Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019 $22.90 Direct from the merlot capital of the country, this fleshy, speshy merlot is dangerously drinkable. Plum, cherry and boysenberry notes boogie across the nose and palate and leave a gush of gorgeous cocoa and spice on the finish. Soothing and velvety to sip. http://www.trinityhill.com
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Sacred Hill Hawke’s Bay Brokenstone 2014
Sacred Hill Hawke’s Bay Brokenstone 2014 $45 (re-tasted June 2020) Merlot leads a cast of superstar varieties in this celebrity Gimblett Gravels gathering. Malbec, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc combine to create a deeply aromatic red with warmth, woollyness and furry feelings in all the right places. This vintage at 6 years on is … Read More
Trinity Hill The Trinity Hawke’s Bay Red Blend 2018
Trinity Hill The Trinity Hawke’s Bay Red Blend 2018 $22.90 Here’s a shiny new lipsmacking blend of 32% merlot 30% cabernet franc, 28% cabernet sauvignon, 6% petit verdot and 4% malbec from the team at Trinity Hill, and it’s a darn attractive thing to drink. Great value red here, bursting with classic plum and raspberry … Read More
Trinity Hill Lost Garden Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2019
Trinity Hill Lost Garden Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2019 $29.95 This Central Hawke’s Bay-grown pinot noir is intensely aromatic, infused with bay leaf, cherry, blueberry and a bunch of bright, vibrant spicy layers to boot. Floral and tightly coiled on the palate, it’s a raspberry-stacked style that will unfurl itself over the next year or … Read More
Trinity Hill White Label Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2018
Trinity Hill White Label Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2018 $22.99 Bright, vibrant and cherry-saturated, here’s a slippery-textured, smooth and softly spiced pinot noir sourced from quality vineyards in the South Central Hawke’s Bay sub-regions of Porangahau and Waipawa. Sites boasting a range of soil types include limestone and argillite which (when combined with a long, … Read More
Moutere Hills Sarau Reserve Nelson Merlot 2018
Moutere Hills Sarau Reserve Nelson Merlot 2018 $55 With its heady perfume of bay leaf and tobacco, fig and prune characters, this soft, plump, fleshy Nelson merlot has slippers by the fireside written all over it. Moutere Hills was founded back in 1997 and 27 years on, they’re turning out some seriously delicious wine. Sarau … Read More
Moutere Hills Nelson Rumer 2016
Moutere Hills Nelson Rumer 2016 $55 Here’s a sensational, smoked-berries-and-leather layered lovely from one of our favourite Nelson-based producers. Unusual in that it’s predominantly merlot, winemaker Rusty Rayne (cool name) has also blended syrah and cabernet sauvignon alongside it, to give inject extra, peppery gravitas. Named after Rusty’s much-loved vineyard Kelpie dog, this rockin’ red … Read More
Brass Knocker Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Brass Knocker Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $21.90 Scarlet-bright in the glass and showing soft spices, black tea, blueberry and cherry on the nose and palate. The acidity is firm and fresh (as you’d expect from its youth), however it’s got good ‘pinosity’ or pinot-presence in the mouth. It’s a very attractive, glossy wine in … Read More
Bostock Vicki’s Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2017
Bostock Vicki’s Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2017 $70 Grown at Ngatarawa in Hawke’s Bay’s Bridge Pa Triangle district, this organically produced merlot is incredibly elegant and stylish and shows classic cocoa, plum, espresso, dark berries and plump, velvety textures. Named after the lovely Vicki Bostock, organic agriculture champion and late wife of Johnny Bostock, this … Read More
Coxhead Creek Inlet Red Matakana Cabernet Franc 2013
Coxhead Creek Inlet Red Matakana Cabernet Franc 2013 $18 That waft of vanilla smoke on the nose indicates that winemaker Warren Knudsen has made excellent use of a combination of French and American oak. That oak wraps around the bay leaf, blackcurrant, and leather layers in this strapping wine from our northern climes. Solid tannins … Read More