The vineyards of Domaine du Vieux Lazaret are spread over 93 hectares, split into 35 different parcels of vines throughout A.O.C. Châteauuneuf-du-Pape. It is today among the largest domaines in Châteauuneuf and is owned by the Quiot family.

The Cuvee Exceptionelle is 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah and is juicy abd fruit forward with a decent smattering of new oak providing a palate that is all about dark berry fruits and vanilla. 2015 was a very decent vintage in the Southern Rhone ,and, although drinking now - will do well with time in the cellar.

Dom Perignon is one of the world's great prestige champagnes in name and in taste. Made only in single vintage years, this latest one is a blend of 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, aged for eight years on lees, which retains freshness while allowing the yeast autolysis process to create complexity and power in this multi layered, intensely richly flavoursome sparkling wine. 

This tastes full bodied, dry, creamy with complex layers of flavour. Serve chilled in a large glass to it its complexity and freshness shine. 

Vintage rose champagne is one of our favourite things and this one comes from arguably the most popular producer, Veuve Clicquot, owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey.

Veuve is named after the late, great Widow Clicquot, who was left not only a widow aged 27 but also in charge of running a champagne house. Her legacy is to have left both the brand and the region in better condition than she found them, mostly famously by inventing riddling; the turning of the bottle to remove the yeast sediment into its neck, prior to disgorgement. This resulted in higher quality, cleaner, fresher bubbles in both look and taste. Her quest was quality and she is widely credited with having raised it significantly in the Champagne region and in the bottles it produces.
This rose is typically a blend of base wines with 12% of still red Pinot Noir and aged for three years prior to disgorgement. 

This red Burgundy is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from the Santenay commune. Supple, lightly structured, fruity and fresh, this elegant wine boasts a fresh and elegant nose with red fruit aromas. The palate is smooth, fruity and vibrant. 

From 45-70+ year old vines, this is proper Pinot Blanc from Alsace. The soft, honeyed apple and stone fruit is delicious but restrained, so what can shine through is the beautiful texture and layers of mineral and spicy/herbal notes. Schoffit's cuvee includes the rare Auxerrois variety that traditionally shared the same name as Pinot Blanc in Alsace. An elegant starter for aperitif, fish or white meat. "This is flat out delicious wine!"

Floral on the nose, with a hint of spice, the palate starts off on exotic fruits, giving way to lychee fruit and a slightly sweet finish, but well balanced with acid.

Grape 100% Gewurztraminer

Food Matching: Terrine, spicy & exotic dishes, apéritif

Commercial description

Upon opening a bottle, swirling the wine in a glass, let it breath in wine speak, and you discover welcoming, uplifting aromas of rich black cherry, dark plum and a subtle herbaceous hint of Vipers Bugloss flowers. Those all together evoke instantly a sensory picture of Central Otago.  The pleasant elusive bouquet uncovered intertwines beautifully with some subtle indication of mocha and spice, even a soupçon of wood smoke. The flavours revealed flow harmoniously onto the palate. The wine is richly textured and discloses an exquisite balance created by sensitive tension between refined acidity and velvety tannins. The warm, rich mouthfeel compliments the interaction between all elements and prolongs to a harmonious silky finish.

The Abarino Brothers consist of winemaker Ollie Powrie, Shaye Bird and Ant Saunders who all share a passion for Albarino and a wealth of experience in the NZ wine industry. This is their Gisborne release with oodles of varietal typicity in the form of zingy zesty flavours, bright acidity and a splash of salinity. The perfect match for seafood.

A gorgeous example of German Cab Franc made by master of Wine Sam Harrop and Pfalz based winemaker Gerd Stepp. Red and dark fruits are wrapped in savoury and spice complexity, placing the wine somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Another banger in our ever growing Hungarian section. This one is a deep ruby colour in the glass and offers a nose of red and black fruits complexed by chocolate and mineral notes, leading to a palate of blackberry, leather and spice flavours. It was matured in large Hungarian oak casks for more than two years. There are some lovely gorgeous Bordeaux notes in this wine - Petit Verdot being one of the seasoning grapes often found at low percentages in a lot of Bordeaux. It isn't showy though, more of a thought provoking wine.

 An ideal match with dishes made of venison.

100% Bobal from DO Manchuela near Cuenca. 

Bodegas Ponce has been at the forefront of modern Spanish wine since their inception in 2005. 

Juan Antonio Ponce's dream was to make wines with the old vineyards of his native Manchuela. He attended viticulture and enology school when he was 14 years old, and after five years of working with Telmo Rodriguez after his graduation he started his own winery Bodegas Ponce when he was 23 years old. Inspired by his years with Telmo and the growing minimal intervention movement in France. He approached his native varietal Bobal in a way unlike that of neighbors. Farming sustainably, with organic and biodynamic principles and harvesting the grapes weeks before his neighbors. In the winery he works simply and cleanly, whole bunch fermentation, native yeast fermentation and aging in old wood vats. His wines are more like those from Beaujolais and the Loire Valley than Rioja and Priorat. What is fascinating is that Manchuela is a region where the locals joke that there are nine months of winter and three months of hell, which sounds nothing like the bucolic hills of Beaujolais nor France’s garden, the Loire valley. The P.F. stands for Pie Franco. The vineyards for this wine range in age from 40 to 90 years old and they are all ungrafted. Juan Antonio’s wines are some of the most elegant wines being made in Spain.

Tasting Notes
Nashi pear, nectarine, mead and spice greet the nose with a dry, textural and weighty palate, creating a complex and flavourful wine. Made in a dry style.

Vineyard
Moy Hall & Blue Earth vineyards
From low cropped 22 to 28-year-old vines

Vinification
Whole bunch pressed.

Dry on the palate, textured tropical orange, apricot and lemon, complex and full bodied with wonderful underlying spicy notes combining with rosemary, tarragon just a hint of vanilla and honeycomb.

Jurancon is an appellation in South-West France, near the Spanish border. Centered around the town of Pau it produces stunning white wines based on the native grapes of Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng.

The two grapes are related to each other- as the names imply Gros Manseng grapes are more robust and larger grapes, often used to make rich dry white wines. Petit Manseng smaller and low yielding, higher in acid and sugar with a higher skin-to-juice ratio.  Petit Manseng is more more in the sweeter wines of the region.  The two grapes grow together in harmony enjoying the same climate and terroir... often blended together to produce wines with floral, tropical, honey, citrus, and sweet spices in wines.  Wines of the Jurancon appellation must be at least half Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng.  There is a tiny amount of Petit Manseng grown in NZ.

Domaine Nigri sits at 300 meters elevation, facing the Pyrenees mountains, the heart of the Jurancon appellation.