Loveblock Tee Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 $26.99 Straight out the gate this is unlike any sauvignon blanc I’ve tasted recently. Perfumed with lemon verbena, lemongrass, soft herbaceousness and a whisker of marzipan, on the palate it’s crunchy-fresh and flinty, edged with green apple, white nectarine and mandarin. It’s a fun, frisky, flavoursome new release from … Read More
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On Giants’ Shoulders Martinborough Chardonnay 2018
On Giants’ Shoulders Martinborough Chardonnay 2018 $40 Hands up if you just feel like sipping on a slippery, softly-styled, elegant-as-all-getout chardonnay that doesn’t leave you scraping the sawdust and butterscotch out of your mouth after every sip? This 2018 vintage from Braden and Gabrielle Crosby’s tiny, non-irrigated vineyard in Martinborough is wild-fermented, supremely smooth, styled … Read More
Coxhead Creek Matakana Verdelho 2020
Coxhead Creek Matakana Verdelho 2020 $25 I love the lifted apple and peach aromatics on this little lovely from Michael Lorimer’s Matakana vineyard, and I love even more the fact that it’s Verdelho! Yay! Verdelho is a VERY rare grape on our shores, which is a shame because it absolutely roars when planted in the … Read More
Yealands Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Yealands Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 $14.99 Prepare for a hit of passionfruit, lemon verbena, crushed basil and white pepper up your passages as soon as the first glass is poured. Crisp, ultra zesty, lemon and lime notes leap out and wash across the palate. It’s a citrus-forward, nicely balanced, refreshing and juicy wine that’ll wow … Read More
Yealands Reserve Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Yealands Reserve Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 $18.99 Marlborough’s Awatere Valley is famous for turning out sauvignon blanc saturated with high-toned florals, intense minerality, lemongrassy goodness and buckets of green herbs on the nose and palate. This wine is swollen with sensationally sweaty characters, tomato stalk zinginess and a whole potager garden of herbaceousness. … Read More
Pegasus Bay Vergence White MK1 NV
Pegasus Bay Vergence White MK1 NV $27 I love that on the back label they’ve stated “Wine made under this label will first and foremost be delicious…” and lo, it doth occurreth. This multi-vintage thing of beauty is mostly made of old vine Semillon, blended with Muscat, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay and it’s … Read More
Flaxmore Nelson Pinot Gris 2019
Flaxmore Nelson Pinot Gris 2019 $22 Stuart and Patricia Anderson craft pinot gris from the French Alsace clone 457 (sounds superflash right?) grown in their Moutere Hills vineyard. Most kiwi pinot gris comes from highly floral German clones, while this French clone creates a stylish, spicy, flavour spectrum studded with softly grainy textures and a … Read More
Rock Ferry Trig Hill Central Otago Riesling 2016
Rock Ferry Trig Hill Central Otago Riesling 2016 $33 This organic riesling absolutely roars with baked apple, crisp lime and loads of quartzy minerality. The acidity is pinging on the palate, there’s a tonne of tangelo and mandarin magic and loads of green apple characters crash through onto the finish as well. It’s a long-term … Read More
Rock Ferry Trig Hill Central Otago Pinot Gris 2018
Rock Ferry Trig Hill Central Otago Pinot Gris 2018 $40 This is one of my favourite New Zealand pinot gris wines hands down. Hands all over the place in fact. Hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and only the free-run juice was fermented with a combo of cultured and wild yeasts in a mixture of stainless steel … Read More
Spade Oak The Prospect Gisborne Pinot Gris 2019
Spade Oak The Prospect Gisborne Pinot Gris 2019 $28 Crafted from two special pinot gris clones perfectly suited to creating delicously dry styles that grow on Mahauri and Kaiti clay loam soils and end up being gently pressed into a combo of 4yo French oak barrels and tanks to ferment and mature. The result is … Read More