Posted: April 5, 2017
Mouthfilling and supple, this youthful, deep ruby wine has plummy, spicy, slightly nutty flavours, showing a hint of tamarillo, and good complexity and depth. Priced right. $24
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick Falloon Block New Zealand Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
From a coastal site in Northland – well north of the Bay of the Islands – this deeply coloured red is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with good depth of fresh plum/spice flavours and a fairly firm finish. $35
Comments Off on Mahinepua Bay Shiraz 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Showing some maturity, this is a Hawke’s Bay blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier. Orange hued, with a hint of apricot, it is crisp, flavoursome and dry, with berry and spice flavours, showing considerable complexity, and a smooth,…
Comments Off on Leveret IQ Rosé NV Methode Traditionnelle NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Fresh and full-bodied, with clearcut varietal character, this is a dryish wine with pear, lychee and spice flavours, showing good depth, and a smooth finish. $20 (A, UK, US)
Comments Off on Invivo Marlborough Pinot Gris 2016 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Fleshy style, grown in the Southern Valleys and blended with a small amount of chardonnay (10%). Mouthfilling, with a hint of sweetness and very good depth of ripe, peachy, slightly gingery and spicy flavours. $20
Comments Off on Gunn Estate Reserve Marlborough Pinot Gris 2016 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Fresh, fruit-driven style, blended from merlot (83%), cabernet sauvignon (11%) and malbec (6%). Full-coloured, with generous, vibrant, plummy, slightly spicy flavours, ripe and smooth. Enjoyable young. $20
Comments Off on Gunn Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Enjoyable young, this partly barrel-aged red is bright ruby, mouthfilling and smooth, with ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, showing some savoury complexity. Drink now or cellar. $25 (A, UK, US)
Comments Off on Black Cottage Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Barrel-fermented, this full-bodied wine has fresh acidity and generous, ripely herbal, slightly nutty flavours. It’s a distinctly cool-climate expression of sauvignon blanc, showing considerable complexity. $30
Comments Off on Bishops Head Waipara Valley Fume Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Light lemon/green, this youthful, medium-bodied wine is a slightly sweet style, with good depth of ripe, citrusy, limey flavours, hints of peaches and passionfruit, fresh acidity and a tight finish. Best drinking mid-2017+. $26
Comments Off on Ataahua Waipara Riesling 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This sturdy, full-flavoured wine was grown at Bannockburn and Pisa, barrel-aged (40% new) and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Still youthful, it is concentrated and savoury, with strong strawberry, spice and dried herb flavours, oak complexity and the structure to age…
Comments Off on Super Nanny Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This dark, purple-flushed red was estate-grown in the Plateau Vineyard and French oak-aged. Mouthfilling, it has strong, plummy flavours, showing some savoury complexity, and gentle tannins, in a seductively rich, smooth style. Enjoyable now. $25
Comments Off on Saint Clair James Sinclair Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Malbec 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Sturdy, Alsace-style pinot gris (blended with 11% gewurztraminer), grown in the Southern Valleys. Fleshy, with strong, ripe, peachy, spicy flavours, gentle acidity and a dryish, rich, rounded finish. Drink now or cellar. $20
Comments Off on Sacred Hill Marlborough Pinot Gris 2016 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Matured for over a year in French oak barrels, this deeply coloured, fruity red is medium to full-bodied, with strong, lively, plum and spice flavours, slightly earthy notes adding complexity, and a fairly firm finish. Best mid-2017+. $40
Comments Off on Peacock Sky Pure Waiheke Island Malbec 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Showing good potential, this youthful, 3:1 blend of merlot and malbec was French oak-aged for over a year. Deeply coloured, it has fresh, smooth, ripe blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, gently seasoned with oak, and firm tannins. $40
Comments Off on Peacock Sky Waiheke Island Merlot Malbec 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Balanced for easy drinking, this Gladstone, Wairarapa wine is fleshy, with generous peach and grapefruit flavours, hints of passionfruit and spices, lively acidity, and lots of drink-young appeal. $22
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Riesling 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Grown in the Wairarapa, this deep ruby, full-bodied red has plum, cherry and spice flavours, hints of herbs and nuts, finely balanced tannins, and good ripeness and concentration. Best drinking 2018+. $34
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Fleshy, ripe and rounded, this estate-grown wine is from Gladstone, in the Wairarapa. It has strong stonefruit and spice flavours, in a dryish style, inviting current drinking or cellaring. $22
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Pinot Gris 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Grown in the Wairarapa, this has a fragrant, slightly buttery and nutty bouquet. The palate is vibrant, with strong, peachy, mealy, slightly toasty flavours, woven with fresh acidity, good complexity, and some potential. Best drinking mid-2017+. $26
Comments Off on Paddy Borthwick New Zealand Chardonnay 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Drinking well now but still unfolding, this ruby hued, moderately youthful red was matured for 18 months in oak barriques (25% new). Fragrant, it has strong, ripe plum, spice and nut flavours, good tannin support and a savoury, earthy complexity….
