From Jules Taylor...

Forget what you think you know about Pinot Gris and try this tasty little treat. Jules conjures up some winemaker witchcraft to coax every last ounce of personality out of this subtle little grape. Modern clones combine with traditional wild ferments, barrel aging and lees stirring to supercharge the aromas and textures of this wine. The end result is a flavour-packed mouthful of peach and citrus with an elegant spicy dry finish: a wine that will keep everyone happy.

Bold, dry deliciousness and peachy perfection with just a hint of hint of spice come together in the perfect party pour.

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note A highly seductive and luscious Pinot Noir balanced by bright acidity and firm and silky tannins, with dark cherry, plum, wild strawberry, intense violet and clove aromas.

VINEYARD

Vineyard: Catherine’s (100%) Subregion: Pisa Elevation: 240m Clone(s): Abel , 777 Soil: Waenga alluvial sandy silt gravels, loam texture, moderately stoney, derived from schist

WINEMAKING

Brix: 22.7 (avg.) Whole Cluster: 27% Total time on skins: 25 days (avg.), including a five-day cold soak Fermentation: Wild yeasts Aging: 10 months in 25% new French oak Cases Produced: 95

Purity of ripe grapefruit, lemon and limes all intermingle in this bold and beautifully balanced expression of Riesling from Craighall Vineyard in Martinborough. This is one of the best Rieslings in the country and will absolutely improve with ageing for up to a decade, potentially longer in a cool dark cellar. 

Nga Waka was established in Martinborough in 1988 and is a family-owned winegrower producing small volumes of fine Martinborough wine from estate-grown grapes.

The Home Block Chardonnay is Nga Waka's flagship white wine. It is 100% barrel fermented and goes through 100% malolactic fermentation, remaining in barrel for 12 months with lees stirring monthly.

The wine is a pale gold colour and is rich and complex with deep, intense spicy and mineral flavours underpinned by tight-grained French oak, barrel fermentation and the malolactic component.

Calvert Vineyard is a special piece of land on Felton Road in Central Otago and it is home to several great Pinot Noirs, including this fragrant, elegant and muscular wine. Produced for Owen Calvert, this wine is made by Sarah Burton who brings out Pinot's refreshing qualities of intense red florals, cherries and a savoury twist on the finish.  

A fruit salad of a wine! Passionfruit with white peach, apricot & a light smokiness.  A saline & refreshing acid profile with supple texture.

When I found out there was some Albariño available from the Two Terraces vineyard I was so excited to work with such a refreshing and versatile variety! Already familiar with the quality of the fruit grown by Ian and Linda Quinn, as well as the care and attention to soil health, I did not hesitate to jump at the opportunity.

The whole bunches were hand harvested, de-stemmed and macerated on the skins for two weeks time. A very light daily hand plunge and the addition of my active vineyard starter yeast which fermented underneath the vines. Biodynamic preparations 500, CPP were applied to the soil through out the year, as well as silica quartz (501) to the canopy.

After fermentation was complete the free run juice Albariño was pressed into a large spherical and small Tinajas for ageing on its lees.

Great Esk Valley blend from the great 2020 vintage and made entirely from grapes grown on stony soils of Gimblett Gravels. This wine is one of the top 12 Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection wines for 2020. It's a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, fermented in open top concrete fermenters and hand plunged. Deeply coloured and complex with jammy and plummy notes.

The Malbec provides smoothness and depth with soft plummy flavours from the Merlot and structure from the Cabernet.

This top drop drinks well now and will also age well for seven to eight years.

Made by Mt Edward winery co-owner, winemaker and Riesling devotee Duncan Forsyth, whose focus is on dry Rieslings. This is a super tasty with with complex fresh aroma spectrum and flavours of lemons, limes, and grapefruit, underpinned by the freshness of sorbet and a lingering dry finish. 

Grapes were whole bunch pressed and fermented in stainless steel barrels and stainless tanks with wild yeasts, no temperature control and lees aging for three months.

Providore is a new kid on the block in Central Otago and is the brainchild of well seasoned winemaker Pete Bartle, who has made wine in the region for the past couple of decades. He buys Pinot Gris grapes from Gibbston Valley for this dry, refreshing and aromatic Pinot Gris, which is nicely balanced by fresh acidity, which adds zingyness to this medium bodied, juice white. Gibbston is the smallest of all Central Otago's sub-regions when it comes to the number of grapes planted and it is also the last place to be harvested. This long season allows a lengthy ripening season and highly flavoursome wines. 

A very special Pinot Noir with earthy aromas and fresh mushroom meets red cherry flavours, made from grapes grown on a 0.8 hectare hillside of limestone laden land on the road to Castlepoint in the Wairarapa. 

Winemaker Raffael Burki (hence the name 'B' on the label) produces this exceptional Pinot Noir from the Lime Hill Vineyard and it is a sister wine to the Johner Lime Hill Pinot Noir. 

Two exceptional wines from a tiny plot of land. Pinot lovers will relish both. 

Juicy and refreshingly succulent pale ruby Pinot Noir, which has body and structure, building on winemaker Jannine Rickards' previous Waikura Rosé and is a lighter bodied red wine with structure and flavour interest but freshness that suits being served as a lightly chilled wine. 

Made from old vine 10/5 Pinot Noir (25% whole bunch with gentle pump overs) and new plantings of Abel clone Pinot Noir, all grown on the Stad_Ko Vineyard; the new name for the old Arapai Vineyard in Martinborough.

Versatile, refreshing and incredibly age worthy. Chenin Blanc is one of the great grapes of the wine world for all these qualities and more and this one is made with grapes grown on Ian Quinn’s Two Terraces vineyard in Mangatahi, Hawke's Bay. Quinn, the grape grower, is an unapologetic devotee of Chenin Blanc, which he supplies to several passionate winemakers, including Gordon Russell of Esk Valley. 

Russell ferments this Chenin in stainless steel, maturing it in a concrete egg for six months on fine lees. It's dry in taste and literally just off dry in style with residual sugar of 5.8 grams per litre. 

New Zealand’s climate is exceptionally well suited to this stunning classic French white grape variety, as winemakers such as Gordon Russell of Esk Valley, has shown for decades through his passionate perseverance with this lively white grape. 

Chenin Blanc is one of the world's most versatile grape varieties because it can be used to make bone dry, full bodied whites, which both France and South Africa specialise in and it can also make super succulent sweeties. The grape's naturally high acidity adds balancing freshness to wines made from it, which retain a brightness and lively style. 

A lovely Dry Riesling from Bannockburn in Central Otago, crisp, mineral & drinking beautifully!

Aroha is the Maori word for love and plenty of TLC has gone into tending the grapes that go into this full bodied Pinot Noir from the Te Muna Valley in Martinborough. 

This is the pinnacle Pinot Noir made by Craggy Range and represents a wine that can age superbly as well as drinking well now; preferably decanted. 

Red and black cherry flavours are supported by gentle smooth French oak ageing.

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.