This Gewurztraminer shows notes of mango, ginger, nutmeg and rose petal on the nose. The palate is powerful, with fruit flavours supporting a smooth flowing structure that lingers in the mouth.

Plush, smooth and full of ripe red plum flavours, this wine is made with grapes grown a vineyard formed on the ancient riverbed of a river that once carried rock from the steep Ruahine ranges and deposited masses of free-draining gravel which is locally known as red metal. This is a plush wine from a very good vintage and punches well above its weight. Juicy ripe berry flavours from the Merlot are balanced by grunty darker earthy elements from the Franc.

Dry, flinty, full bodied and creamy with flavoursome ripe apple and honey notes. This Hawke's Bay Chenin Blanc is sure to please both Chardonnay lovers and those who like crisp dry whites without all the bells and whistles too; it successfully straddles a diverse array of wine style thanks to clever winemaking from Rod Easthope, sources grapes from the Two Terraces Vineyard, inland in the Bay and owned by Chenin devotee Ian Quin..

Chenin BLanc is one of the least planted but most promising white grapes in New Zealand and is also one of the world's most versatile, thanks to the wide range of wines that can be made from it - from light to full bodied, still to sparkling and dry to lusciously sweet.

This Chenin Blanc comes from Hawke's Bay winemaker Rod Easthope, who used old barrels to ferment this Chenin, which adds body, weight and savouryness. It drinks well now and can definitely age further too, thanks to the grape's naturally high acidity, which acts as a preservative.

Exceptional fruit purity, concentration and complexity are the hallmarks of this wine. The result is a concentrated, rich Chardonnay with good length, weight and texture showing nutty and citrus characters. 

- Elephant Hill 

Exceptional half bottle of deliciousness from an unlikely corner of the country, Matakana, which is one of the smallest wine regions in New Zealand and situated north of Auckland. This wine is made by Toby Gillman, who fell in love with the idea of making wine after he spent his first student allowance on a bottle of Matakana red. 

He and his father John volunteered to work at the iconic Providence vineyard in Matakana on weekends, and later set up their own vineyard, which is home to the Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec grapes that go into this little half bottle of deliciousness. 

We really enjoyed tasting the concentrated cassis and blackcurrant flavours in this six year old red, which is an outstanding wine to drink now, and has further potential for aging. Its weight, richness of flavour and big but smooth tannins all show impeccable balance for a high quality red based on a classic Bordeaux right bank style.

Smith & Sheth Cabernet Franc is made from the Howell Vineyard in Bridge Pa, Hawke’s Bay, and tastes of soft, smooth vanilla, impressive rich dark blueberries and blackberries. It’s one of those wines with great concentration and fantastic length, a full body that suggests fabulous potential to age, but who knows? How often do we get to taste aged Cabernet Franc, after all? Here’s a good reason to stash some under the bed for 10 years to find out. 

This wine is made from hand picked grapes grown in the Bridge Pa region of Hawke's Bay on silty clay soils that lie over free draining red gravel. The wine was aged in French oak for 12 months, 50% of which was new oak. It has great structure as a result and represents an outstanding expression of one of New Zealand's lesser known grape varieties, Cabernet Franc, which makes up just 93 hectares of the country's total vineyard area today - a drop of nearly 50% from 2000 when there were 161 hectares. A sad decline, despite the growing quality of wines made from this outstanding grape variety.

100% hand-picked Chardonnay, crushed and pressed into old Burgundian French oak barrels for wild yeast fermentation until dry. The wine was matured in barrel for 14-16 months during which time it underwent full malolactic fermentation.

This is a complex Chardonnay with multiple layers of ripe fruit and richness, along with a chalky minerality on the nose. The palate combines fruit weight and balanced acidity with a tight yet generous structure. This is followed by a long lingering pithy citrus finish with and hints of savouriness.

