Vilaura Hawke’s Bay Methode Traditionelle Extra Brut Blanc de Blanc 2019 $65 Impeccably stylish. It’s crafted from 100% clone 95 chardonnay grapes by sparkling wine specialists Jascha Oldham-Selak and his partner Sanne Witteveen and it’s immensely tasty. Lifted and citrus scented, it’s accentuated with clean apple, lemon shortbread characters, creamy cashew notes and boasts generosity, … Read More
Aces and Arrows Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021
Aces and Arrows Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $27 Stu Marfel is the group winemaker for Pernod-Ricard New Zealand and he’s opted to give his regional winemaking team a bit of freedom to get creative with the fruit they know best. Craig from Hawke’s Bay has opted to use his favourite grapes sourced from the Bridge … Read More
Aces and Arrows Greg’s Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
Aces and Arrows Greg’s Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 $27 Lifted and plummy, with a solid cherry spine, this wine is designed by winemaker Jamie Marfell in conjunction with his team of regional winemakers to celebrate their individual talents and creativity, hence why this is named after ‘Greg’ in Central Otago. This pinot is wild … Read More
Bryterlater Still Life North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2022
Bryterlater Still Life North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2022 $39.99 With its scorched capsicum nose, compacted lawn clippings, bruised basil and lime layers on the nose and palate, it’s a complex, high-acid, fun, feral style. Barrel fermented then aged on lees for a further 10 months, the clear wine then has a portion of its lees … Read More
Michael Cooper’s Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wines Comes To An End
Well, this is truly the end of an era. Michael, thank you. For the last 30 years I’ve been poring over your annual Buyer’s Guides. They’ve formed an enormous part of my wine education and appreciation journey and I was crestfallen when they moved from print to online. Now I’m feeling that way again. I … Read More
Csânyi Teleki Villanyi Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Csânyi Teleki Villanyi Cabernet Sauvignon $27 If you’d told me ten years ago that one day I’d be roaring from the rooftops that Hungarian cabernet sauvignon was going to be my superstar sip, I’d have told you to rack off noddy, Yet that was before this wine by Csányi Pincészet landed on my desk. With … Read More
Csânyi Teleki Villanyi Merlot 2019
Csânyi Teleki Villanyi Merlot 2019 $27 If you’re a merlot nut, or simply merlot-curious, you might be excited to know that you don’t have to stick with the same old styles from our local heat-traps, finally, we have access to a really interesting style from Hungary! Super-earthy, dusted with cocoa powder, blueberry and brick dust, … Read More
Csânyi Teleki Villanyi Kekfrankos 2019
Csânyi Teleki Villanyi Kékfrankos 2019 $27 Lifted, earthy aromatics, brick dust and blueberries, cocoa powder and hints of beefy gamey complexity follow and then saturate the palate. From Hungary, the tannins are fleshy, and smooth, and there’s an almost creamy, savoury character running through it. Kékfrankos is an Austro-Hungarian variety grown widely across the Carpathian … Read More
Dame Diesel Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
Dame Diesel Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 $28.50 If the Gorillaz band were going to release a wine label commemorating their GenX wives, this would be it. She looks like a woman very much in need of a glass of wine. This North Otago-grown pinot is lightly-styled and redolent of rhubarb, wild cherry, red berry … Read More
Nockies Palette Waitaki Pinot Gris 2023
Nockie’s Palette Waitaki Pinot Gris 2023 $32 Bracingly fresh and showing classic chalky, nashi and yellow plum characters, this snappy-dry pinot gris is grown in one of the toughest places in the world to grow grapes, Waitaki, on the South Canterbury-North Otago border, on the banks of the Waitaki River. Textural, mineral-driven and creamy on … Read More