Te Mata Elston Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $39.90 Lifted aromas of apple, pineapple, white peach, lemon and a lick of sweet macadamia and fresh acidity and that adds complexity and zest to the lengthy finish. Finely structured and incredibly cleansing to consume, it’s absolutely lovely,
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Montana New Zealand Collection ‘Big and Buttery’ Gisborne Chardonnay 2018
Montana New Zealand Collection ‘Big and Buttery’ Gisborne Chardonnay 2018 $19 Sipping this chardonnay took me right back to being sixteen in 1990, and sneaking a secret sip of mum’s chardonnay. It was an oak bomb spread over a slab of buttered, citrus-infused shortbread, all tizzied up in a glass. Fast forward 28 years and … Read More
TW Reserve Gisborne Reserve Chardonnay 2018
TW Reserve Gisborne Reserve Chardonnay 2018 $27 Bottled on the 29th March 2019, this chardonnay is shaping up to be quite something special. Ripe, rumpty and ready for action with buckets of roast nectarine, creamy, cashew and almond layers and a plush, juicy mouthfeel. This classic Gisborne chardonnay is a huge crowd-pleaser and ultra-long on … Read More
Zaria Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Zaria Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $30 Crafted by Bryce Edmonds from Mendoza clone fruit grown ‘over the back fence’ of their home on Lesley’s Vineyard on Maraekakaho Road in the middle of the Bridge Pa Triangle. The juice was fermented and matured for 10 months in 33% new oak during which time 100% of it … Read More
Smith & Sheth Cru Mangatahi Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Smith & Sheth Cru Mangatahi Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $60 In a word. Phenomenal. They call the boulders that litter the soils of the Mangatahi sub-region, west of Hastings, ‘Mangatahi swedes’, which is a bit of a dig at the ‘Gimblett Gravels’ or ‘Te Awanga pebbles’ monikers out there. The vines thrive on sun-saturated, … Read More
Mount Michael The Mountaineer Central Otago Pinot Gris 2019
Mount Michael The Mountaineer Central OtagoPinot Gris 2019 $24.99 While it’s been crafted in a ‘dry’ style, this new addition to the Mountaineer range is actually incredibly rich and shows great nashi, apple and peachy intensity on the nose and palate. Clean, precise, focused and flavoursome, it’s perky and pure and has great cellaring potential … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2019
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Arneis 2019 $22 Hailing from northern Italy and nicknamed ‘little rascal’ because of it being notoriously tricky to grow, Guillaume Thomas has given it a very happy home in the limestone and clay soils behind the Te Mata Peak range on the way to Waimarama Beach. Chock full of floral intensity, … Read More
Odyssey Wines Hera Gisborne Chardonnay 2018
Odyssey Wines Hera Gisborne Chardonnay 2018 $70 Hera is winemaker Rebecca Salmond’s flagship chardonnay. Rebecca is a chardonnay obsessive, so if she deems fruit worthy of ‘Hera’ status then chardonnay lovers like me sit up and take notice. Before I launch into telling you how much I love this wine, here’s a quick Greek mythology … Read More
Muré Signature Alsace Pinot Gris 2016
Muré Signature Alsace Pinot Gris 2016 $27 This Alsatian pinot gris kicks and punches like a teenage MMA fighter. Stacked to its chiselled cheekbones with pear, Golden Delicious apples, yuzu mandarin and classic honeysuckle characters, it’s bracing, brisk, and racy to drink and rocks with pear, chorizo, and mint salad. Fact: the Muré property is … Read More
Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $25 Sourced from their ‘Riflemans’ vineyard (which is fast becoming known as a national treasure) this new chardonnay ticks all the boxes for fruit weight, bright acidity, caramelised, coconutty oak and citrus complexity in the mid-palate and finish. It’s richly structured, toasty and shows a whisker of … Read More