Fantastic value for money, dry and flinty with brief lees maturation adding depth, which balances the fresh acidity in this zesty little wine. It was fined once and lightly filtered before bottling.  

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.

A great expression of Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir with earthy aromas and notes of wild thyme, raspberries and red cherries from the dramatic cool climate region. Coal Pit is an elevated hillside vineyard and small production are key ingredients that go into making Coal Pit Tiwha Pinot Noir a wine that stands out from the crowd with its earthy robust style and delicacy; the classic iron fist in a velvet glove.

Coal Pit Pinot Noir is a small scale wine made entirely from estate grown grapes on a sloping hillside vineyard planted on 12 hectares in the Gibbston Valley in Central Otago. The soils here are schist on these warm north facing slopes and the Pinot Noir clones planted are a mix of 115, 10/5, 777 and 5. Some vines here date back to the original plantings in 1994 and remain on their own roots while others are now grafted. The Coal Pit Winery is owned by Rosie Dunphy, who bought the site in 2001 and built a winery onsite in 2007. She named the Tiwha Pinot Noir in tribute to her late father. The Coal Pit winery name pays homage to the early pioneers and gold miners in the region.  

The artwork on the Tiwha label is by Chris Heaphy and the original painting is on the wall inside the winery's tasting room.

Akitu A1 has all the bells and whistles of great Pinot Noir with seductive red floral and fruity aromas leading into a full bodied, silky and structured wine with 40% whole bunch fermentation and five different clones of Pinot Noir adding complexity. The dominant clone in the blend is Abel (a clone is a variation of a grape variety), which lends this Pinot its impressive structure and a silky mouthfeel. It goes without saying that it takes a warm year and ripe grapes to include a high proportion of whole bunches in the fermentation tank, stalks and all. This wine benefits from its high portion of whole bunches and is possibly the best A1 from Akitu yet. A modest 20% new French oak was used to mature the wine. This lends it weight, smoothness and a soft mouthfeel while allowing the fruit to remain in second place after the charry complexity.

The home of Akitu 

Andrew Donaldson planted his vineyard with 100% Pinot Noir in 2002 and has since developed three distinctive styles of wine from this great red grape variety. Two reds (Akitu A 1 and Akitu A2) lead the production while a Pinot Blanc is now part of the high quality stable of wines from this producer. 

Donaldson employs winemaker P J Charteris to make the wines. 

At Mt Barker, in New Zealand's South Island, in a high glacial valley of sunshine and rain shadow on the edge of the earth, each season leave its own vivid imprint on our vintage.  Extreme temperature variations, alpine air, altitude, adversity... all the wild elements of this exhilarating land combine in a Pinot Noir of great quality from the world's southernmost wine region.

Pristine and fabulously aromatic with feijoa, kiwifruit, green apple and lime zest aromas, it’s intensely flavoursome in the mouth displaying excellent fruit purity and persistency. Finely textured and lingering with loads of tasty flavours.

Aromas and flavours of green apple and lemon peel, honey suckle and butterscotch. The palate is rich yet refreshing and the mouthfeel is delicate yet persistent.

The home of Akitu 

Andrew Donaldson planted his vineyard with 100% Pinot Noir in 2002 and has since developed three distinctive styles of wine from this great red grape variety. Two reds (Akitu A 1 and Akitu A2) lead the production while a Pinot Blanc is now part of the high quality stable of wines from this producer. 

Donaldson employs winemaker P J Charteris to make the wines. 

At Mt Barker, in New Zealand's South Island, in a high glacial valley of sunshine and rain shadow on the edge of the earth, each season leave its own vivid imprint on our vintage.  Extreme temperature variations, alpine air, altitude, adversity... all the wild elements of this exhilarating land combine in a Pinot Noir of great quality from the world's southernmost wine region.

Stone fruits and green fruits such as pear and apple combine beautifully with some phenolic texture in this luscious wine.

If you're looking for an organically certified, approachable white wine, here's a lovely off dry wine with white fleshed pear flavours and a hint of fresh lemon captured in a soft, smooth, dry white for drinking now or soon rather than for cellaring. It will hold its own for two to three years and offers good value for money.

Violets, spice, chocolate and damson plum saturate the nose whilst the palate is rich and opulent giving loads of dark red fruits. The tannins give the wine plenty of structure, also providing longevity for many years to come. Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Franc at its peak. Drink now until 2030.

Vegan and Certified Organic

Vegan and Certified Organic

Saddleback Pinot Noir is named after the bold and beautiful South Island Saddleback, a native bird to New Zealand. And the wine is also a bold one, representing a fruity expression of Pinot Noir from Central Otago. It's a blend of grapes from the region, including 39% Pinot Noir from Bendigo, 50% from Pisa and 11% from the Gibbston Valley, home to the winery's cellar door. 

This soft and fresh Pinot Noir is made from 100% destemmed grapes which were aged for 10 months in French oak.

It's made to drink now and in the next two to three years. 

This is one of our best Pinot Noirs under $25 and consistently exceptional drinking at this price, thanks to fruit forward flavours of red cherries which are underpinned by refreshing acidity kept in balance by an under tow of savoury, earthy flavours. 

It's made by Martinborough winemaker John Douglas, who owns a small vineyard on Te Muna Road, 9 kilometres west of Martinborough village. This four hectare plot of organically certified vineyard land is home to the grapes that go into this excellent Pinot Noir, which over delivers on value, flavour and style.

Te Muna Valley has the same stony soils as vineyards the better known  vineyards around Martinborough village. It also has a slightly windier, slightly cooler climate, both factors that combine to make for challenges in the volume of grapes produced but exceptional depth of flavour in the great wines from this valley.