Reviews

This is the ‘Barrique Reserve’ expression of the three Viogniers that this Northland label produce – including an un-oaked version and a Late Harvest one too. The 2020 vintage of …

Dancing Petrel Viognier 2021 Read More

Making the best use of their own Carter family vineyards & other boutique estates, Soho use three of the best NZ winemakers – James Rowan for Waiheke Island, Pete Turner …

Soho Family Vineyards – recent releases Read More

From Tempranillo grown on a single 0.6 hectare block in the Te Awa Vineyard, in the Gimblett Gravels. An early-ripening, quite rare, variety in New Zealand that is well suited …

Esk Valley Tempranillo 2021 Read More

One of Felton Road’s earlier vintages (in the first ten years) and not an easy year for the vineyards – yields were low but high quality. An opaque dark ruby …

Felton Road Pinot Noir 2005 Read More

It has been a couple of months since my last ‘wine adventure in a box’ from laithwaites.co.nz arrived – and it is funny how you can just drop back into …

A midwinter box from Laithwaites Read More

From Herzog’s organic vineyard in Marlborough comes this white Rhône blend of Viognier 50%, Marsanne (30%) and Roussanne (20%) – often regarded as a classic New Zealand version of this …

Hans Herzog Mistral 2018 Read More

From New Zealand’s northernmost vineyard – on the Karikari Peninsula. Sealed under cork, with a garnet-ruby colour in the glass. Plum, root beer, boysenberry, balsam, tamarillo, peppercorn, mocha and rose …

Karikari Estate Syrah 2019 Read More

I had the chance this afternoon to taste through the 2021 wines that have just been released from Escarpment, with Chief Winemaker Tim Bourne. 2021 was ‘a small yet exceptional’ …

Escarpment – single vineyard 2021 releases Read More

From organic Syrah fruit grown at Bridge Pa, Hawke’s Bay – an early pick and bottled unfined, unfiltered and not disgorged. Rosé in style, a cloudy copper-pink in the glass, …

Known Unknown ‘Roses’ Pet Nat 2022 Read More