Posted: April 26, 2017
Beautiful bouquet; a touch grassy. Some tropical fruit sweetness on the palate with the acid holding up well.
Comments Off on Lawson’s Dry Hills Wairau Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
A classy wine beautifully balanced with very subtle tropical-like varietal fruit that shows a floral lift and has a good line of acidity.
Comments Off on Tomich Wines Woodside Vineyard Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2016 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Great punchy style with intense tropical aromas showing a touch of green and good depth of lemon and lime fruit flavours. Lots of acidity.
Comments Off on Ara Single Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Complex nose – nicely textured. Good palate structure with some sweet fruit notes remaining.
Comments Off on Giesen The Fuder Matthews Lane Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Holding up well with nice asparagus and tropical fruit characters. Drinking beautifully now. A great food wine!
Comments Off on Giesen The Brothers Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Limited aromas; subtle citrus and tropics notes. Lifted palate with tropical flavour expression.
Comments Off on Giesen Organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Big rich chocolaty wine that has lots of jubey blackcurrant fruit characters, some nice spiciness and good overall structure.
Comments Off on Mollydooker Two Left Feet McLaren Vale Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Lovely brooding plum and fresh oak bouquet. Beautiful chocolaty palate with great depth of the very rich varietal fruit characters.
Comments Off on Mollydooker The Maitre’D McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Still on sale, this South Auckland red is maturing very gracefully. Like a decent Bordeaux, it is savoury, with moderately rich plum, spice and nut flavours, developing good complexity.
Comments Off on Cliff Edge Awhitu Merlot Cabernet Franc 2009 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This lively wine is from young, estate-grown vines in ‘New Zealand’s most coastal vineyard’ at Seaview, in the lower Awatere Valley. Pink and smooth, it has fresh, red berry flavours to the fore, hints of spices and herbs, balanced acidity…
Comments Off on Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Marlborough Rosée Awatere Valley Rosé 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Grown at Gladstone, this single-vineyard Wairarapa wine is fresh and citrusy, in a youthful, slightly sweet style with lively acidity and good flavour depth. Best drinking mid-2016+.
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Riesling 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Grown near Cromwell and oak-aged for six months, this ruby hued, mouthfilling red has generous, ripe cherry and plum flavours. A moderately complex style with gentle acidity and a smooth finish, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition.
Comments Off on Toi Toi Clutha Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Fine value North Canterbury red, full-bodied, generous and smooth. Bright ruby, with good depth of cherry, plum, dried herb and spice flavours. Softly textured, with some complexity, it’s already enjoyable and should be at its best 2016+. (From Limestone Creek,…
Comments Off on Thistle Ridge Waipara Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Still very youthful, this pale pink wine was made from hand-picked grapes, with some use of barrel fermentation. Medium-bodied, it has fresh, gentle strawberry, peach and spice flavours, showing a touch of complexity, and a crisp, dry finish.
Comments Off on Spy Valley Pinot Noir Marlborough Rosé 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This estate-grown wine was hand-harvested at Kina and matured for 11 months in French oak barriques (25% new). Bright ruby, it has good depth of cherry, plum, spice and dried herb flavours, with savoury notes adding complexity, and a moderately…
Comments Off on Renato Nelson Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This rare wine (70 cases) was estate-grown in the Wairarapa and made by Paddy Borthwick, an ‘intuitive, impulsive’, right-handed vigneron. Showing light, slightly developed colour, it is fairly similar to its Left Hand stablemate (above), but slightly more herbal, in…
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick Right Hand New Zealand Pinot Noir 2011 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Enjoyable young, this is a light ruby red, with moderately concentrated, ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, a hint of dried herbs, some savoury complexity, and a well-rounded finish.
Comments Off on Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This youthful, medium-bodied wine is citrusy, slightly biscuity and buttery, in a cool-climate style with fresh acidity and a creamy texture. Best drinking mid-2016+.
Comments Off on Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Medium-bodied style with pear, lemon and spice flavours and a touch of complexity from fermentation in tanks and oak puncheons. Elegant, hand-picked style, currently quite youthful and restrained; open 2016+.
Comments Off on Greystone Waipara Valley Pinot Gris 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Still unfolding, this deep ruby, mouthfilling red has very good depth of ripe plum and spice flavours, showing some nutty complexity, and finely balanced tannins. Worth cellaring.
