Ian Marchant is the winemaker responsible for shepherding this sensational syrah into the bottle from its home in Marlborough’s southern valleys. With its deeply sexy, magenta-purple hue, aromas of vanilla, violets, damson plum and dusty leather followed by a succulent, meaty, yet fresh and vibrantly fruity mouthfeel. Named after OSE’s owner Geoff Jensen’s ‘Sea Vixen’ … Read More
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Squawking Magpie The Gravels Syrah $30 ★★★★½
The impenetrable, inky-dark colour saturation is the first thing that gets you with this wine; it’s incredibly dense, dark, a stormcloud in a glass. Perfumed with blackcurrant, cherry and pepper-dusted damson plums, the nose is exciting, spice-driven and has smoke around the edges. Elegantly structured, the core of this wine has dark fruit, exotic … Read More
Septima Mendoza Malbec 2014 $22 ★★★½
If you were thinking the national animal of Argentina was the llama you’d be wrong. It’s Bolivia’s. Argentina’s is the rufous hornero, or, as they say in the islands, the ‘red ovenbird’. But in my opinion their national animal should be Malbec. It might be a wine, but it’s muscular and meaty, furry around the edges, … Read More
Vasse Felix Filius Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2014 $28 ★★★★
Vasse Felix was actually the very first vineyard and winery to be established in the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia, having been founded in 1967 by Dr Thomas Cullity. It’s a gorgeous Bordeaux blend where eucalypt and bay leaf notes cloak the dark berry intensity, cocoa, tar and tobacco aromas. The oak is … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 $22 ★★★★
Made by Frenchman Guillaume Thomas from his tiny vineyard on the Waimarama Road, this cabernet sauvignon has classic aromas of espresso residue (‘sprudge’ is the technical term – true fact) alongside exotic vanilla, pepper, mint and a lick of saddle leather. Fresh dark cherry and boysenberry provide the fruit concentration for this elegantly structured, inky-dark … Read More
Hopes Grove Hawke’s Bay Silver Lining Syrah 2010 ★★★★
Deeply saturated, glossy and dark, here’s an intensely spicy syrah showing hints of smoke and leather. Six years in the bottle has borne violets, fresh pepper and gamey characters on the palate and a finish loaded with bay leaf, black tea and earthy cocoa characters. Grown in the limestone loveliness of Hawke’s Bay’s lesser-known sub-region … Read More
Church Road TOM Syrah 2013 $200 ★★★★★
For this, the first ever release of a TOM syrah, 100% of the fruit was sourced from the Redstone vineyard inside the Bridge Pa Triangle Wine District, New Zealand’s newest ‘official’ wine region. A couple of swirls in the glass reveals elegant white pepper, fresh blackberry, violet and vanilla alongside exceptionally buoyant layers of concentrated … Read More
Johner Estate Moonlight Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2014 $26 ★★★½
Despite the slightly odd label (nipple spikes anyone?) the wine itself is a super-sippable, fruit-soaked, spicy pinot that’ll definitely be a conversation-starter at your next dinner party. Berries, cherries and hints of cocoa, alongside a soft, velvety finish make this a dangerously drinkable pinot that rocks with roast lamb. www.johner-estate.com
Rock Ferry Trig Hill Central Otago Tempranillo 2015 $40 ★★★½
This is a tiny-volume, organically-grown tempranillo that’s traditionally at home on the sunbaked soils of Spain – yet Central Otago has also nurtured it very nicely. Aromas of cured meats, seasoned leather, hints of liquorice and dutch cocoa lead to a warm, fleshy palate and a long, spicy finish. It’s a complex, wooly wine that’ll … Read More
Parusso Ornati Barbera D’Alba 2014 Piedmont Italy $31 ★★★★
Bright, ruby-coloured and packed with earthy spices, bright, cheery fruit and layers of soft, smoky, woolly dried strawberry notes. Grown in the Ornati area of Monteforte d’alba, it’s a deliciously approachable barbera that’s really hitting its straps now, oozing red fruit and soft, liquorice characters and lovely dried herbs on the finish. www.pointwines.co.nz