Over at Bach we've been on the hops again ... brewing up our latest batch for the annual NZIPA challenge at Smith's Crafthouse in Queenstown. 

As Kiwi as a bungy jump in Budgie smugglers, our all-star all-NZ IPA is jammed with new season Nelson grown Riwaka, Nectaron, Nelson Sauvin and Motueka hops, all nestled on juicy Gladfield malts, harvested from the Canterbury plains.

6.5% ABV

BARREL AGED DOUBLE DANGER RED ALE

Red Ale 7.9% 330ml

We have taken our favourite lady and made her, well more luscious!  

Allow yourself to be seduced by the luxurious malt body, rich complexity and bright hoppiness hidden in this alluring red ale. We have taken a barrel of Lady Danger that we had been ageing for over 12 months and added this to our blend which has resulted in a potent perfume of ripe fruit wrestling in pine needles enchanting the senses.  An abundance of US hops and balanced malt fullness round out the punchy flavours. This beer is perilously good and dangerously palatable, drinker beware.

BARREL AGED LAST MINUTE STOUT

Stout 8.4% 330ml

Sometimes the best ideas come at the last minute. Our robust Oatmeal coconut and vanilla stout has big bold roasty espresso notes wrapped in the oaky vanilla character that can only come from time relaxing in a bourbon barrel. 

The name Mon Cheval is in homage to the owner's champion racehorse, Under Cover Lover, whose winning ways helped the dream of making wine possible. The 2.2 hectare vineyard is found at the entrance to Weka Pass in North Canterbury, and is planted with Pinot Noir and only a small amount of Riesling.

VINEYARDS: Cactus Merlot/Malbec, Lunatic Syrah, Owhiti Malbec, Ponui Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. 

BLEND: Malbec 35%, Merlot 32%, Syrah 28%, Cabernet Franc 5%

WINEMAKING

The vintage of 2023 was a challenging year climatically, very wet and humid with low sunshine hours and periods of intense rain culminating in flooding in late January and Cyclone Gabrielle in early February.  The weather improved for the harvest months, but low sunshine hours resulted in wines with a light elegant touch, fresh, lively and delicious in their delicacy. Our Pinque Rose is harvested from select coastal sites on Waiheke and Ponui Islands made up of individual vineyards planted in Merlot, Malbec and Syrah which are designed with Rose production in mind. Picking early in the season but still showcasing red berry characters, the f ruit is whole bunch pressed in the champagne style liberating only the cleanest and most pure of juice. Fermented cool in stainless steel tanks and blended in the winter. 

TASTING NOTE

Pinque is a pure expression of Rose. Beginning with a classic pale salmon colour the wine has aromas of crushed rose petal, musk candy (pink smokers) strawberry flesh and a maritime scent. The palate is fresh and delicate with shades of stone and citrus fruits with fresh herbs finishing clean, crisp and delicious. 2023 Pinque is an uplifting and refreshing response to a challenging vintage.

Port is a Portuguese fortified wine that is robust and sweet with a fuller and richer body. It is therefore usually served as a dessert wine or digestif. Kavalan Solist Port Cask is fully matured in Portuguese Port barriques under the subtropical climate to create the multiple fruity flavours such as plum, blueberry, blackberry and strawberry just to name a few, with chocolate as the main background note.

Nose - There is a lot of typical Kavalan nuts, vanilla and honey but then comes this beautiful sweet smoky sea air with stewed apples, pears, pineapples and thick raspberry jam. It has the signature Kavalan tropical fruit notes, but they are hidden under a thick smoke and vanilla scent.

Palate - It comes in warm and thick a true Cask Strength single malt, with that raspberry jam and thick vanilla from the nose really showing their way through along with some coconut and smoky fruit flavour. This has a medium to long finish that is all present on the palate and coating of your mouth. When swallowed it seems to disappear as if it never went down at all but your mouth is left with a ton of smoky spices and fruity flavours that stay for a long time.

The name Kavalan means ‘flatland people’ and is named after the local indigenous tribes who originally inhabited the area. The land on which the distillery sits is known for its cold spring water and salty ocean air and let’s not forget the subtropical heat which helps with accelerated maturation taking the whisky only two years to produce.

“We strive to produce quality and distinctive Taiwanese whisky and we are confident that it will please the whisky connoisseurs worldwide. Kavalan whisky is now available in most European countries and will be launched in the US and Russia very soon. Our goal is to make Kavalan available globally.”- Ian Cheng Kavalan Distillery Master Distiller

The top floors of this warehouse at the distillery can reach up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit, causing an angel’s share of no less than 15% annually. The distilleries most memorable awards coming from the Whisky Magazine’s most prestigious awards Icons of Whisky being named ‘Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year’ in 2011′, The Kavalan Fino being named Asian Whisky of the Year 2013, and The Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique being named 2015 World Whisky of the Year’

The second whisky in the Kavalan Concertmaster series is aged in the distillery’s own special reserve of refill casks, then finished in the Spanish ex Sherry casks. Bottled at 40% abv with no colouring.

Our Tasting Notes

Nose: Tropical fruits of mango and coconut, red fruits of raspberries and cranberries, milk chocolate and creamy vanilla toffee.