This is a deep-maroon red wine. The nose is refreshing and complex with herb and spice coupled with savoury earthy notes of mushroom, dark chocolate and toasted wood. The palate is concentrated in flavour but well resolved in structure with an excellent silky texture. Dark berry and herb and licorice notes on the palate meet cedar and light smoke, with gentle mouth-coating tannins.

Tempranillo is one of the world’s most popular on trend red grapes at the moment and it’s easy to taste why in this earthy little bottle of deliciously full bodied goodness. 

New on our Under $25 stand now – pop in for a bottle or half a case.

Full bodied French Viognier from the south, which is affordable and beautifully well balanced, thanks to its peachy aromas and zingy dry palate structure. This wine highlights Viognier at its best; dry and rich but also with complex nutty notes, wich is no mean feat at this price. This wine is made with grapes grown in three French wine regions; on the Massif Central, the Mediterranean and the French Alps. This combination provides balance to the fleshy, full bodied appeal of peachy Viognier. This wine was aged for six months on lees in concrete tanks. 

It is also refreshingly varietally labelled.

A lovely addition to Viognier lover's wine glasses in New Zealand.

Mendel Winery embodies the union of Roberto de la Mota - one of Argentina’s most respected and experienced winemakers - with an established Argentine family. Together they are dedicated to producing wines of unquestionable superior quality expressing the quality and character of their very old Malbec vineyards in Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.

Parker's Wine Advocate, Luis Guttierrez (2017 vintage)

"The approachable, creamy and expressive 2017 Lunta Malbec has notes of ripe berries and a touch of beeswax, pollen and honey that I find in many Mediterranean wines. This comes from the classical zone of Mendoza, and in 2017, the grapes achieved good ripeness; it's juicy and with a soft palate. Some 60% of the volume matured in barrique because the year delivered wines with more structure and winemaker Roberto de la Mota thought it needed a little bit more of élevage. A textbook example of a classical Malbec from Mendoza. 85,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2019."

Vinous, Stephen Tanzer (2017 vintage)

"Bright ruby-red. Somewhat inky scents and flavors of black and red fruits and licorice pastille, lifted by herbs. Slightly bound-up but there's excellent dark fruit intensity here, not to mention good density and a fine-grained texture for the price. Roberta de la Mota makes this wine from very old vines (roughly 90 years) in riverbed alluvial soils at the base of the Lunlunta foothills behind his winery in Mayor Drummond."

Dry, flinty, lemon scented and with a savoury edge, Verdicchio is arguably Italy's greatest white grape - and definitely its best known top white wine, even if it is does not typically tend to travel far. 

San Lorenzo is an Italian wine producer in the Marché region on the east coast of central Italy, and the producer of this superb Verdicchio from the Marché region on Central Italy's Adriatic Coast.  

Durif, also known as Petit Sirah is a red wine grape variety known for making juicy, plummy, tannic wines. The McManis Petite Sirah is bright, yet deep purple colour. The nose is ripe and fruity, with aromas of blackberry, toffee and a touch of clove. On the palate the wine is rich with dark berry flavours. This is a great example of a lesser known grape variety.

Bright cherry colour with some violet nuances. In the nose, red berries aromas. This red wine shows an elegance in the mouth, yet very lively, with some spice back notes and a very balanced acidity.

This Crianza is made with a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha & Mazuelo and aged for a minimum of two years, with at least one year in oak barrels.

Chenin Blanc is the most popular grape in South Africa and it classically over delivers with great freshness and depth of flavour. Its naturally high acidity is softened in this wine with a rounded textural mouthfeel, citrus characters marrying harmoniously with ripe pears and stony, complex aromas that add interest.

Mullineux was established in 2007, when Chris and Andrea Mullineux settled in the Swartland wine region, 60 kilometers north of Cape Town. Within a very short time the winery established itself as one of South Africa?s most celebrated wine brands, both locally and on the international front. 

By 2020 the winery had received 30 five star ratings from Platter?s South African Wine Guide.