A full bodied, savoury Pinot Noir with appealing layers of red fruit flavours, which  drinks well now and can age superbly for the next four to five years. This is smooth, savoury and complex in flavour with layers of red fruit, tangy freshness from bold acidity that is held in balance by weight and texture. 

Deliciously spicy, aromatic red fruit are captured in this silky Pinot Noir from Astrolabe Wines, which is a blend of grapes from four Marlborough sub regions, the Brancott and Waihopai, the Awatere and Kekerengu on the southern coast of the broader region. 

The grapes in this wine were fermented with wild yeasts in open top vats, including a portion of whole bunches to provide structure and add complexity to the pristine red fruit flavours in this wine. Wild yeasts and hot ferments are followed by aging in old French oak barrels where the wine gains its smooth mouthfeel and savoury flavours.

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. 

"This Pinot Noir has a bouquet of sweet berry fruit, and cherries. With notes of earthy forest floor and mushrooms, the palate is elegantly well balanced with fine tannins and boasts a lingering finish. This is delicious when served with many red meat dishes, and is particularly good with duck or a rich mushroom risotto. The flavours in this wine develop beautifully in the wine glass." - Ataahua wines

A sturdy, mid-weight red showing layers of raspberry, black cherry, and a hint of liquorice. Smoky oak and a core of stony minerality add depth, while firm, drying tannins provide structure and grip. It’s a bold, slightly untamed style that promises to reward a few years tucked away in the cellar.

The name Opawa means smoky river in Maori and this lovely light to medium bodied Pinot Noir is named after the old Opawa River. Flavours of earthy smokey notes are supported by fresh wild red berry aromas of strawberries, raspberries and plums. Supple silky acidity adds length to every tasty sip.  

Winemaker Clive Jones makes this wine was made from a range of vineyards in Marlborough. The grapes are cold soaked and fermented with indigenous yeast with the wine being pressed into French oak barriques for maturation, before being clarified and bottled.

A light and fruity pinot noir showing red raspberry and fresh cherries, with a lifted floral perfume and a soft finish.

Vineyard
Hanson’s Block, Dijon pinot noir clone

Vinification
18 days on skins, aged 11 months in French oak barrels, 10% new oak.

Martinborough Pinot Noir at its best with earthy aromas, dried red fruit flavours and freshness. Kereru is the brainchild of lawyer-winemaker, John Porter, who donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every bottle of Kereru Pinot Noir towards the upkeep and maintenance of a block of restored land with the aim of retaining its restoration into native forest for future generations.

This is a lighter Pinot style which still possesses lovely ripe fruit, gentle spice and driving acidity.

Full bodied, earthy and superbly well structured Pinot Noir for now and the cellar. Runholder is one of our favourite full bodied Martinborough Pinot Noirs with spicy structured flavours of black plums, dark macerated cherries and smoky mushrooms with notes of cedar and pronounced oak. 

Runholder is made with grapes grown on the Te Kairanga Home and McLeod vineyards, which were destemmed grapes then fermented in stainless and aged in French oak for 10 months for structured, smoothness and a velvety texture. 

Winemaker John Kavanagh is one of the top Pinot Noir makers in Martinborough and has a long track record of outstanding Pinots from both this region and also in Nelson, in his former role at Neudorf Vineyards. 

TK Runholder is dry as a bone with .29 grams of residual sugar per litre. It's made from seven clones of Pinot Noir: Abel, 777, 6, 5, 115, 667 and 828.

Holly is a gorgeous dark fruit expression of Pinot Noir made from a blend of grapes grown on top quality vineyard blocks at Matahiwi Estate in the northern Wairarapa. This vintage was a warm, dry one, which produced high quality grapes, which result in this beautifully balanced, full bodied, spicy and dark fruited Pinot Noir. Hand picked grapes and meticulous attention in the vineyard create great raw material which translates into a silky, gorgeous Wairarapa Pinot Noir to drink now. 

New good-value Pinot Noir from Central Otago where Pinot rules over 80 per cent of the vineyard area and makes gorgeous fruit driven reds with medium body and fresh, cool climate notes of bright acidity and earthy tones. Lovely new addition to our shelves.
The wine brand is owned by two families who grow the grapes and employ experienced winemakers in the region to produce their wines. The philosophy of the owners is to produce high quality wines made from hand picked grapes from vineyard sites with low yields, using wild yeast fermentations, minimal sulphur additions and using sustainable practices as much as possible. This is their quest and the wines are elegant renditions of Otago's edgy climate with its hot summer days and cool seasons on both sides of ripening. 

WINE MAKING

Fruit was sourced from three sites in the Wairau Valley.  60% of Clones 95 and 40% of Mendoza were used.  No sulphur was added to the juices at the point of extraction which then were fermented spontaneously in a combination of seasoned French oak (90%) and stainless steel (10%).  

TASTE

Aromatics of ripe yellow citrus, nectarine and brioche.  A finely textured palate with an array of flavours from Meyer lemon to stone fruits with a lively acid to savour.

FOOD MATCH

All kinds of soft cheeses, white meats and rich seafood such as koura (crayfish) and smoked warehou.  

ACID: 6.5 g/l
pH: 3.48
ALC: 13.0%

From Forager wines owned by Dom Maxwell (winemaker at Greystone) comes its little siter wine Little Forager. This is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from three different sites made up of river gravels, silt loam and chalky limestone and fermented naturally with indigenous yeasts, 20% whole bunch and natural MLF.

The result is textural and generous with sweet fruit in an elegant style.

Pinot Noir makes up over 80% of Central Otago's vineyards and it suits this cool climate because it is one of the earliest ripening red grapes in winemaking and can be harvested before the region's frosty winters set in. Roaring Meg is one of Central Otago's most popular wines and is named, cheekily, after a lady of the night during the infamous gold rush days in this southern region, in the 1800s. 

It's a light bodied, fresh and smooth red wine with notes of spice and cedar; made for drinking early in its life rather than aging.

A Central Otago Pinot Noir from New Zealand cricketing legend, Ross Taylor. This one is named after Ross Taylor's highest test score of 290, scored at the WACA in Perth on November 16, 2015.