Terrazes Malbec is one of our favourite Argentinian reds and is made from grapes grown at over 1000 metres above sea level. The vineyard was planted by Moet & Chandon in the 1950s and was the champagne giant's first winemaking venture outside France. 

It is a spicy, dry, full bodied red that ages superbly for at least a decade and drinks well young with its dark fruity flavours, great structure and long finish. A keeper and one to enjoy right now.

If you’re looking for complexity and recogniseably familiar flavours, try out Cloudy Bay’s top tier Sauvignon Blanc, known simply Te Koko, which is made from grapes grown on some of this iconic winery’s oldest vineyards, which produce grapes with high concentration and intense aromatics.

After gentle pressing and settling for a period of 24 hours, the juice is racked directly to French oak barrels, a small portion of which is new (typically less than 10%) where it undergoes a slow steady fermentation initiated by indigenous yeasts. The wine rests in barrel on fine lees for about seven months. Whilst in barrel, the wine undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation and then careful maturation in the cellar creates the unique texture and acid profile of Te Koko.

Aromatically, Te Koko unfolds with a complex array of citrus and stone fruit, complemented by exotic floral notes on the finish. the use of oak at fermentation.

The Main Divide is the name of the Southern Alps and a range of great wines made by the Pegasus Bay winemaking team. These wines consistently over deliver, drink beautifully when young with their rich and opulent house style - and also age surprisingly well, given the modest price they cost.

The Riesling grapes in this wine were picked over several weeks at between 23-25 brix, which creates rich, tasty Riesling. Fermentation was in stainless steel at cool temperatures and the finished wine retains a little carbon dioxide, which accentuates fresh zingy flavours in the wine, which contains 24 grams of residual sugar.

It's a full bodied, opulent style with a crisp finish.

The name Opawa means smoky river in Maori and this lovely light to medium bodied Pinot Noir is named after the old Opawa River. Flavours of earthy smokey notes are supported by fresh wild red berry aromas of strawberries, raspberries and plums. Supple silky acidity adds length to every tasty sip.  

Winemaker Clive Jones makes this wine was made from a range of vineyards in Marlborough. The grapes are cold soaked and fermented with indigenous yeast with the wine being pressed into French oak barriques for maturation, before being clarified and bottled.

Certified organic grapes were used to make this new 2019 Pinot Noir from Churton Estate's second generation of winemakers, Ben and Jack Weaver. Fermentation was with indigenous yeasts and the result is a youthful, fruity Pinot with a lively flavours and a light to medium body. It's a great wine to drink lightly chilled in summer or as a light bodied winter red. Satisfying, refreshing and with complex notes; a lovely Marlborough Pinot Noir. 

Churton founder and winemaker Sam Weaver cut his teeth on the classic wines of the world while working in fine wine retail in the United Kingdom. His background is in microbiology and he was raised on a farm, so when he and his wife Mandy founded Churton Estate, it combined all of his passions. The couple and their adult sons, have created one of this country's most high quality small wineries, which lives up to the dream of creating 100% estate grown grapes, 100% certified organic production and 100% bottled on site, nearly all of the wines without fining or filtration. All grapes are hand picked and natural yeasts ferment the majority of Churton wines. These incremental qualitative decisions impact at every step of their winemaking provides exceptional quality grapes which in turn express themselves in outstanding wines.

The Natural State wines are the brainchild of second generation family winemakers, Ben and Jack Weaver.

This wine is made from Mt Maude Vineyard at the base of Mt Maude in Wanaka, a one hectare site planted at 400 metres elevation and where the grapes are grown without irrigation. This family owned site was planted in three Pinot Noir clones 667, 777 and 115. The wine is made without whole clusters in the ferment and with 18 days of maceration by winemakers Sarah Kate and Dan Dineen. 

It tastes silky, structured, sensitively balanced, long and fresh with great depth of secondary savoury earthy spice flavours married with red fruit and complex notes that will definitely develop further over time, evolving positively. All grapes in this wine were hand harvested and the name Kids Block refers to the owners - Dawn and Terry Wilson’s grandchildren. A row of vines was planted for each grandchild, all planted in 2000 and all in different Dijon Pinot Noir clones. 