Comments Off on Mount Brown Grand Reserve Waipara Valley Pinot Noir 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Offering fine value, this wine has good personality. Light lemon/green, it is medium-bodied and tangy, with strong citrus and passionfruit flavours, a hint of oranges, gentle sweetness and lively acidity. Drink now or cellar. (From Pegasus Bay). $21
Comments Off on Main Divide Waipara Valley Riesling 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Estate-grown in Northland at a coastal site well north of the Bay of Islands, this sturdy, boldly coloured red is fresh and fruit-packed, with generous plum and spice flavours, showing good vigour and concentration. $25
Comments Off on Mahinepua Bay Chambourcin 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Still unfolding, this deeply coloured blend is rich, with generous plum, spice and nut flavours. Showing good concentration, with ripe, supple tannins and a well-rounded finish, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition. $22
Comments Off on Leveret Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This fresh, elegant wine offers good value. Mouthfilling and smooth, with a hint of gunflint, it is citrusy and peachy, slightly buttery and toasty, with lively acidity and good complexity and length. Drink now or cellar. $22
Comments Off on Leveret Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Certified organic, this is a mouthfilling, fleshy, soft wine, with slightly sweet, ripe flavours of lychees, peaches and spices. Richly varietal and finely textured, it’s drinking well now, with an inviting perfume. $25 (A, US)
Comments Off on Loveblock Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
From “chief winemaker Graham Norton”, Invivo’s release has a punchy, aromatic bouquet. Medium-bodied, it is vibrantly fruity, with strong, ripe melon, lime and capsicum flavours, a slightly salty streak, a vague suggestion of sweetness and a crisp, lingering finish. $20…
Comments Off on Graham Norton’s Own Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Fresh, ageworthy wine, barrel-fermented with indigenous yeasts. Vibrant and youthful, with peachy, slightly mealy and toasty flavours, showing good complexity, and a slightly buttery, dry, lingering finish. $30
Comments Off on Bishops Head Waipara Valley Chenin Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This is an elegant, tightly structured wine. Barrel-fermented, it is medium to full-bodied, with vibrant, citrusy, slightly buttery flavours, good acid spine, and mealy, biscuity notes adding complexity. Drink now or cellar. $30
Comments Off on Bishops Head Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Delicious young, this estate-grown red was matured for a year in seasoned French oak casks. Fragrant and full-coloured, it is mouthfilling, with fine-grained tannins and a strong surge of fresh plum/blackcurrant flavours. Best drinking mid-2017+. $30
Comments Off on Ataahua Waipara Merlot 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This elegant, youthful red is already enjoyable. Estate-grown at Wanaka and barrel-aged for 10 months (13% new), it has a fragrant, savoury bouquet, leading into a moderately rich wine with ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, showing very good delicacy…
Comments Off on Akitu A2 Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This classy wine is from five sites, in the Awatere and Southern Valleys and at Rapaura, in the Wairau Valley. Fresh and sweet-fruited, it has strong, vibrant melon, lime and green capsicum flavours, a slightly salty streak, a touch of…
Comments Off on Two Rivers of Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This elegant, ageworthy red is full-coloured, mouthfilling and generous, with ripe, sweet-fruit characters. Tightly structured, it is finely balanced, with rich, youthful plum/spice flavours, a hint of dried herbs, and good complexity. Best drinking 2018+. $38 (A, UK, US)
Comments Off on Soho Havana Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Floral and finely textured, this is a mouthfilling, supple, fruit-packed red. Deep ruby, with strong cherry, plum and herb flavours, it is very harmonious, with plenty of drink-young appeal, but also good potential. Best drinking 2018+. $50
Comments Off on Rockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
This elegant, still youthful wine was estate-grown at cool inland sites and barrel-fermented. Light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling and finely poised, with concentrated, grapefruit-like flavours, slightly smoky and toasty notes adding complexity, and a long, tightly structured finish. Best drinking…
