and refreshing – which is exactly what you should hope to … Read More
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $49.50 I checked and it was almost exactly to the day that I published my review of Steve Davies, 2016 Doctors Flat Pinot Noir on this site. He fired through a bottle of the shiny new 2017 as soon as it was ready and far out am I … Read More
Bargylus Grand Vin de Syrie 2013
Bargylus Grand Vin de Syrie 2013 $(tbc) The World’s Most Dangerous Wine… Syrian wine is finally available in New Zealand, but our little country only gets 168 bottles and it has a heck of a job getting here. The Domaine de Bargylus winery is unluckily situated in Syria’s civil war zone. Bargylus (located in Latakia, … Read More
Ruby Bay Nelson Syrah 2019
Ruby Bay Nelson Syrah 2019 $39.99 Huge pepper on the nose and some good floral notes but the acidity is very high and a touch thin, however that may smooth out over time. It definitely opens up and softens slightly in the glass after a few good swirls. Very pretty garnet colour and fine-grained tannins. … Read More
Framingham F Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019
Framingham F Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 $40 You can’t have a conversation about Marlborough pinot noir without devoting an unseemly amount of time to Framingham. Growing grapes in the Wairau Valley since 1981 has taught them a thing or thirty about getting it right, and with whole-bunch pressing, longer soakage on skins and longer … Read More
Casa Marin Cartagena San Antonio Valley Pinot Noir 2018
Casa Marin Cartagena San Antonio Valley Pinot Noir 2018 $26 This Chilean Pinot Noir from the San Antonio Valley has that classic, stemmy, earthy, smoky, dried herb note which leads it down the meaty, savoury path. Those fabulously feral aspects merge with charred cherry, pepper, roast tamarillo and tea to create a strong-headed Pinot Noir … Read More
B-Liv Chile Organic Red Blend 2018
B-Liv Chile Organic Red Blend 2018 $29 Crafted from the three red grapes that Chile is most famous for, cabernet sauvignon, carmenere and syrah, this certified organic smorgasbord of berry intensity is a bottle full of grins. Toasty, caramelised oak notes merge with super-fruity blackcurrant and blackberry characters which will perk up even the most … Read More