Central Otago makes famously dry, concentrated styles of Pinot Gris and Te Kano Life Pinot Gris is an excellent example. Flavours of peach and pear flesh out the body with ginger and spicy aromas adding depth. 

The grapes were hand harvested from the Jerome vineyard which has naturally low vigour and sandy soils, which produce smaller than usual grapes with intense flavours, which produce this structured and complex Gris. 

Pinot Gris is the fourth most planted grape in New Zealand with a massive 2,488 hectares nationwide, inching slowly up to Chardonnay’s 3,167 hectares. It’s huge growth from just 157 hectares of Pinot Gris as recently as 2001, but numbers aside, it’s the taste that counts and Greywacke is next level in flavour. 

The grapes in this wine are from the Wrekin Terrace Vineyard in Brancott Valley where they grow on gravel over clay-loam soils, typical of the Southern Valleys in Marlborough. Three clones of Pinot Gris were all hand picked separately at high ripeness levels to provide rich fruity flavours in the finished wine, which was fermented in a combo of old French oak barriques and stainless steel tanks, all with wild yeasts to a finished 14.4% ABV with 10 grams per litre of residual sugar. 

Fresh, full bodied, off dry and intensely concentrated; one for the large glass on a decadent spring evening. 

Amisfield Brut is one of Central Otago's great Pinot Noirs, only in this case the grapes were gently crushed and the skins removed immediately in order to make a white wine with bubbles, modelled on champagne. 

All of the grapes were hand picked and the wine went through its second fermentation in bottle where it spent 18 months on yeast lees, retaining freshness, gaining full bodied, yeasty, toasty aromas. It's dry with five grams of residual sugar per litre and a long, refreshing finish thanks to crisp acidity which adds drive and length to every tasty sip. 

This wine represents outstanding value for money and shines another light on Pinot Noir from the deep south.

Rich, tasty and refined South Island bubbly, made as a tribute to Dawn Ibbotson, the matriarch of Saint Clair, who lived to be 104 and still resided in her own home. This sparkling wine was first made for her 100th birthday and it is a multi vintage blend made 100% from Marlborough grapes and using 63% Chardonnay with 37% Pinot Noir. The finished wine spent 30 months lees aging on tirage in bottle pre disgorgement.

This red is predominantly a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, with smaller proportions Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to add further complexity and interest. Cherry/plum flavours and the suppleness of Merlot combine with the blackberry/blackcurrant flavours, structure, and freshness of Cabernet Sauvignon to produce a serious yet eminently drinkable wine. 

Each individual vineyard parcel was harvested separately and gently de-stemmed prior to fermentation. Gentle daily pumping over of the skins during fermentation helped extract a soft, complex structure. Extended maceration on skins following fermentation helped to further integrate and soften the tannins. Following aging in stainless steel tanks, and a short time in seasoned French oak, the individual blocks were blended to create the ideal wine. The Wine:

Palliser Estate Chardonnay is a creamy smooth, super appealing full bodied wine for  Chardonniastas and those who like their Chardonnays crisp and fresh. 

This wine was made from hand picked grapes, all estate grown by Palliser and a high proportion of them certified organic. The wild yeast ferment accentuates oatmeal and savoury notes, which support the fresh nectarine like fruit flavours in this wine. 

The mouthfeel highlights barrel ferment characters of creaminess balanced by a line of ripe acidity. The wine flows with energy, concentration and a rounded core carrying to a long, creamy, nutty finish. This is an elegant and softly concentrated Chardonnay with harmonious layers of flavour. 

Complex Hawke's Bay blend modelled on the best of Bordeaux as a blend of Cabernets Sauvignon, Franc and with a dash of Merlot to add soft, smooth, sweet black plum textures and flavours. This wine has great structure and intensity of flavour. A silky attack with concentrated black currant and spicy plum flavours some liquorice and mineral elegance with a long flavored fine grained tannin finish. This wine will improve with cellaring. 

From its deep colour to its savoury aromas and complex layers of flavour - liquorice, spice and black olives - Blacksmith Cabernet Sauvignon is a full bodied and smooth wine with a great fruit presence and a long, spicy finish.

Langmeil is owned by the Lindner family, which has been making wine for six generations in the Barossa Valley.