Form Jules Taylor...

Chardonnay is one of the unsung heroes of Marlborough but also a wine that can divide the room! Jules’ take on this variety is a far cry from the big buttery Chardonnay-bombs from the 1990s. Instead Jules prefers a wine with delicate freshness and attractive fruit flavours that express the vineyards in which they were grown. With only 10% new oak and a partial malolactic ferment, this elegant wine that will convert even the most die-hard chardonnay-basher!

From Jules Taylor...

The signature dish. When Jules talks about Sauvignon Blanc, clouds part and celestial choirs sing. This is the wine Jules loves because it is so expressive of the site where it’s grown. It’s a grape that, within a row - and even within a bunch - has a mind-blowing range of full-throttle flavour, just the way Jules likes it.

Bold, bright, fruit salad in a glass; that's what sparkling Sauvignon Blanc is all about and it's a lively, lovely fresh new spring white. The bubbles in this wine come from tank fermentation to preserve the naturally fresh fruit flavours of this vibrant wine. 

Matahiwi winery's South Series refers to wines made from its most southernmost vineyards; in the Wairarapa where cooler nights result in crisper wines. This full bodied Chardonnay is a great expression of those two factors, balanced by creamy mouth texture and a touch of hazelnut intermingled with oatmeal and other complex flavours. Stunning value too. 

Here is a Pinot Noir that shows how good Marlborough Pinot can be. Smooth with a hint of spice here and a touch of dark red cherry flavour there, this is complex and delicious. It drinks well now and can also age for a further three to four years.

Clos Henri began 22 years ago in Marlborough when the French Bourgeois family expanded their winemaking from the heart of Sancerre in the tiny village of Chavignol to Blenheim, in 2001. Now that their vines are 22 years of age , the family feels that they are only now starting to reflect and express the taste of the land. This family retains their land and winemaking in Chavignol where they have made wine for 11 generations.

Marlborough is white wine country and while it's mostly all about Sauvignon and Chardonnay, this spectacular new dry-ish Riesling is full of deliciously zingy flavours of lemon zest, fresh apples and ripe peach, coupled with an intensely lingering, flavoursome finish.

This wine is intensely aromatic on the palate and has lingering flavours with a crisp dry finish.

The north facing Ashmore Vineyard receives all day sun and that, coupled with cool Marlborough nights, makes for ideal cool climate growing conditions for the Riesling grapes that are grown on the free draining, deep alluvial silt, overlying clay sub soils. Ashmore Vineyard was planted in 1997 with conversion to organics beginning in 2009 and full certification from Bio-Gro in 2012.

This is one of New Zealand’s best bubbles and comes from Pinot Central; also known as Central Otago, a region that is characterised by having 80% of its vineyards planted in Pinot Noir. 

Quartz Reef Brut NV began life when winemaker Rudi Bauer teamed up with a visiting French winemaker Clothilde Chauvet (daughter of champagne maker Marc Chauvet). Together they pioneered this high quality, traditional method sparkling wine, using mostly Pinot Noir (now 72% of the blend) with the balance being Chardonnay. The wine is typically aged for two years on lees in bottle following its second fermentation - longer than most champagnes. No wonder it massively over delivers on both taste and price. This is a stunning sparkling wine. Ignore at your peril.

This special library release is a one off which we have been lucky enough to secure a small amount of while featuring Palliser Estate as our winery of the month. This is the greatest dry aromatic white of the Palliser stable. It's fleshy, flavoursome and beautifully peachy buoyed up by the balance of great lime zest and a lingering citrusy finish. 

Dry Riesling is Palliser Estate's unsung hero white wine and this seven year old dry version is a stellar example. 

It's ripe and fleshy with beautiful balance provided by the citrusy acidity which adds length to this lovely wine. 

The grapes are grown on the organically certified Om Santi Vineyard and the Palliser Estate Vineyard.

Dry red berry and creamy smooth rose from Big Sky Vineyards in Martinborough's Te Muna Valley. The intense summer berry flavours and interesting savoury complexity in this wine echoes the stunning landscape from which it's made. It's entirely Pinot Noir and is a relatively new addition to the Big Sky range.

The Big Sky story

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir and also has a little Sauvignon Blanc, which they give extra textural complexity to with a little time in old oak on lees. 

VINEYARDS Parcels of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon were hand-picked from selected sites on the  gravel soils of the old Ngaruroro River, and old vine Merlot from the Bridge Pa region.  Bridge Pa Triangle soils feature fine silt loam over red metal gravels, while the gravel sites protected by Roys Hill, feature gravel over fine silt. These sites are free draining and low in fertility, resulting in struggling vines producing fruit of great concentration. Low yielding vines, open canopy management, managed irrigation and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand farmed were common to all sites. Bridge Pa Merlot delivers ripe, dark plums which compliments the spicy brighter fruits from the gravels. Cabernet thrives on gravel sites and contributes structure, acidity and fragrant berry fruit notes. 

WINEMAKING Batches of hand harvested fruit was chilled overnight before processing the following day. Chilled bunches were hand sorted and de-stemmed, and whole berries were transferred to open fermenters with some foot stomping. Whole bunches were also incorporated in some of the Merlot fermenters. The berries were cold soaked before fermentation, with pumping over twice per day then pressed to barriques at the  end of fermentation. The Merlot and Cabernet matured for 21 months in new and  seasoned French oak barriques. Blended in December 2019 and bottled in January  2020, the final blend is approximately 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. 

SENSORY An elegant Merlot Cabernet blend which exhibits lifted aromatics of fragrant  berry fruits, sweet French oak, and underlying lavender and thyme. Complex and  textural, seamless tannins harmoniously support red and black fruits, earthiness,  and spice. Tautly poised to develop beautifully with bottle age.

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.

Hand picked grapes and cool temperature fermentation in stainless steel both preserve the fruit forward flavours in this wine, making it one of the country's purest, freshest dry whites. Under the radar? Yes. Worth trying? Definitely. If Riesling has yet to make it onto your radar, this wine is the perfect place to start.

Silver Wing Ceramic Sauvignon ticks lots of boxes from the funky, earthy aroma notes to the fresh bright acidity that gives Sauvignon Blanc its refreshing edgy flavours. And it also ticks the vegan box. 

Winemaker Andrew Fox focusses on low intervention winemaking methods, including no filtration which may result in lees sediment in the wines, which is harmless and looks like small crystals. 

Silver Wing wines are made by Andrew Fox in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury.