Off-dry and simply delicious! Our pick for serious Riesling connoisseurs. The fruit character of the Southern Valleys is balanced by the minerality of the river gravels, all wrapped up in a dry, crisp acidity. 10+ years of aging potential if you have the self-control but drinking exceptionally well now.

Vinification
The grapes were machine harvested in the cool of the morning, cold settled and cool fermented in stainless steel tanks before blending and finishing for bottling in spring.

Analysis at bottling

pH 3.09 | T.A. 7.35 g/l | RS 4.5 g/l | Alcohol 12.5%

One of Marlborough's best bubblies, Nautilus is modelled on Bollinger Special Cuvee and aged for three years before release - a long ageing time that provides depth, complexity of yeasty flavours and it retains freshness... This dry, full bodied, deliciously yeasty sparkling wine is a blend of 71.4% Pinot Noir and 28.6% Chardonnay. All grapes are hand picked, fermented with a champagne yeast with only the first run of juice going to fermentation to retain a fineness in flavour and texture. The wine typically contains 5 to 15% of reserve wines, held back from previous vintages, to add complexity and consistency to the wine. 

It is aged on lees in bottle for three years prior to disgorgement, which takes place regularly to ensure every bottle on the market remains fresh in flavour. 

Winemaker Clive Jones creates a consistently vibrant sparkling wine here which has pronounced yeasty, fresh bread aromas and rich savoury flavours. 

Nautilus is a member of Methode Marlborough, a group of quality minded winemakers in the country's biggest wine region, who have dedicated themselves to producing sparkling wines with a minimum of 18 months aging in the bottle and made 100% from grapes grown in their region.

Black Estate - This Riesling is grown on the rolling slopes of our Damsteep Vineyard.  The site's dense clay and mineral limestone provide weight, texture and salivating freshness.  A true character.

Hand picked grapes, indigenous yeast fermentation and time on lees all add the X factor to this dry Pinot Gris from Kumeu River Wines, which has a long standing reputation as the best winery in the region, for good reason.

The winery began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Katé Brajkovich, bought a small property with a vineyard on it. Their descendents now own and run Kumeu River Wines, which produces 250,000 bottles of wine annually from its owns 30 hectares of vineyards in Kumeu and from another 10 hectares, owned by local grape growers. 

We love a dry Pinot Gris and this wine ticks that box beautifully... We're sure you'll love it too.

Tasting Notes
Nectarine stone, honey dew and lemon zest on the nose lead to a rich creamy texture, finishing with freshness and poise. A fantastic aperitif style that is also well matched with richer dishes of cheese, pork, charcuterie, seafood and poultry.
About the Wine
Grown at Red Bank Vineyard, Alexandra and featuring the Proprietor’s Grandfather, Sydney Neill Wine Merchant, on the label, Picnic Riesling is our perennial favourite and a wonderful introduction to the pleasure of Central Otago Riesling. We think it is just as much a dinner wine as a luncheon – equally enjoyable at home outdoors, as at the Captain’s Table. Hand harvested and crafted in to a delicious refreshing off-dry style appealing to just about everyone on the planet.

Vintage Comments
A mild, wet 2022 winter meant soils held a lot of water going into the spring and inter-row companion crops including clover, phacelia and barley got off to a strong start. Early spring was very cold and then as spring warmed up in November shoot growth was strong. Flowering started the first week in December and fruit set was considered good on most blocks. Mid-summer heat was high and growing degree days were above 2022 and on par with 2019 by the end of the season.

Picking dates were moving forward until the second half of March when the heat ran out and the final ripening was slow and cool. Harvest started on the 27th of March at Red Bank Vineyard and finished on the 21st of April at The First Paddock, Gibbston. Cropping levels were just short of the optimum 2022 crop.

VINEYARD MANAGEMENT - Soils are schist based gravelly loams. Own roots – cane cuttings from Felton Road. Single cane, one bunch per shoot and very close planted at 5500 vines per hectare. Both shoot and lateral thinned to reduce crop load. Leaves that expose the grapes when ripening are also plucked off to increase sunlight exposure in to the vine canopy. Hand harvested.

WINE MAKERS NOTES - Hand harvested on the 17th April 2023 at 21 Brix and whole bunch pressed, meaning that the press was loaded with the grapes as intact bunches, versus removing the stems first. This pressed juice was then steeped on those skins (in wine language we call that ‘skin contact’) for 14 hours to extract aromatics and flavour and then it was inoculated with yeast and fermented to ‘just off-dry’ wine. We then left the wine sitting in tank on its lees (spent yeast cells that boost body and complexity) for three months before bottling. Please note the International Riesling scale on the back label.

Churton Pinot Noir  

WINEMAKING
The grapes were 100% handpicked and gravity fed into open top fermenters with 20% whole bunch inclusion. The skins were gently pumped over twice a day. The total time on skins was 21 days before being gently pressed off and matured in French oak for 16 months. The wine went through 100% malolactic fermentation in early spring before blending and bottling.


TASTING NOTES
On the nose fragrant and bright aromas of red liquorice, rose petals, dried spices, cranberries, cherries and blackberries. On the palate a core of wild strawberry and bramble fruits flavours is underpinned by silky tannins and fine acidity, with a long, crisp finish of slate and spice. This wine is concentrated but elegant.

Commercial Description

Our Ballochdale Vineyard in Marlborough is soul food for everyone who visits. its isolation, elevation and breath taking views simply fill you up. Our beautifully structured Sauvignon captures its special character with every sip. Flavours reminiscent of limes and nettle flowers with hints of green melon all wrapped around a  delicious acidity and natural fruit ripeness.

Close your eyes and think of warm sunshine and snowy mountain peaks. This wine takes you there.

Alpha Domus winery was founded in 1989 and its name is an anagram of the owners' names, Anthonius, Leonard, Paulus and Henrikus. Domus is Latin for home. 

They named this soft, chocolatey and plush Merlot after the classic 1932 Fox Moth aircraft, which helped open the world up to travel and adventure. This dry, smooth and full bodied red also opens up new worlds of flavour and shows why Merlot is the most planted red grape in Hawke's Bay - it works a treat there. 

Fresh, delicate aromas of almond, stone fruit with a hint of old oak. Cirrus is the rounder of the two Chardonnays with lovely ripe, textural tropical stone fruits wrapped with moreish, mouth-filling phenolics.

Barrel fermented Syrah with ripe black fleshy plum flavours, hints of baking spice (notes of cinnamon, ginger and cardamon) and a long, structured but smooth finish with ripe tannins and dry flavours. This wine is the jewel in Mission Estate's Syrah crown and is made from 100% Gimblett Gravels grapes. 

Dark crimson in colour, this wine is brooding with a rich, bold, and powerful bouquet of savoury red berry fruit, aromas of sweet raspberries, framboise liqueur and sweet vanilla. Lush, juicy, and very appealing savoury tannins give the wine great texture.

We expect this wine to reward careful cellaring over 7-10 years.

One of the best value Sauvignon Blancs made in New Zealand and a zesty little charmer with its vibrant tropical and fresh herb aromas, coupled with tingling acidity and a long finish. 

Outstanding value for money.