Comments Off on Goldwater Wairau Valley Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Aromatic, fresh and lively, this youthful, light-bodied wine was hand-picked at 19.8 brix and made in an off-dry style (7.3 grams/litre residual sugar). Racy, with very good depth of lemon/lime flavours and a slightly minerally thread, it’s well worth cellaring;…
Comments Off on Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Martinborough Riesling 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This floral, supple red was grown at three sites in the Awatere Valley and matured for nine months in French oak barriques (30% new). Light ruby, it is an elegant style with moderately concentrated berry, plum, spice and dried herb…
Comments Off on Awatere River by Louis Vavasour Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This powerful red is full-coloured and sweet-fruited, with strong, plummy, spicy flavours and finely balanced tannins. Full-bodied and concentrated, it’s well worth cellaring.
Comments Off on Vavasour Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Drinking well now, this blend of Awatere Valley and Wairau Valley grapes was partly barrel-fermented. Mouthfilling and smooth, it has generous, ripely herbaceous flavours, with a hint of green capsicums, a very subtle oak influence, lees-aging notes adding complexity and…
Comments Off on Toi Toi Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This deep ruby, sturdy, savoury wine is named after the Rapaura series of soils, rather than the district in the Wairau Valley. A single-vineyard red, it is full-bodied, with ripe plum and spice flavours, revealing good complexity, and a moderately…
Comments Off on Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
From the north side of the Wairau Valley, this is a classic Rapaura style, with ripe, tropical fruit aromas and flavours. Crisp and punchy, with good freshness, vigour and intensity, it should be in top form this summer.
Comments Off on Stoneleigh Latitude Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Currently slightly oaky, this youthful Ure Valley wine was hand-picked and fermented and lees-aged for 10 months in French oak barriques (25% new). It is mouthfilling, with fresh, citrusy, peachy, toasty flavours, strong, vibrant and well-rounded. Open mid-2016+.
Comments Off on Saint Clair Pioneer Block 4 Sawcut Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Still unfolding, this partly hand-harvested wine was fermented and lees-aged for 10 months in American oak barrels (50% new) and given a full, softening malolactic fermentation. Full-bodied, it has rich, peachy, citrusy flavours, seasoned with sweet oak, and a well-rounded…
Comments Off on Saint Clair Omaka Reserve Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Made in a full-bodied, dry style (4.5 grams/litre residual sugar), this single-vineyard, Brancott Valley wine was tank-fermented and lees-aged. It is mouthfilling, with fresh, youthful pear, lychee and spice flavours, showing very good vigour and depth. It’s still unfolding; open…
Comments Off on Saint Clair Godfrey’s Creek Reserve Marlborough Pinot Gris 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Already drinking well, this amber hued, single-vineyard dessert wine was hand-picked and handled entirely in tanks. A strongly botrytised style, it is sweet but not super-sweet (97 grams/litre residual sugar), with a nectareous bouquet, good acid spine and rich apricot…
Comments Off on Saint Clair Godfrey’s Creek Reserve Noble (375 ml) Marlborough Pinot Gris 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Light gold, with a spicy, honeyed bouquet, this is a single-vineyard wine, hand-picked in the Wairau Valley. Delicious young, it is medium to full-bodied, in a vividly varietal style with abundant sweetness (161 grams/litre residual sugar), gentle acidity and peachy,…
Comments Off on Saint Clair Godfrey’s Creek Reserve Marlborough Gewurztraminer (375ml) 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This sturdy, full-flavoured wine was estate-grown at Kina, hand-picked and barrel-fermented. Pale straw, it is mouthfilling, with peachy, slightly biscuity flavours, showing very good depth and complexity, a hint of butterscotch, fresh acidity and some potential. Best drinking mid-2016+.
Comments Off on Renato Nelson Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This mouthfilling, generous and supple red was estate-grown in the Wairarapa. Full, bright ruby, it has strong, plummy, slightly herbal and nutty flavours, showing good complexity, and gentle tannins. Already enjoyable, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition.
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
From Gladstone, in the Wairarapa, this mouthfilling wine is peachy and dry, with generous stonefruit flavours, woven with fresh acidity, slightly buttery notes and excellent body, texture and harmony. Drink now or cellar.
