VINEYARD AND FARMING
Planted in 2002, Doctors Flat is a single 3-hectare vineyard in Bannockburn. The schist subsoil was ground off the Cairnmuir Mountains by glacial ice and deposited here about 480,000 years ago. The glacial action and millennia of weathering have
generated an abundance of clay and fine silt in the vineyard gravel. We know soil texture drives wine texture and this vineyard produces Pinot Noir with density, fine tannin and great texture. We farm organically to help grow and sustain soil biology.
In turn the soil microlife harvest and transport nutrient and minerals to the vine. It’s this connection between vineyard and vine that gives Doctors Flat Pinot Noir its character and sense of place.

WINEMAKING
The winemaking is a simple programme of small open tanks, close attention, minimal inputs and a very light hand in the extraction process with only three punch downs. In 2021 20% of the fruit went directly to tank as whole bunches. Fermentation occurred spontaneously and after 21 to 24 days on skins the wine was drained to French oak barrels (22% new). Malolactic was delayed until spring and SO2 not added until late summer. After a full 12 months in barrel the wine was racked to tank for a second winter, then bottled 20 months after harvest.

Single Malt Whisky aged 3 1/2 years in 50 and 100 litre virgin French oak barrels

100% New Zealand Single Malt Whisky. New make spirit made from 100% Canterbury grown and malted barley. Mashed, fermented and double pot still distilled and aged more than 3 years in a 50 and 100 litre virgin French oak barrels in Christchurch NZ.

Toffee and milk chocolate, oak/wood and soft floral undertones on the nose
Oak, dark caramel, dark cocoa, new leather, creamy tannin, floral and anise on the palate
Slightly drying, oak tannin finish

700ml, 46% Alc/vol

100% Tannat aged in oak tuns and wooden tanks for 12 to 15 months. This wine is a deep, intense red. Elegant on the nose, with aromas of black fruits (blueberry and blackberry) dominating the hint of spice. A remarkable fullness on the palate, with tannic chewiness and unexpected roundness. The long finish has vanilla delicacy. A delightful wine, both powerful and elegant. It can easily be kept for 8 to 10 years. – Chateau Aydie.

Wild Turkey 101 is a 101 proof (50.5% alcohol) bourbon that is a marriage of primarily 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old bourbons. Jimmy Russell notes that unlike some of its competitors, "Wild Turkey 101 has an exceptionally gentle and rich aroma for a high-proof bourbon, thanks to quality at all stages of its production." At first taste, 101 is rich with vanilla and caramel, with notes of honey, brown sugar, and a hint of tobacco. Its high proof contributes to its bolder flavor. Wild Turkey 101 is the benchmark in bourbon, best enjoyed neat or on the rocks. It?s also excellent in more sophisticated cocktails.

50.5% Alc

This is wine made from a unique clone of Gamay Noir known as "Saint Romain" from the Côte Roannaise which lies to the north west of Lyon at a latitude comparable to Beaujolais. The wine is very Burgundian with more savouriness than one would encounter in most Beaujolais. La Chapelle is their flagship wine, with masses of concentration and depth.

A reassuringly rich Demerara blend from the 1930's containing 7 dark rums, each patiently aged in Guyana for at least 3 years. Skipper Rum is distilled from sugar cane and molasses and patiently oak-aged in warehouses on the banks of the Demerara in Guyana before being exported. This is really rather expensive but by crikey it makes a difference. Packed full of caramel, treacle, vanilla and toffee flavours. Source:;https://www.facebook.com/pages/Skipper-Rum/

From the Whisky Cellar

Another whisky from our exploration of Single Grains, this Strathclyde was aged for 22 years – distilled in October 1998 and bottled in August 2021, having been finished in a first-fill Oloroso Sherry Hogshead.

Colour: Deep Amber.
Nose: Polished oak, caramel shortbread and ripe red forest fruits.
Palate: Redcurrant jam, spearmint toffees, lychee and salted caramel.
Finish: A touch of spice on a long lingering finish with the red fruits adding a delicious tang.
Bottles: 253.

A classic reposado tequila, which gains complex flavours from being aged for six months in white oak barrels. This is exactly how reposado should be, with a smooth body and balanced, pure agave flavours.

Mt Etna is Europe's largest active volcano and the inspiration for the artwork on the label of this funky new, savoury flavoured, silky textured red from Etna. It's pale in colour with huge structure and earthy aromas supported by red fruit notes from the Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio grapes; famous for being grown only on Mt Etna. This wine is a relative newcomer for the Piccini family, a Tuscan based wine family who now own a vineyard called Scalunera on Mt Etna. 

IMAGINATION - Rhubarb and Raspberry gin is inspired by the New Zealand summer which is when both of these ingredients are at their best.  We gently extract the juice from the rhubarb and raspberries and blend of it with a dry gin designed specifically for this recipe.  The floral aroma of orris root is prominent on the nose with juniper, coriander and manuka maintaining the delicate piney heart of this gin.  Whole New Zealand navel oranges and lemons create a citrus complement to the fruity base with cinnamon, licorice and the orris root ensuring a surprisingly sweet spice finish.

Each label tells the story of the ingredients, the place or the people behind what's in the bottle.  This label was inked by the hugely talented Kapiti Coast Tattoo designer and illustrator Sam Philips.  You can check out his work at sampphilipsillustration.com

Dry Australian Sémillon is one of our neighbour winemaking neighbour's quirkiest, most individualistic wines. This wine comes from the iconic Brokenwood Winery in the Hunter Valley, a relatively rainy region where moisture tends to force early harvests with slightly lower sugars and pronounced acidity, which allows the wines to age well for decades. 

This wine drinks well now and has fresh green herb aromas and flavours. It will also age well. We'd give this accessibly priced Aussie Semillon a good 10 years in the cellar and then vive la difference.

Spicy new, medium bodied Pinot Noir with lifted aromas of red flowers, ripe plums and hints of spicy macerated cherries, all held together in a smooth, silky wine made by  Julian Richards with grapes from the Ashmore Vineyard, owned by Dog Point Vineyards. 

This wine was aged in a combination of older oak puncheons for 30% of the wine with the balance being in stainless steel. 

"I'm trying to express the fact that style can be one simple change in the winemaking technique and Pinot Noir is a beautiful way to express that."

The other wine made from the same vineyard by Richards is called Fractal Pinot Noir. Both come from the 2020 vintage, one of the best years this century. 

Dry, savoury and earthy style of Pinot Noir with delicacy and power from grapes grown on Craggy Range's windswept and beautiful Te Muna Road vineyard, 9 kilometres east of the Martinborough village. 

Hand picked grapes from the Te Muna Vineyard were fermented in a combination of French oak cuves and open top stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts. The finished wine was matured in French oak barriques, 22% new, for 10 months. No fining but a coarse filtration results in a satisfyingly savoury dry Pinot with tension and backbone. A stunner now and for the cellar. 

Introducing the Firkin Rare - A veritable smorgasbord of flavour from rare and unusual casks.

The Rare is a Speyside Single-Malt Scotch Whisky - Distilled at Inchgower Distillery 2010.

Grassy, almost apple notes on a bed of raisin highlights Pedro Ximénez sherry. This whisky has layers galore. A fascinating weave of creamy and crisp malts wrap around you as a zesty edge sherried fruit and toffee walnut pillows your taste buds.