Palate: Ripe dark fruits of raisins and figs, toasted walnuts and almond flakes, creme brûlée and strawberry jam.

Finish: Dark chocolate, creamy toffee and red fruits.

Taiwanese whisky has been a 'thing' for a while now, since 2008 in fact, but the highly-regarded Kavalan whiskies are now finally available in NZ !!!

KAVALAN Solist Brandy Cask matures in selected first fill brandy casks, which give it its sweet and balanced taste. It is unchill-filtered with no added coloring and is bottled as a single cask at cask strength. Each bottling carries a serial number, cask type and the signature of the master blender.

Tasting Note 

Nose: Peaches and cream, strawberry jam, freshly cut passion fruit, creamy toffee, baking spices and warm honey.

Palate: Tinned peaches, oily with dark toffee, toasted nuts and tropical fruits.

Finish: A long finish of stewed peaches, lychee and cocoa.

Taiwanese heavyweight Kavalan, most recently ranked 24^th on the World’s Most Admired Whiskies List by Drinks International, is unveiling the global launch of an all new Kavalan Triple Sherry Cask single malt whisky

• Kavalan is launching a new Triple Sherry single malt bottling featuring a mix of whiskies matured in Oloroso, Pedro-Ximenez, and Moscatel Sherry barrels.
• The distillery describes the whisky as having “characteristics of cinnamon, smoked candied plums and citrus, berry, tropical fruit and longan scents, slightly honey, chocolate and toffee tickle the taste buds cheerfully, just like a supple flamenco dance."
• It will come with an all new packaging which visually expresses the profile of the whisky through intertwining patterns of white, gold and red, which were painted with acrylic, to symbolise the smooth taste of the three Sherry casks used.
• This will be a real balancing act for the Taiwanese distillery as it must avoid becoming overly-sherried, which can be sharp and too intense, whilst drawing out the mellow, honey sweetness from the PX and Moscatel barrels, and the dried fruits from the Oloroso barrels.

Flavour: Ripe, mature berries and dried fruits fill the nose, with fresh scents of grapes and citrus interlaced with chocolate brownie and toffee sweetness. Hints of cinnamon, clover and spiciness, blend into pleasant oakiness and fragrant rosemary.

Palate: Lingering flavours of sherry dried fruits. Warm and smooth with a mellow texture. A lively flamenco dance of candied fruit, caramel, and honey sweetness on the taste buds. Multi-layered and perfectly balanced, it's an unforgettable feast for the palate.

Tasting: Best paired with desserts, dark chocolates, nuts, seafood salads, smoky meats and mildly spicy cuisine.

Kumeu River Wines is New Zealand's top Chardonnay producer and best known globally. 

Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay is the flagship white from the winery. It is made from  grapes grown on six different vineyard sites in Kumeu and is consistently one of New Zealand's greatest dry, full bodied whites with outstanding freshness and complexity.

The winery is in the West Auckland village of Kumeu where it began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Katé Brajkovich, bought a small property with a vineyard on it. Their descendents now own and run Kumeu River Wines, which produces 250,000 bottles of wine annually from its owns 30 hectares of vineyards in Kumeu and from another 10 hectares, owned by local grape growers. 

Rays Road is Kumeu River’s new vineyard site in Hawkes Bay. This limestone hillside is at 180 m altitude, with a northerly aspect. It is dry-farmed to yield high quality grapes for wine under the Rays Road name for our Kumeu River label.  This Chardonnay was hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and fermented with wild yeast in older French Oak barrels to give a wine that is zesty and fragrant, with mineral complexity that is very true to its site.

Coddington Chardonnay is made with grapes grown on a West Auckland vineyard owned by Tim and Angela Coddington, who have provided grapes to Kumeu River Wines since 1998; originally used in the Estate Chardonnay.

The grapes from this vineyard has since proven to have such rich, distinctive flavours that the Brajkovich family decided to create a single vineyard Chardonnay, initally in 2006. 

Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay is ripe, peachy and rich with supple approachability, density, concentration and luscious creaminess. This makes the wine easy to drink at an early stage and it will age well too.

Kumeu River Wines began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Katé Brajkovich, bought a small property with a vineyard on it. Their descendents now own and run Kumeu River Wines, which produces 250,000 bottles of wine annually from its owns 30 hectares of vineyards in Kumeu and from another 10 hectares, owned by local grape growers. 

Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay is made from a vineyard that was first planted in 1982 and originally produces grapes that formed a significant part of the original Kumeu River Chardonnay blend. The Hunting Hill Vineyard overlooks Mate's Vineyard in Kumeu and replanted in 2000, since then producing such outstanding grapes that the winemaking Brajkovich family decided to produce a single vineyard wine from here.

Hunting Hill has elevated acidity which lends this wine both a delicious vibrancy in its youth as well as great aging potential and longevity. It is fresh, piercingly zesty and full bodied with dry, savoury flavours and a long, tangy finish.

One of New Zealand's greatest Chardonnays both for drinking now and for cellaring for the long term.

Kumeu River Wines began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Katé Brajkovich, bought a small property with a vineyard on it. Their descendents now own and run Kumeu River Wines, which produces 250,000 bottles of wine annually from its owns 30 hectares of vineyards in Kumeu and from another 10 hectares, owned by local grape growers.