Super peachy, full bodied and dry voluptuous Viognier style - it's mouth filling and rich with great balance and a ligth touch of lively acidity to stretch out the wine to a long, peachy finish with flavour hints of apricot paste and skin. The grapes were whole bunch pressed with 60% barrel fermented to accentuate the body and texture to the wine. The remaining 40% was fermented in stainless steel tanks bringing freshness.

This wine displays classic stone fruit characteristics of apricot, white peach with floral details and subtle creaminess on the palate.

Light bodied and flavoursome rose packed with berry, cherry and dried cranberry flavours, made from hand picked grapes which were fermented stainless steel to preserve the delicate aromatics and elegant structure.

This wine is dry, medium bodied and nicely structured with refreshing acidity driving tension and length in every sip of this red fruited pink wine. Flavours here span the gamut of red fruit from cherries and cranberries to loganberries and strawberries. Super refreshing, lovely lively summer sipping. 

Te Kano also has Central Otago's newest cellar door at its home block vineyard on Felton Road in Bannockburn. 

Winemaker's note:

"2015 was an exceptional vintage and the weather was consistent which allowed us to grow and ripen grapes to optimum quality. This blend is made of 72% Merlot, 20% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon from grapes hand-picked off our Gimblett Vineyard (58%) and Triangle Vineyard (42%). 

After fermentation the wine was aged for 24 months in French oak (42% new), then blended and had a further 3 months on lees in tank. There was no racking which allow the wine to have great volume and weight.

This is a concentrated, medium to full bodied blend. With ripe blackberry and plum characters, fine grained tannins and a fresh acidity all giving the wine a wonderful balance. It will age well and improve for 10 years from vintage."

TASTING NOTE

The Marlborist Chardonnay is a rich, dry elegant wine that is both intricate and textural with an enticing combination of roasted hazelnuts, brioche, citrus blossom and golden-queen peach with hints of clove spice and vanilla. This is a finely balanced wine with a creamy palate underpinned by a long, citrus finish. 

VITICULTURE

Fruit was sourced from two exceptional vineyards; The Wrekin in the Brancott Valley, a beautiful biodynamic and organic-certified hillside vineyard where clone 95 chardonnay is grown on clay loam soils and Cable Bay Vineyard in the lower Awatere Valley, where high density old Mendoza clone vines are grown on a stony, alluvial terrace. The combination of free-draining soils and naturally low yields allowed the vines to ripen small, golden bunches of intensely flavoured fruit. 

WINEMAKING

Picking commenced on March 27th at the Wrekin and finished on April 6th at Cable Bay, from where the fruit was transported directly to the winery where the grapes were gently whole-bunch pressed to a mixture of French oak barrels and puncheons (15% new). A portion was chilled overnight before pressing to oak the next morning. Spontaneous fermentation by indigenous, ‘wild’ yeast, took place at ambient temperatures, a process that took several months to complete. Occasional lees stirring and a full malolactic fermentation occurred before the wine was transferred out of oak after 15 months. Each batch was left on lees and kept separate until June when the blend was assembled and settled prior to bottling in July.

TASTING NOTE 

Not one bound by convention, The Marlborist Grande Sauvignon is a bold departure from the classic Marlborough style. Fermented entirely with naturally occurring yeast in a mixture of old French oak barrels and puncheons, it is an alternative style of sauvignon blanc with an alluring array of grilled peach, candied pineapple and brioche with hints of elderflower and almond. This is a moreish wine with a rich, creamy palate underpinned by a long, citrus finish. 

VITICULTURE 

Fruit was sourced three exceptional sites within the Southern Valleys and Renwick. Largely grown on Loess clay soils and river terraces where young, alluvial soils overlay deep deposits of greywacke stone, the combination of free-draining soils and naturally low yields allowed the vines to ripen small, golden bunches of intensely flavoured fruit. 

WINEMAKING 

A combination of machine and hand-picked fruit was harvested over a week-long period beginning late March. The grapes were transported directly to the winery where they were gently pressed and cold settled for three days. The juice was racked to a mixture of old French oak barrels and puncheons and left to spontaneously ferment by indigenous, ‘wild’ yeast, a process that took several months to complete. Occasional lees stirring and partial malolactic fermentation occurred over a 15 month period of maturation in French oak before the blend was assembled and settled prior to bottling in July.

TASTING NOTE An ethereal, highly perfumed pinot noir hailing from Marlborough’s Southern Valleys. A delicious combination of boysenberries, Black Doris plum, lavender and liquorice are underpinned by elegant, finely integrated tannins, with hints of cinnamon-clove spice and a dry, earthy finish. 

VITICULTURE Fruit was sourced from the historic Auntsfield Vineyard in the Ben Morven Valley and The Wrekin Vineyard at the head of the Brancott Valley. A mixture of clones 5, 114, 115, 667, 777 and Abel are grown on wind-blown, loess clay soils overlying greywacke bedrock that typify the sub-region. A combination of low yields, organic and biodynamic practices allow the vines to ripen beautiful, black bunches of intensely flavoured fruit. 

