Fancrest Estate Organic North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2019 $45 Bright and floral with hints of red apple and dark cherry on the nose, this is an ultra-fresh North Canterbury pinot grown organically in deep, limestone soils. A cooler vintage has given it a core of smoky oak and dried herb complexity accentuated by tightly coiled … Read More
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Fancrest Estate Organic North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2018
Fancrest Estate Organic North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2018 $45. Crafted by Di Holding, one of North Canterbury’s pioneers, from her steep, organically-tended north-facing vineyards which send their roots deep into the limestone hills. This vintage is highly floral on the nose yet carries an earthy undercurrent of dried herb and pine needles which leads to … Read More
Pask Declaration Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2021
Pask Declaration Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2021 $49 You don’t get picked as one of the elite twelve wines to represent the Annual Vintage Selection of red wines from the Gimblett Gravels just by being nice. Oh no. You need to be powerful, yet soothing, assemble of lifted florals, soft smoke and char. You need to … Read More
Ballasalla Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
Ballasalla Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 $30 The talented team at Folding Hill are responsible for turning out one of my favourite, always reliably tasty, Central Otago pinot noirs. The Ballasalla. This new vintage is perfumed with poached rhubarb, pot-pourri, red cherry and soft, earthy spices. It washes across the tongue and gums with fresh, … Read More
Maison Noire Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022
Maison Noire Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022 $35 Glossy-dark and inky in the glass, this new syrah from winemaker Guillaume Thomas has a distinct, pepper-soaked sarsparilla note on the nose, with black guava, tea leaf and tamarillo characters sashaying their way nostrilward also. To taste, it’s incredibly fresh and youthful, stitched together with peppercorn and … Read More
Brookfields Highland Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2021
Brookfields Highland Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2021 $46 Owner and winemaker Peter Robertson has been making wine in Hawke’s Bay since the mid-1970s and when you’re in Hawke’s Bay for that long, you get to know Merlot incredibly well. In fact, Hawke’s Bay’s wine powers that be were considering dubbing the region “Hawke’s Bay, Merlot Country” … Read More
Te Kairanga WPF Martinborough Pinot Noir 2020
Te Kairanga WPF Martinborough Pinot Noir 2020 $175 Created by long-time winemaker John Kavanagh and his team as a tribute to William Patrick Foley (or Bill Foley to his mates) the owner of Te Kairanga and head of the Foley Family Wines group. Using only their best Abel clone fruit, this pinot has huge aromatic … Read More
Brookfields Sun-Dried Hawke’s Bay Malbec 2022
Brookfields Sun-Dried Hawke’s Bay Malbec 2022 $26 Winemaker Peter Roberston and his team hand-harvest their malbec and then lay the grapes out on racks to partially dry in the sun, much like the Italian appassimento technique to concentrate the flavours and accentuate the rich, fruity aromatics. The nose reveals rich, blueberry, boysenberry, cocoa and liquorice … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2022
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2022 $35 Cabernet franc is a rare thing to see on its own here in New Zealand, so it’s exciting whenever I see one, particularly one from one of the tiniest vineyards in Hawke’s Bay. Very new and youthfully fresh, it boasts a huge lift of bay leaf, blackcurrant, … Read More
Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021
Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $70 The ‘Home Block’ for Maison Noire’s winemaker Guillaume Thomas, is a tiny, 1.5ha vineyard growing on limestone laden soils on the winding road out to Waimarama Beach. Just 80 cases of this syrah was made, so it’s super-limited, but super-tasty. Inky-dark and glossily gorgeous, and boasts … Read More