Following on from Glenmorangie's A Tale of Cake, the magnificent distillery has gone and created A Tale of Winter. Director of whisky creation Dr. Bill Lumsden wanted to evoke the feeling of winter, of sitting in front of a fireplace while the snow fall outside, and to do so, he finished a bourbon barrel-matured single malt in ex-Marsala wine casks. All those rich, comforting, chocolatey notes certainly put this one in the 'winter warmer' category.

Nose: Honeycomb, chocolate digestives, fragrant lavender, sultana, and cinnamon.

Palate: Cocoa, Brazil nuts, vanilla tablet, jammy red berry sweetness developing, crystallised ginger.

Finish: Spicy ginger remains, mellowed by vanilla and chocolate mousse.

98 points- Jeb Dunnuck

"Located in Novello, from three hectares of the Ravera MGA with southwest exposure, the 2017 Barolo Ravera was aged for 32 months in large oak casks. It is forward and expressive with fresh pine, candied cranberry, orange oil, and aniseed. The palate is full of energetic tension, balance, and purity, with apricot pit, tea leaf and saline minerality. An inspiring wine to close out the Vietti 2017 lineup." Drink 2025 - 2050

97 points - James Suckling

"Dried strawberry and citrus rind, as well as subtle undertones of smoke and dried flowers. Full-bodied, yet so tight and composed with freshness and lightness, yet power, too. Long finish. This really needs time to open. Classic style. Try after 2025."

96 points - Vinous, Antonio Galloni

"The 2017 Barolo Ravera is a powerhouse. My impression is that the 2017 is going to develop into something truly special. It has all the energy that makes this site so distinctive, but with an extra kick of fruit density and a whole range of exotic aromatics that make for a truly drop dead gorgeous wine. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, chalk and white pepper build into a finish laced with searing intensity. This is such an impressive wine." Drink 2027 - 2042

Cloudy Bay Chardonnay is a savoury and complex wine with bright aromatics and a powerful palate. Notes of citrus rind and stone fruit take the lead in this wine, backed up by nuttiness, excellent minerality and a hint of spice.

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.

This vodka is made with the finest Irish grain and is flavoured using Irish nettles and fruit from the Kigelia Africana tree found in Africa and known locally as the ?Sausage Tree? ? and whose curative and purifying powers are highly sought safter.

Akitu A2 Pinot Noir is an approachable and complex Pinot Noir made from three different Pinot clones which receive 35% whole bunch fermentation and a modest 7% new French oak in the maturation process. This makes for a smooth but subtle softness in a lush Pinot, which Akitu owner Andrew Donaldson suggests matching with Peking duck pancakes. Hear hear. Any duck would flatter this wine’s lush flavours, for that matter. Volumes: 1096 cases were produced and the wine was bottled on 19 March 2020.

The home of Akitu 

Andrew Donaldson planted his vineyard with 100% Pinot Noir in 2002 and has since developed three distinctive styles of wine from this great red grape variety. Two reds (Akitu A 1 and Akitu A2) lead the production while a Pinot Blanc is now part of the high quality stable of wines from this producer. 

Donaldson employs winemaker P J Charteris to make the wines. 

At Mt Barker, in New Zealand's South Island, in a high glacial valley of sunshine and rain shadow on the edge of the earth, each season leave its own vivid imprint on our vintage.  Extreme temperature variations, alpine air, altitude, adversity... all the wild elements of this exhilarating land combine in a Pinot Noir of great quality from the world's southernmost wine region.

The first Rum from LWF Distillery. This clean white rum is created by fermenting Molasses from Bundaberg, Queensland Australia with a specialty yeast, in beautiful clean New Zealand rainwater. The completed ferment is then transferred to the pot still for its first distillation.

This ‘wash run’ is then combined with one other wash run to go through the rectifying column – the spirit run. The spirit run is where all the purification happens – the spirit comes off at between 94-98 abv. Its clean and ready to settle for a couple of weeks before being reduced to 40%, with 5 times filtered New Zealand rainwater for bottling.

This is a fresh rum, with clean flavour and just enough distinct back flavour to be enjoyed in any of your classic cocktails.