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Pinot Gris 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Estate-grown in the Wairarapa, this rare wine (70 cases) gave left-handed winemaker Braden Crosby the chance to express his ‘logical, precise’ approach. Bright, light ruby, it is a ‘feminine’ style, with plum, cherry, spice and nut flavours, showing good complexity…
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick Left Hand New Zealand Pinot Noir 2011 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This fragrant, fleshy wine is powerful (14.5% alcohol) and creamy-textured, in an Alsace style with a sliver of sweetness, balanced acidity, and strong stonefruit and spice flavours. Drink now onwards.
Comments Off on Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Pinot Gris 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Scented, mouthfilling and crisp, this single-vineyard, Cromwell Basin wine was fermented in a 50/50 split of tanks and seasoned French barrels, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Made in an off-dry style, it is fresh and youthful, with tightly structured peach,…
Comments Off on Maori Point Central Otago Pinot Gris 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This high-flavoured wine was hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and barrel-aged for a year. Pale yellow, it is mouthfilling, with ripe, peachy, mealy flavours, hints of toast and butterscotch, and impressive complexity, harmony and length. Drink now or cellar.
Comments Off on Kalex Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2013 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Instantly appealing, this light (9.5 per cent alcohol), gently sweet style was grown at Bendigo, in the Cromwell Basin. Tangy, ripe, peachy and slightly spicy, it has good concentration and harmony, in a very expressive style, enjoyable young.
Comments Off on Kalex Central Otago Riesling 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Instantly appealing, this mouthfilling (14.5 per cent alcohol) wine is very smooth, with fresh, ripely herbaceous aromas and flavours, stonefruit notes, some oak-derived complexity, and lots of youthful impact.
Comments Off on Brancott Estate Letter Series ‘R’ Marlborough Sauvignon Gris 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This elegant, youthful wine was partly oak-aged. Fleshy, with a slightly creamy texture, it has good weight and depth of pear, lychee and spice flavours, showing a touch of oak-derived complexity, and excellent delicacy and harmony.
Comments Off on Awatere River by Louis Vavasour Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This mouthfilling, high-flavoured wine was fermented and matured in French oak casks (25% new). Already drinking well but worth cellaring, it has good concentration of fresh, peachy, toasty flavours, a hint of butterscotch, and firm acid spine. Best drinking mid-2016+.
Comments Off on Awatere River by Louis Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This classy young red was grown in the Holtzmann Vineyard, 320 metres above sea level at Gibbston, and matured for a year in French oak barriques (25 per cent new). Deep ruby, it is mouthfilling, with generous cherry, plum and…
Comments Off on Yealands Estate Winemaker’s Reserve Gibbston Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This fragrant, classy young wine was hand-picked, barrel-fermented and oak-aged for nearly a year. Light lemon/green; it is tightly structured, with impressive depth of peachy, slightly toasty flavours, showing good complexity, and a lingering finish. Well worth cellaring, it offers…
Comments Off on Spy Valley Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This classy wine was grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley, and fermented and lees-aged for 10 months in new French oak barriques. Mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with fresh, biscuity oak strongly in evidence, it has generous, peachy, citrusy…
Comments Off on Saint Clair Pioneer Block 11 Cell Block Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This stylish wine was estate-grown in the Omaka Valley and fermented and lees-aged for 10 months in French oak barrels (50% new). Mouthfilling, it is still youthful, with concentrated, peachy, citrusy, slightly biscuity and smoky flavours, good complexity, balanced acidity…
Comments Off on Saint Clair Pioneer Block 10 Twin Hills Marlborough Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This single-vineyard, Cromwell Basin red is full-bodied and rich. Matured for 16 months in French oak barrels (40 per cent new), and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it has deep, bright colour. Savoury, with strong, ripe, plummy, spicy flavours, good complexity,…
Comments Off on Maori Point Central Otago Pinot Noir 2013 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Deep ruby, mouthfilling and supple, this classy young red was hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for 11 months in French oak barriques (28% new). Silky-textured, it has strong, ripe plum and spice flavours, with a hint of dried…
Comments Off on Greystone Waipara Valley Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This mouthfilling, elegant wine was hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak (20% new), and given a full, softening malolactic fermentation. Very fresh and finely balanced, it has rich, pure, citrusy, slightly peachy flavours, gently seasoned with oak, good…
Comments Off on Greystone Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Full of youthful vigour, this richly varietal red was hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for nine months in French oak barriques (33 per cent new). Deep ruby, it is mouthfilling, vibrant and supple, with very good concentration of…
Comments Off on Glasnevin Limited Release Waipara Valley Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 26, 2017