Nautilus Estate The Paper Nautilus Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 $35 Clive Jones (‘CJ’ to the cool kids) is the scarily talented winemaker behind the tanks and barrels at Nautilus, and to say he’s mildly obsessed with sauvignon blanc is like saying Adele is a half-decent singer. The Paper Nautilus is a limited-edition (300doz) sauvignon is … Read More
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Giesen Reiler Goldlay Mosel Riesling 2018
Giesen Reiler Goldlay Mosel Riesling 2018 $22 After emigrating from Germany back in the 1980s and building a hugely successful wine business here in New Zealand, the three Giesen brothers doubled back and purchased a small, terraced vineyard in the village of Reil on the banks of Germany’s Mosel River, a place famous for turning … Read More
Carrick Organic Bannockburn Riesling 2019
Carrick Organic Bannockburn Riesling 2019 $28 Made by the supremely talented Rosie Menzies, this certified organic riesling hits all those good spots of green apple, mandarin, honeysuckle and lashings of lime. Very nicely balanced and showing great texture and tension in the mouth, it’s a perky pick-me-up for the palate that fits pretty much every … Read More
Carrick Josephine Organic Bannockburn Riesling 2020
Carrick Josephine Organic Bannockburn Riesling 2020 $34 Prepare for a lift of luscious lime, green apple and mandarin to wash across the palate and leave a comet tail of honeysuckle and homemade lemonade as it slides on down. At a positively demure 9% alc, it’s also the perfect lunchtime wine because it won’t send you … Read More
Astrolabe The Farm Marlborough Dry Riesling 2019
Astrolabe The Farm Marlborough Dry Riesling 2019 $26 With classic green apple, yellow plum and lime zest characters washing across the nose and palate, it’s an attractive style that has chalky intensity and impressive length of flavour. Grown in their Grovetown vineyard, it’s a riesling with buckets of texture, so make sure you chill it … Read More
The Better Half Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021
The Better Half Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($tbc) This lipsmacking little lovely from Marlborough is crammed full of tropical, passionfruity punch, peachy layers and loads of lime and lemon. I like that on the website it says “designed to be enjoyed right now – not left to collect dust in your wine rack”, because that’s … Read More
Matahiwi Holly South Series Wairarapa Chardonnay 2020
Matahiwi Holly South Series Wairarapa Chardonnay 2020 $30 Crafted from the southern Chardonnay vines growing in the Matahiwi home vineyard, this is the fourth vintage after it was planted back in 2013. If aromas of ultra-toasty oak, grilled grapefruit and peach are your thing, then you’ll be a happy camper. Combine them with frisky acidity … Read More
Aurum Organic Central Otago Chardonnay 2019
Aurum Organic Central Otago Chardonnay 2019 $45 You can announce to your friends as you pour this wine. “The soils in which Aurum’s certified organic, chardonnay grapes grow, are comprised of fluvial, glacial silts and gravels”. Now quickly go and Google ‘fluvial’ to school yourself up in advance. The desert-dry heat of the Lowburn … Read More
Anchorage Family Estate Nelson Pinot Gris 2021
Anchorage Family Estate Nelson Pinot Gris 2021 $17 Eyepoppingly pretty, diamond-bright and flecked with white gold, this shiny, new example of Nelsonian niceness is an exotically proportioned, nashi and apple strudel-spiced thing of beauty. It’s bodacious, luscious and laced with a ribbon of natural sweetness which accentuates the apple and nutmeg notes on the finish … Read More
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Gris 2021
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Gris 2021 $22 If your only experiences with pinot gris have involved yawn-inducingly commercial, sweet and flabby styles, then steady yourself for an attitude shift of epic proportions. Bold and generously dry, it’s crammed with classic nashi and quince characters, softly-spiced layers and a spine of solid acidity. It’s got character, … Read More