Comments Off on Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Punchy and intensely varietal in its youth, this is a medium to full-bodied wine with incisive melon, gooseberry, capsicum and lime flavours, dry, appetisingly crisp and lasting. $20 (A, UK, US)
Comments Off on Invivo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Built to last, this is a tightly structured red, with full, youthful colour and a fragrant bouquet, suggestive of spices and dried herbs. Concentrated, it has plummy, nutty flavours, complex and savoury, and a persistent finish. $40 (A, UK)
Comments Off on Domain Road Central Otago Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2013 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Complex, very youthful wine, hand-picked and barrel-fermented. Light lemon/green, with mouthfilling body and concentrated, ripe grapefruit/lime flavours, seasoned with nutty oak. Tightly structured, with excellent vigour, depth and potential. $31 (A)
Comments Off on Catalina Sounds Sound of White Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
‘Serious’ but delicious, this estate-grown wine was made from pinot noir grapes. Pale pink, it is full-bodied, with excellent depth of fresh strawberry, peach, spice and apricot flavours, a sliver of sweetness, gentle tannins and plenty of personality. $26
Comments Off on Ataahua Waipara Rosé 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Fragrant, with a slightly buttery bouquet, this is a high-flavoured, sweet-fruited wine, barrel-fermented and given a full, softening malolactic fermentation. Mouthfilling, with generous, peachy, slightly spicy and mealy flavours, a hint of butterscotch and good complexity, it is well worth…
Comments Off on Ataahua Waipara Chardonnay 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Lovely rich stalky cherry characters on the nose which are echoed on the palate and merging with licorice-like elements.
Comments Off on Wise Leaf Series Great Southern Pinot Noir 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Aromas of sultanas with a pleasant maltiness. Nicely balanced and flavoursome palate. Has good freshness.
Comments Off on St Leonards Vineyard Classic Rutherglen Muscat NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
An older slippery sweeter style of muscat that’s all dark and chocolaty on the nose and hot and grippy in the mouth.
Comments Off on Baileys Founder Series Classic Glenrowan Muscat NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Lovely lush fruit cake-like bouquet with a slight malty touch. More of the fruit cake characters on the lovely creamy palate.
Comments Off on Buller Wines Fine Old Rutherglen Muscat NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Musky nose with slight menthol touch and a simple grippy Turkish Delight-like palate.
Comments Off on All Saints Estate Rutherglen Muscat NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
The nose is “an Earl Gray tea box”, according to one judge with spices and raisins. Warm lingering mouthfilling flavours.
Comments Off on Baileys Classic Glenrowan Topaque NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
A fresh style with a malty nose showing hints of citrus rind. Rich spicy raisined palate.
Comments Off on Buller Wines Fine Old Rutherglen Tokay NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Nose described as, “a mix of tea and honeycomb”. Luscious, balanced simple fruit palate.
Comments Off on All Saints Estate Rutherglen Muscadelle NV / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Nose shows hints of roast lamb, herbs and leather. Palate is rich with lovely fruit flavours.
Comments Off on Rutherglen Estates Rutherglen Shiraz 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
A very pretty feminine style of shiraz with a floral fragrances and spicy red fruit flavours. Good tannin/oak support.
Comments Off on Baileys Organic Glenrowan Shiraz 2015 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Pleasant floral red berry aromas and a warm and flavoursome palate with nice varietal fruit evident. Good drinking.
Comments Off on Ciavarella King Valley Shiraz Viognier 2012 / 0 View / April 5, 2017
Posted: April 5, 2017
Pretty aromatic bouquet with a lean lightweight palate. Viognier influence obvious.
Comments Off on Scion Vineyard Estate Grown Rutherglen Durif Viognier 2014 / 0 View / April 5, 2017