The star of the Médoc, Cabernet Sauvignon is given pride of place in this French expression of a classic left bank Bordeaux red blend. Its structured body provides a beautiful wintery night's red to enjoy by the fire with cheddar and great company. 

This is a wine made for drinking now or over the next two to three years. 

Now owned by the renowned sherry producer Gonzalez Byass, Bodegas Beronia was created in 1973 by a wine and food club and is now considered a benchmark Rioja house.

A deep picota cherry red colour with a garnet edge, this wine is clean and bright. It is complex on the nose, with aromas of cherry and raspberry standing out, complemented by herbal notes - rosemary and thyme - and hints of cinnamon and tobacco. Very fresh and tantalising on the palate, this wine displays a plethora of flavours, the most prominent of which are the confected notes of vanilla and chocolate.

This regional blend of Burgundian Pinot Noir is new in store and impressive with its clean, fresh, savoury flavours, which underpin its lively red fruit and juicy acidity. This is beautiful drinking right now with firm tannins and adding depth to the mid palate and length of flavour to the finish. 

Good drinking now or in the next two to three years.

Grapes: Monastrell (Mourvèdre), Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah

93/100 Wine Spectator

“Bright cherry, berry and currant flavours mingle with liquorice, black tea and mineral notes, giving way to a floral and minerally finish. The firm tannins are well-integrated and juicy acidity keeps this lively.” 

Tasting Note: Intense cherry-red colour with violet shades. Delicate black fruit aroma with high roast and smoky features. Structured, subtle and smart palate, ripe appetising and a sweet tannins marked by elegance.

Winemaking Notes: This wine is the result of a rigorous selection process, choosing only the best grapes from the Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon variety. The grapes were harvested in the third week of October at their optimum ripening point in 15 kg boxes. The selected fruit was chosen by the same wise hands that did it the previous year. The grapes corresponding to each variety were macerated in contact with the skin and fermented for 20/30 days at a controlled temperature of 28oC. It has spent 12 months in new french and american oak barrels.

Pale, dry pink wines are all the rage right now from all over the world, and this Portuguese example is made from more than 10 different indigenous Portuguese and international grape varieties, including Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional. Together these grapes provide complex red berry aromas with savoury notes of herbs and fresh lees influence from light aging prior to release. 

A great match with all seafood.

The lovely dry French rose comes from a great wine producer called Astralabe, a name that is extremely familiar to New Zealanders, only this producer is completely underelated to our own Astrolabe wines. 

Chene Bleu Rose is a relatively new wine brand at Regional from an exciting, high altitude vineyard in Vaucluse, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Cotes-d'Azur. All of the wines are certified organic with the EU and made to exactly quality standards. Hand picked grapes, double sorted in the vineyard, tiny yields and obvious high quality flavours are just some of the reasons to drink these wines.

This dry rose more than lives up to the promise of a refreshing southern French wine and it's made mostly from the Grenache grape which is blended here with Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre and Rolle - also known in Italy as Vermentino.

This is a great French rose to serve chilled and enjoy with salads on a warm summer day.

A complex wine with red fruit flavours. Big, elegant and ripe tannin structures. Will over time show more secondary and forest floor characteristics.

Another cracker from South Africa's master craftsman Duncan Savage. This is a blend of Cinsaut, Grenache and Syrah from Citrusdal Mountain in the Olifants River Valley, Western Cape. This is a pretty wine real depth and sees 70% whole clusters in the ferment. 

"The wine shows a real individuality and personality with bright fragrant violet perfume, sappy spicy peppery raspberry and redcurrant confit complexity, hints of sun raisined cranberries, cured bresaola, boiled raspberry sweets and wild strawberries. The palate weight is soft and sensual, combining the best of both Grenache and Cinsault to form an impressively harmonious, silky soft sappy red blend. The wine seems to grow exponentially in the glass, unfurling and unravelling to reveal layers of strawberry jam, raspberry compote and Turkish delight all framed with bright crystalline acids that really amplify the wines purity, minerality and sense of place.

Such a pretty wine with the sleekest and most polished tannins and a mellow fruit intensity. Despite its eminent drinkability in youth, this is no frivolous ?vin de soif? and could just maybe, over time, acquire a similar cult following to that of Duncan?s excellent Cinsault-dominated Follow The Line red from Darling. A very confident debut!" Drink from 2018 to 2028+. (93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

This cuvee is made up of a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, from the Garrigues plateau located near the village of Sarrians. This wine is highly perfumed with aromas of ripe red berries and smoky minerality. The generous palate offers intense red berry and lavender flavors and a touch of white pepper.

If Chenin has fallen off your fine wine drinking radar, try this fabulous French example, made from grapes grown on soils of flint and limestone. Flavours of fresh green apples, honey and citrus all combine in every beautifully balanced sip of this outstanding Loire Valley Chenin Blanc from top producer, Bernard Fouquet. 

This classic French rose is pale, dry and hails from Provence. It is pronounced ‘X’ and, yes, its flavour more than hits the spot if you love the flavours of refreshing dry pink wine from the Mediterranean - and let's face it, who doesn't?

This wine comes from the historical city of Aix-en-Provence and tastes of red fruit flavours such as summer berries, held together by a medium body and zingy finish. Its label features two Mandarin ducks, which are birds who famously stay together for life. 

Lively new Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough with smoothness and interesting textural mouthfeel from a portion (1%) of barrel fermentation and 8% wild yeast ferment both adding complexity to the vibrant fruity appeal. 

Tropical aromas and creamy notes add complexity to this wine, which drinks beautifully now with fresh fish and can age for three to five years. 

Vines between the sea and the mountains make for a romantic story and the raw ingredients that go into this distinctively dry and complex Sauvignon Blanc. 

It comes from a vineyard at Kekerengu, south of Blenheim. It is the most southern vineyard in the Marlborough region. 

All of the grapes in this wine were hand picked and fermented in stainless steel to full dryness. The wine's flavours are fresh, light, herbal and succulent with a salty tang on the finish, which lingers, refreshingly, long after the last sip. 

This is a different take on the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc theme, which will appeal to those looking for the next layer of flavour as well as fans of fruit forward Sauvignon Blanc. Here's a wine that combines both complexity with recognisable appeal. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

This Black Estate Home Pinot Noir was grown on the Home Vineyard located in North Canterbury on a north facing sedimentary clay fan on a gentle hill side slope.

Deep ruby in the glass with perfumed, alluring open and fresh berry fruits, earth, custard and sandalwood on the nose. Supple sensual fruit on the palate with supporting tannin. offering a soft, structural, crisp and mineral experience. 

Winery's notes...

A stylish Hawke's Bay blend that has chartered our way, a wine with a strong character and a strong following. Blended from the best blocks from our estate, we use a variety of clones, each block fermented then matured in oak barrels as stand alone parcels. After 12 months initial maturation, each barrel was tasted and scored with only the best making the cut for The Navigator. Softly concentrated with deep and dense aromas of plush red fruits, cocoa, spice and cedar, the palate is medium-full bodied with rich and succulent flavours. 

The long finish and fine tannins make this an ideal accompaniment for your beef dishes, richly flavoured foods and cheeses. 

Merlot 34%, Cabernet Sauvignon 31%, Cabernet Franc 19%, Malbec 16%