This wine is firm, full bodied and full of fruit character with black cherries and spice leading the flavour notes here. This great southern red from winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis at Rockburn in Central Otago. Five clones of Pinot Noir (10/5, 5, 6, Abel, 115 and 777) were harvested from two sub regions of Otago; Gibbston and Parkburn then fermented in large open tonne fermenters with the finished wine spending 10 months in French oak, 33% new. 

Palliser Estate Chardonnay is a creamy smooth, super appealing full bodied wine for  Chardonniastas and those who like their Chardonnays crisp and fresh. 

This wine was made from hand picked grapes, all estate grown by Palliser and a high proportion of them certified organic. The wild yeast ferment accentuates oatmeal and savoury notes, which support the fresh nectarine like fruit flavours in this wine. 

The mouthfeel highlights barrel ferment characters of creaminess balanced by a line of ripe acidity. The wine flows with energy, concentration and a rounded core carrying to a long, creamy, nutty finish. This is an elegant and softly concentrated Chardonnay with harmonious layers of flavour. 

Ironclad is a full bodied red blend made from traditional Bordeaux grape varieties which are grown on Waiheke Island. It's a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Malbec, which make a complex, structured red for aging up to 10 years or drinking now, decanted and served in your largest red winwe glass.

Its name comes from 19th Century warships characterised by iron bolted onto wooden hulls, in a similar way to the way the warm clay weaves itself into Waiheke Island's hillside vineyards.

Big velvety Pinot Noir with depth of flavour - earthy notes, spice and dark red cherry fruit notes - in a full bodied style, made by Moy Hall winemaker Phil McArthur. 

This Martinborough producer is as well known for its superlative vineyard restaurant, which is arguably the best place to eat in the region... It's owned by Phil and Carolyn McArthur, who produce wine and great day time food. 

Phil is a professional winemaker in the region and brings a wealth of experience to bear on the wines, such as this Pinot Noir, which is dry, medium bodied and fresh with savoury notes and red cherry flavours. 

Plum and black cherry flavours layered with toasty oak and soft, silky tannins create a fruit forward and smooth pinot noir.

Handpicked, homegrown fruit from Moy Hall's vineyards in Martinborough. Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months.

Koparepare Sauvignon Blanc represents Marlborough's most popular wine; it's fresh, it's crisp and it's a great match for seafood. Speaking of which, $1 from every bottle of Koparepare wine goes towards LegaSea, a not for profit organisation set up by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council in 2012 to raise awareness of the marine environment and inspire public support.

The name Koparepare is Maori for gift. 

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 after they sailed into the Marlborough Sounds to shelter from a storm in the early 1990s and fell for the natural beauty of the region and the haven it provided. So they decided to take the next natural step - set up a winery back on dry land, naming it, naturally enough, Whitehaven.

Plush, smooth and full of ripe red plum flavours, this wine is made with grapes grown a vineyard formed on the ancient riverbed of a river that once carried rock from the steep Ruahine ranges and deposited masses of free-draining gravel which is locally known as red metal. This is a plush wine from a very good vintage and punches well above its weight. Juicy ripe berry flavours from the Merlot are balanced by grunty darker earthy elements from the Franc.

Complex Hawke's Bay blend modelled on the best of Bordeaux as a blend of Cabernets Sauvignon, Franc and with a dash of Merlot to add soft, smooth, sweet black plum textures and flavours. This wine has great structure and intensity of flavour. A silky attack with concentrated black currant and spicy plum flavours some liquorice and mineral elegance with a long flavored fine grained tannin finish. This wine will improve with cellaring. 

This wine is great value for money from winemaker Simon Waghorn, who says Chardonnay is his first love in wine. He makes this creamy, dry and citrusy version from four different clones of Chardonnay, all grown on his family's home block vineyard. 

All grapes were hand picked, whole cluster pressed fermented with wild yeasts in barrel followed by lees aging in French oak with battonage (stirring of the lees). The result is a full bodied wine offering impressive depth and layers of stonefruit and citrusy flavours at a relatively modest price. 

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. 

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.

Elegant and refined with a backbone of pristine fruit and balanced acidity, this finely concentrated Chardonnay has a lovely freshness and finesse and will become more complex as it evolves over time. It is drinking well now, and will develop beautifully over 5-7 years.

VINEYARDS
Old vine Mendoza Chardonnay was sourced from two sites in Hawke’s Bay.
The Mangatahi site is inland and elevated and later ripening, while Bridge Pa
ripens Chardonnay beautifully with their red metal soils.
Low yielding vines, open canopy management, managed irrigation and Sustainable
Winegrowing NZ farmed were common to both sites. The Mendoza clone with their
typical hen and chicken bunches produced fruit of great intensity and balance,
and structured acidity. This Chardonnay was hand harvested and cooled overnight.

WINEMAKING
The cooled bunches were hand sorted then whole bunched pressed. The majority of
juice was cold settled then racked to barrel. Fermentation was in new and seasoned
French oak, with selected cultured yeast and indigenous yeast, for added complexity.
A combination of 500L puncheons and 225L barriques were employed. Lees stirring
post fermentation was regular and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel.
The Chardonnay matured in barrel for 9 months before blending and bottling.

TASTING NOTE
An elegant Chardonnay which focuses on the beautiful structure so evident in this
grape variety. Pristine fruit and balanced acidity are the backbone, enhanced with
seamless texture and mouthfeel. Citrus notes, particularly grapefruit pith abound, gracefully supported by sweet French oak.

Radburnd Cellars 

15 Minute Bottles is Tom & Anne (Central Otago) alongside Dave & Lana (North Canterbury). Their eclectic backgrounds in wine, hospitality and agriculture have culminated in this project, producing the kind of lively, energetic wines that they love to drink.
15 Minute Bottles sources fruit from family owned and operated vineyards who are both certified and practising organic.
Their exposure to energetic and thought-provoking natural wines coined the phrase “15 Minute Bottle,” which represents their collective ethos towards drinking wine, where a bottle is shared around a table, inspiring conversation, conviviality and connection.

Certified organic fruit from Mt Edward’s Pisa Terrace vineyard. Fine loam over alluvial gravels. 100% whole bunch ferment in stainless steel for thirteen days. Pressed to barrel for six months, then aged in stainless steel for a further seven
months. Honeycomb and flint. Round and robust with a salty acidic thread.

Unfined and unfiltered. Minimal added sulphites.

A superlative vintage for Hawke's Bay Syrah - the outstanding 2020 harvest made beautifully balanced spicy reds with dark fruit flavours supported by spicy layers of nuance such as pepper, cardamon, vanilla and cloves. This is a stunning value wine offering depth, character and complexity at a fraction of the usual price for all three. 

Buy it by the case as this vintage will cellar superbly for years to come.

A great Syrah made from grapes grown onto different sites in the Gravels, including clay soils and limestone soils, which provide different depths of flavour and complexity to the grapes. The wine is deep purple in colour and flavour with approachable floral prettiness and appeal supported by notes of clove, one of the hallmarks flavours of Syrah. The finished wine was aged for 17 months in French oak, includes small 228 litre and larger 500 & 600 litre puncheons, 29% new.

This is a complex spicy little number with deliciously approachable smoothness and body. A welcome new addition to winemaker Gordon Russell's Esk Valley wines.