Six of the world's greatest wine regions are represented in our new imports, selected by store manager, Matt King and I, who were both lucky enough to have tasted them, along with a vast range of other wines, on Thursday 12 March. 

It was our last structured day of meetings and tastings with many of our regular suppliers, so it's fantastic to have these wines available now, especially with the Covid-19 Alert level 4 lockdown in place. The store is closed but our online sales are open because the Government does consider wine to be an essential service.

So you can go shopping for these wines by emailing our 

warehouse manager: stefan@regionalwines.co.nz

 

German Pinot Gris from the Pfalz region

2017 Stepp Pinot Gris $29.99

Here is a wine to restore anyone's faith in dry Pinot Gris without botrytis or residual sugar for effect. This wine has a slight spritzy character, which adds interest to its savoury flavours. The fermentation began with wild yeast and total sulphur is low. The wine was bottled straight from its lees to retain freshness, so there was no fining or filtration.

New organic Pinot Noir from Marlborough

2018 Novum Pinot Noir Marlborough $43.99

You could say this is the ultimate insider's wine. It's a new brand made by highly experienced Marlborough winemaker William Hoare, who was the original winemaker and then GM at Fromm. Novum is his new brand. It is named after the Roman word 'novum', meaning new. The grapes are from Dog Point's Settlement Vineyard, which is certified organic. It's tight, youthful, medium bodied, silky in texture and will age superbly.

 

Maverick Langhe Hills red blend

2017 Gaja Sito Moresco Langhe $76.99

"Amazing wine of power," I wrote in my notes after tasting this typically maverick blend of Nebbiolo with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the great Gaja family in Barbaresco, in Piemonte, north west Italy. This wine is produced along biodynamic guidelines and is named after the site of Moresco, hence Sito Moresco; a reference to the previous owner of the vineyard, to whom Angelo Gaja and his daughter, Gaia Gaja both want to pay tribute. 

On the face of things, it can sometimes seems at odds with the strong personalities of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo to blend them both together, but it works in this wine because both get to express themselves, with Merlot adding  a ripe juiciness.

Barolo from the Gaja family

2015 Gaja Dagromis Barolo $139.99

The Gaja family bought two vineyards in Barolo 1995 from a family named Gromis, hence the name of the wine - Da Gromis, which is Italian for 'at home with the Gromis family'. One of the vineyards is in Serralunga, adjacent to the Sperss vineyard, while the other is in La Morra, adjacent to the Conteisa vineyard. Grapes from each are fermented separately then aged for 12 months in oak, then blended and aged for a further 18 months in large oak. This is a stellar wine from one of Piemonte's great producers.

Biodynamic Rhone red

2017 Lunar Apogee Lirac Rouge $38.99

This wine has biodynamic certification with Demeter and is a dark and complex dry red made from 50% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre and 25% Syrah. It's an outstanding new brand in store and in this country. The Lirac appellation is famous for its high quality southern Rhone Valley reds as well as dry pale rosés. 

Next level Spanish Cava

Privat Rosé Brut Nature Cava $30.99

Cava is one of the greatest value for money traditional method bubblies in the world. It's made the same way as Champagne, although usually typically aged for about half the length of time in the bottle (9 months), which means it retains yeasty flavours and tends to taste lighter in body. This one is an exception to the usual rule, thanks to being bone dry, medium bodied and richly flavoursome - it's made with two of the three Champagne grapes, Pinot Noir (hence its pink colour) and Chardonnay. Fab newcomer to Regional. We love it.

To order these wines email our warehouse manager: 

stefan@regionalwines.co.nz