40% ABV

Citadelle Gin has a delicate and fragrant nose of fresh flowers, jasmine, honeysuckle and cinnamon. After a few moments, stronger, more herbaceous aromas of anise, grains of paradise and cinnamon develop in a most remarkable way. The appetizing bouquet is reminiscent of gardens in springtime. On the palate, juniper gives way to a voluptuous complexity redolent of fresh flowers, leading into an elegant, round and highly refined finish.The 19 botanicals are infused for 72 hours, three days in which the Citadelle body is shaped and takes all its aromatic notes. For 12 hours, Citadelle is distilled in a copper pot still with a naked flame. Check out their great website for more info.

This new addition to the Esk Valley stable of wines is a lighter, more fragrant expression of Syrah, which represents a bit of a style departure from its siblings made from grapes grown on the Gimblett Gravels.
In this case, the wine is made from grapes grown on a 1.1 hectare vineyard at the top of The Terraces Vineyard at Bay View, just north of Napier city. The warmth of the limestone soils and the cooling sea breezes combine to ripen Syrah grapes slowly with hot days and cool nights, providing floral aromas supported by depth of dark fruit, black olive and fleshy red fruit notes. All grapes were hand picked and fermented as a mix of whole cluster bunches and destemmed fruit in a single concrete fermenter with wild yeasts. 

It’s made in small volumes and will age for up to and beyond 10 years.

The new flavour of vodka is craft and local. Easy drinking and easier pairing with soda or tonic and a slice of citrus.
Old album covers, concert Tees, shot glasses and backstage passes.
No messy botanicals just fun, full and flavour.

Our signature creamy vodka base with local NZ BLOOD ORANGES and a SMOOTH VANILLA finish.

Chateau Thivin is the oldest estate on Mont Brouilly, which has remained in family hands for several generations. Grown on steep slopes, harvested manually and vinified using low intervention techniques so as to maximise terroir expression. 

The Brouilly appellation is capable of producing excellent and complex wines, quite unlike the maligned Beaujolais Nouveau. Brouilly produces fruit forward, medium bodied wines, typically from the Gamay grape. 

Le Sept Vignes is a blend of the seven plots of Chateau Thivin, in an effort to represent the region's terroir. This is a delicious, medium bodied red, with slight tannins and a persistent, juicy red-fruit character. Complex yet easy-drinking in it's youth. This wine will grow in elegance given a few years age. 

Saddleback is the second label of Central Otago winery Peregrine. The region offers a cool climate with large diurnal (day to night) shifts in temperature, perfect for developing the subtle flavours and keen acidity that really makes Pinot Gris tick. This superb value wine is made with grapes from the Bendigo (39%), Pisa (34%) and Gibbston (27%) sub regions of Central Otago, is 100% hand harvested and fermented on the lees for 2 months prior to blending and bottling. A dry Pinot Gris  with floral, citrus and ginger aromatics and flavours of fresh pear, apricot and stonefruit.

Here's a Pinot Gris that tastes noticeably drier than many and is all about fresh pure, white fruit flavours of pear and peach. The refreshing acidity comes from the cooler climate grapes contained in the wine, which is made from a blend of grapes grown in three sub regions of Marlborough. The cool climate Awatere Valley has 73% with the remaining 17% from the Waihopai Valley and 10% from Kekerengu on the southern coast.

Grapes were fermented at cool temperatures to preserve fruit freshness and dry flavours. 

Residual sugar is 3.8 grams, making it dry in style - and also in flavour. 

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. 

Remember Pimms? Of course, you do. Well, Sipsmith takes it up a notch. Sipsmith is the brainchild of a couple of likely lads, who saw the opportunity for delicious craft-distilled gin and vodka and decided to do it themselves.

Mix 1 part Summer Cup to 3 parts lemonade, add cucumber, strawberries and ice. Drain, and start again. Drink with: Cucumber sandwiches. Based on our award winning London Dry Gin, it is then blended with a host of carefully selected summery ingredients including infusions of Earl Grey tea, Lemon Verbena and Cucumber. Aromatic yet surprisingly dry, it's crying out for lemonade and fruit. The Sipsmith Summer Cup 1 part Summer Cup3 parts Lemonadecucumber and strawberriesIce Fill a big jug with ice, add cucumber and sliced strawberries. Add the lemonade and Sipsmith Summer Cup, and enjoy summer. Source - www.sipsmith.com

94% Nerello Mascalese with 6% Nerello Cappucio. This is a bright red wine with an expressive nose and a fresh palate. The nose offers notes of fresh cherries and prunes with subtle touches of leather and tobacco. The palate is complex, with soft tannins, good structure and great fruit expression.