A floral Chardonnay that displays lanolin, flintiness and stone fruit aromas on the nose. The palate is creamily textured and full bodied with ripe nectarine-like fruit, underlying notes of toasted cashew nuts, sourdough bread and cinnamon quills - ending with a clean and crisp finish and a lovely persistent and savoury toastiness.

Fresh red berry fruits aromas combine with a distinctive dried herb nose, with layers of pot pourri and spice. Chalky tannins and lively acidity entwine around a core of vibrant red fruits. This is a fresh and aromatic wine of elegance and poise.

Deliciously spicy, aromatic red fruit are captured in this silky Pinot Noir from Astrolabe Wines, which is a blend of grapes from four Marlborough sub regions, the Brancott and Waihopai, the Awatere and Kekerengu on the southern coast of the broader region. 

The grapes in this wine were fermented with wild yeasts in open top vats, including a portion of whole bunches to provide structure and add complexity to the pristine red fruit flavours in this wine. Wild yeasts and hot ferments are followed by aging in old French oak barrels where the wine gains its smooth mouthfeel and savoury flavours.

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. 

?Meltwater is a new collection of small batch organic wines with texture and interest ? No formula here, just deliciously crisp and pure wines that express everything we love about Marlborough. The wines are named for the glacial meltwaters of the last ice age, which flowed from the high country of Marlborough, depositing sedimentary rock material as they criss-crossed the valleys below.? ?Mike & Anna Paterson, Corofin



Tasting Note: Picked ripe but still with a citrus core and good acidity. As with the 2021, plenty of pithy, waxy dry extract which is texturally very appealing. Plenty of interest and seductive on release.

Winemaking Notes: Hand harvested April 10th 2022. Natural ferment in older puncheons. Slow and steady primary fermentation over 7 months, stopping at 4gl RS; full malolactic fermentation on original lees. Racked, filtered and bottled March 2023. Biogro certified 6110. Only 65 cases made.

Rich ripe boysenberry, cherry stone, tar, and spice aromas saturate the nose. The palate is awash with ripe red fruits and punchy velvety tannins. This Montepulciano is not for the faint hearted but will excite anyone that’s into big reds. This wine has a long life ahead of it and will certainly be worth cellaring into the coming decades.

Saddleback is the second label of Central Otago winery Peregrine. The region offers a cool climate with large diurnal (day to night) shifts in temperature, perfect for developing the subtle flavours and keen acidity that really makes Pinot Gris tick. This superb value wine is made with grapes from the Bendigo (39%), Pisa (34%) and Gibbston (27%) sub regions of Central Otago, is 100% hand harvested and fermented on the lees for 2 months prior to blending and bottling. A dry Pinot Gris  with floral, citrus and ginger aromatics and flavours of fresh pear, apricot and stonefruit.

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.

Intense pepper and exotic florals on the nose merge with vanilla-saturated plum, cherry and boysenberry - plump tannins and smooth succulence round out the finish.

Pinot Gris, Viognier and Gewurztraminer join forces in this quirky white blend from a great Hawke’s Bay winery. These grapes are an aromatic bunch and when fermented dry offer a lush body and crisp long fresh finish.

One of Central Otago's best kept secrets - great whites made from Chardonnay, a grape that thrives in the deep south as this beauty shows. It's full bodied, dry and made from certified organic grapes grown at the Morrison Vineyard at Pisa; one of the most highly regarded sub regions for grape growing in Central Otago. 

Grapes were pressed straight to barrel for fermentation with native vineyard yeasts, entirely in older French oak with no new oak at all. The wine was then matured in the same barrels for a year. 

The result is a beautiful dry, richly textured, smooth and creamy Chardonnay balanced by great southern acidity which gives Central Otago a distinctive edge when producing the world's most popular white wine. 

The home and winery of Mount Edward is situated in Gibbston, 25 kilometres from Queenstown.  Vineyards are there, in Bannockburn and at PIsa. 

A great lunch time wine from Mt Edward Wines in Central Otago, one of the region's most adventurous producers with its range of interesting, high quality, dry white wines. Pinot Blanc makes a fabulous alternative to Chardonnay and this dry wine has beautifully fresh white stone fruit aromas with a citrusy taste mid palate and layers of freshness. 

Superbly refreshing, floral aromas with lime and honeysuckle. Off-dry, with a balanced acidity, fresh mineral flavours and a hint of apple
Great for that summer lunch

Cameron Douglas MS 93/100
A lovely wine in an off-dry expression. Aromas and flavours of green apple and lemon pith, honeysuckle and lime-flower. The sweetness is perfectly placed against a backdrop of acidity and ripe citrus and apple flavours. Balanced and well made, crisp and lengthy, a great aperitif style for Summer 2024.

Bob Campbell MW 93/100
"Medium-dry riesling with saline/oyster shell, lemon blossom, lime, and wild flower flavours. Initial sweetness is balanced by refreshing acidity which helps drive a lingering finish and creates mouth-tingling tension. Intense wine with cellaring potential"

Savoury dried herbs and earthy notes lead into this impressively structured Pinot Noir from the Gibbston Valley, the last region typically to harvest its grapes each year in Central Otago. This cool climate is expressed in this wine in the high acidity and dried herb notes, which add depth and complexity to the weighty red plum notes and lovely full body. An impressive wine from a very good vintage and likely to shine in 10 years' time - if it lasts that long. 

Released and on the market now. Ageing time: potentially 10 to 11 years+.

The four Valli Pinot Noirs

The four sub regions that winemaker Grant Taylor makes Pinot Noir from each year encompass widely varying landscapes, soil types and climates from the maritime influenced weather in the Waitaki Valley Vineyard on the ironically named Grant's Road; a site that Grant Taylor owns, through to the semi continental climates of Gibbston, Bannockburn and Bendigo. 

Bendigo

Valli Bendigo Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown on the Chinaman's Terrace Vineyard in Bendigo, Central Otago. This elevated vineyard was planted in 2005 between 314 metres and 374 metres above sea level with five different Pinot Noir clones; Abel, 115, UCD5, 667 and 777. The soils are shallow sandy loams with a high clay content and also include a small lower section with gravel soils.  Bendigo has a semi continental, arid climate. The vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Bannockburn

Valli Bannockburn Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown on the Hall Vineyard, which was planted in 2000 in Bannockburn at 350 metres above sea level. This area has a semi continental climate. It is planted with six different clones of Pinot Noir; namely, 777, 115, 10/5, UCD5, 113 and 13. The soils here are wind blown loess over schist bedrock. They are deep, moderately sandy and free draining. The vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Gibbston Valley

Valli Gibbston Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown on the Gibbston Highway, which were planted between 1999 and 2000 at between 343 and 351 metres above sea level. The Pinot Noir clones on this site are 777, 115, UCD5 and 114. Soils are alluvial loess which ranges from 0.5 to 1 metre deep over firm river gravels.

Rainfall is lower here than in Bannockburn and Bendigo. The climate is considered semi continental. The vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Waitaki Valley

Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown on Grant's Road in the Waitaki Valley, a maritime influenced climate planted between 2004 and 2005 at 200 metres above sea level on limestone based soils. River gravels also make up some of the soil type here and vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.