WINEMAKING Picked over three weeks starting mid-March, the fruit was harvested by hand and transported to the winery where it was chilled overnight. The majority of fruit was carefully destemmed into small fermentation vessels while a portion of whole-bunch fruit was also included. After several days cold-soaking on skins, the fermentation spontaneously commenced by indigenous yeast and was followed by gentle, daily hand-plunging. Following fermentation, the wine was drained off skins and transferred to a combination of seasoned French oak puncheons and barrels. The wine was aged in oak for 11 months before being transferred out just in time for the 2023 harvest. Each batch was kept separate until June when the blend was assembled and settled prior to bottling in July

A powerful Chardonnay that is unmistakably rich and creamy with a clear message to 'drink me now', which is Clearview Estate winemakers Tim Turvy and Matt Kirby's aim here. Bells and whistles, big and buttery. This wine derives its flavours from eight months in French oak, which provides barrel ferment characters of malolactic creaminess, balanced by fresh acidity. 

Clearview Estate was founded by winemaker Tim Turvey, who remains as owner and overseeing winemaker of the winery, vineyards and restaurant.

About Clearview Estate

Clearview Estate is one of oldest, most well established wineries in Hawke's Bay and is situated on the Te Awanga Coast, south of Napier. It's a great place to visit for tastings at the cellar door as well as lunch in the dappled shade of the established courtyard area. The winery was founded by Tim Turvey, winemaker and co-owner. The current winemaker is the multi talented Matt Kirby.

Exceptional half bottle of deliciousness from an unlikely corner of the country, Matakana, which is one of the smallest wine regions in New Zealand and situated north of Auckland. This wine is made by Toby Gillman, who fell in love with the idea of making wine after he spent his first student allowance on a bottle of Matakana red. 

He and his father John volunteered to work at the iconic Providence vineyard in Matakana on weekends, and later set up their own vineyard, which is home to the Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec grapes that go into this little half bottle of deliciousness. 

We really enjoyed tasting the concentrated cassis and blackcurrant flavours in this six year old red, which is an outstanding wine to drink now, and has further potential for aging. Its weight, richness of flavour and big but smooth tannins all show impeccable balance for a high quality red based on a classic Bordeaux right bank style.

The Crater Rim Waipara Valley Chardonnay is a youthful, estate-grown wine, hand-picked and fermented and lees-aged for 11 months in French oak barriques (partly new). This wine is a bright, light yellow-green, with a fragrant, citrusy bouquet. The palate is mouth-filling, with good intensity of grapefruit-like flavours, slightly buttery and toasty.

VINEYARD - The fruit was sourced from one of the oldest vineyards in the Waipara Region.  The vines are sustainably managed and maintained in order to deliver fruit with a great balance of concentration and acidity. 

SOIL TYPE - Clay over Alluvial gravels

WINEMAKING - After gently pressing this wine was fermented in seasoned French oak and aged on lees for 7 months.

TASTING NOTES - Wonderfully fruited and richly expressed, the bouquet shows golden peach, lychee, mango and rose petal aromas with a lovely spicy overtone. The palate delivers terrific fruit power and intensity combined with creamy mouthfeel and velvety texture, finishing long and sumptuous.  Sam Kim – Wine Orbit

Palliser Pinot Gris has gentle soft qualities and is off dry in taste with flavours of candied ginger and mandarin peel leading to a light bodied wine with a spicy finish.

The grapes in this wine are a combination of three vineyards; Pencarrow Vineyard 60%, the organic Om Santi Vineyard 28% and the balance from the Clouston Vineyard. A portion was fermented in old French oak barrels to provide complexity. The two portions were  blended and aged for a a further two months on lees to gain texture before bottling. 

Winemaker Karl Johner has a foot in at least three wine camps; the lime-clay hillside slopes of Lime Hill Vineyard is the smallest of them and is situated on the road to Castlepoint in the northern Wairarapa.

An outstanding New Zealand Chardonnay made from that site; its production is tiny but its fleshy, full body and creamy style more than make up for that. 

He also makes wine every year at Gladstone in the Wairarapa and, since the seasons are reversed in each hemisphere, in Germany.

A big red with a big following thanks to its dense dark and impressive ripe black plummy flavours intermingled with spice in a deliciously full bodied, complex red wine from Waiheke Island's biggest wine producer. 

The grapes in this wine come from six vineyards on the island. They are called  Asylum, Big North, Garden Cove, Mad Mans, Niko Face and North 3; all small sites planted on extremely steep hillsides on a remote and beautiful corner of Waiheke Island. Each little vineyard was originally planted as an experiment to see how well grapes would fare here. The results speak for themselves; Man O' War Dreadnought Syrah is a commanding and powerful red from one of the warmest climates in New Zealand. It was fermented in French oak, 32% new and 68% seasoned and is named after the first in a line of early 20th Century battleships which was named Dreadnought. 

If you're a fan of big buttery Chardonnays or like them tight and lean, this wine has a great balance of both to attract and deliver delicious flavours at both ends of the ever popular Chardonnay spectrum - and it offers great value for money too. 

Organically certified 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. 

This is a wine that punches way above it'w weight. It's made by Hawke’s Bay Wine Co's Sophie Harris, with fruit from vineyards in Te Awanga and the Gimblett Gravels. These two sites complement each other beautifully with the cooler coastal Te Awanga offering keen acidity and floral to balance the riper flavours off the gravels.

Rich ripe and succulent, offering dark red and black fruits, superb acidity and real length.