This dry, full bodied, flavoursome Pinot Gris is something special from the deep south and was fermented with skin contact in amphora to bring a new dimension to one of the most popular grapes in the world right now. Domaine Rewa has hit a new high with the small production of this lovely wine. 

Outstanding dry, spicy and super concentrated flavoursome Gewurtztraminer from Zephyr Wines in Marlborough whose winemaker Ben Glover is a great champion of this intensely aromatic white grape and the wines it makes.

Balance is king in this great Gewurz' - a must try.  

This tasty dry Riesling comes from the beautiful windswept vineyard owned by Craggy Range in the sweepingly stunning Te Muna Road in Martinborough. 

The grapes in this wine were 100% whole bunch pressed and fermented in a  combination of stainless steel and large oak cuves with 100% innoculated yeasts.

The wine was matured for four months before bottling. It's fresh, youthful, vibrant and zingy with intense lime and green apple flavour notes, a medium body and long finish. It drinks beautifully now and will age superbly for at least five to six years. 

Hans and Therese Herzog winery established their winery in Marlborough in 1994 and have since gone on to produce some of the region's most diverse, high quality, small volume wines, including this blend of 50% Viognier, 30% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, which were fully fermented to dryness in this spicy, peachy, full bodied white. This wine is modelled on the great whites of the northern Rhone in France and the wine takes its name for that region's famous Mistral wind which blows through the valley. 

Extended skin contact and cold maceration provide the colour intensity and flavour in this wine. The Marsanne and Roussanne were fermented together with wild yeasts in 500 litre puncheons then blended with the Viognier and aged in 500 litre French oak puncheons for 18 months. 

The finished wine was bottled without fining or filtration, so is vegan friendly.

Outstanding Pinot Noir from one of Martinborough's first wineries, Nga Waka; a small company with new owners and the same winemaker - founder and former owner, Roger Parkinson. This spicy, full bodied, darkly fruited wine is as elegant as it is power packed with flavour and beauty. It drinks beautifully now and is a definite keeper for at least five years. 

This wine is made using 16% whole bunch fermentation to add structure and accentuate spicy flavour notes with 20% new oak for support rather than dominating the delicate fruit flavours in this excellent expression of Wairarapa Pinot Noir. 

Martinborough is home to many refreshingly dry Pinot Gris and this example from Margrain offers great drinking with a silky smooth mouthfeel and lingering finish. Very good Pinot Gris made in small volumes from one of Martinborough's oldest wineries and most experienced winemakers, Strat Canning.

Valli Riesling is inspired by the great whites of the Mosel Valley in Germany. Winemaker Grant Taylor describes this vintage as having flavours of freshly squeezed lime juice, Granny Smith apple with hints of chalk and jasmine flower. 

Valli Wines was founded by Central Otago winemaker Grant Taylor in 1998 and has since become one of the most collectible Pinot Noir brands in New Zealand with four distinctly different Pinot Noirs made every year from four key sub regions in Central Otago. Grant is the only winemaker producing a consistently diverse range of wines every vintage with each wine made the same way so that the wines each express the climate and soil variations in the areas from which they come from.

Fromm -  "A bright and pure Pinot with good fruit weight and sweet spicy undertones. Layered and harmonious with a structural complexity yet offering lovely drink now approach-ability."

Hillside frost-free site planted over limestone and clay. The oldest Pinot Noir block was planted in 1986 and is still on its own roots, Able clone. Distinct from the Eclipse vineyard because of vastly different geology with the clays that deliver rich, velvety texture. This is perhaps a more approachable wine than Eclipse, but still with elegance and underlying power.

Appearance – Dark ruby, youthful

Bouquet – Immediately pretty and floral, lifted red fruits combine with fine oak and earth/spice aromas. Very complex and seductive.

Palate – Power with elegance. Palate is packed with layers of fruit and spice. Super fine tannins flow alongside balanced acidity delivering long richly textured finish.  

Source - Luna Estate

This Single Vineyard wine is made from grapes grown at Auntsfield Estate. The style is aimed towards texture, complexity and length, balancing the typical Marlborough fruit spectrum and aromatics with richness and mouth feel. The nose shows intense and pure aromas of fresh passionfruit, ripe melon and lime. The palate is powerful, tight and elegant. This wine displays intense ripe fruit flavours of passionfruit and white peach, with citrus notes of lime and mandarin pith.

Great classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with freshness and tropical fruit aromas tempered by a nervy backbone of bright acidity that runs through each vibrant, summery sip of this fruit forward wine. Complex notes come through in a creamy mid palate, which is an expression of lees contact post fermentation in stainless steel tanks. This adds richness and breadth to the wine as well as length of flavour.

Forrest Estate Sauvignon Blanc is made from a blend of grapes grown on four vineyards located around Renwick in the Wairau River Valley. Whilst all
have their own characteristics, they share in common the Wairau plains, gravel rich, free draining and devigourating soil profile. This classical Marlborough terroir is critical in achieving the smaller berries and lower cropping levels needed to produce premium Sauvignon Blanc.

Hunter's Chardonnay offers incredibly good value for money. Complex, consistent and creamy, it has crisp notes that add great balance to such a modestly priced, affordable wine. 

Fermentation in 500 litre French oak puncheons with wild yeasts provides a smooth, full body to this impressive Chardonnay, which is made from grapes grown on three different vineyards in Marlborough.

Grapes in this wine were grown in Rapaura, Renwick and Omaka sub regions of Marlborough, all on vineyards that the Hunter's team has used for many years now. This wine is incredibly consistent in style with richly flavoursome citrus, nectarine and creamy flavour notes, supported by a firm backbone of acidity which adds drive, length and freshness to every succulent sip.

What the critics say

Aotearoa Regional Wine Competition, October 2021

4.5 stars – Winestate Magazine, October 2021

Gold, 94/100 – New World Wine Awards, August 2021

93/100 – The Shout, Cameron Douglas MS, March 2021

Barrel fermented Syrah with ripe black fleshy plum flavours, hints of baking spice (notes of cinnamon, ginger and cardamon) and a long, structured but smooth finish with ripe tannins and dry flavours. This wine is the jewel in Mission Estate's Syrah crown and is made from 100% Gimblett Gravels grapes. 

Greystone is one of North Canterbury's wine stars situated on the slopes of limestone rich hills in Omihi. All of the grapes that go into Greystone wines are 100% certified organic with BioGro NZ and all are estate grown. No additional fruit is purchased to supplement production, which is one of many incremental steps that go into Greystone's high quality wines. 

This impressive Pinot Noir is the top of the Pinot tree at Greystone. It's made from fully destemmed whole berries which were cold macerated and fermented with wild yeasts, 25% of the wine having been fermented in small tanks amongst the vines, which ensures a completely wild vineyard yeast fermentation. The wine is bottled without fining, filtration or cold stabilisation.

It drinks well now but will reward those with patience to wait for it to develop further with age and has the potential to evolve positively for up to a decade, if kept in good conditions. 

Certified organic with BioGro NZ.

About Greystone

The Greystone wine story began in 2000 when the Thomas Family bought an old sheep farm on the Omihi hills in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. The rolling limestone hills lured this family in and their goal was a single minded one: to make great wines from the limestone rich soils here. Fast forward 20 years and Greystone is one of the great (and, some might say, yet to be fully discovered) wineries in this outstanding wine region. Not least due to the work of winemaker Dom Maxwell and general manager Nick Gill, who began working together in 2005 and has grown along with the brand and quality.