Stonecroft Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Estate grown in their certified organic Mere Road vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels. A fairly unusual straight Cabernet Sauvignon (only) wine from hand-picked fruit. A bold deep dark colour, it has dense leathery notes matched with fragrant juicy blackcurrants. The vibrant fruit rests on a very full body with supple fine-grained tannins. Amongst the ripe concentrated fruit is a streak of herbaceous savouriness that gives complex balance to the overall poise of the mid-palate. It has a soft well-rounded finish and is already drinking well, but is serious contender in the long haul.
Alexander Vineyard ‘Dusty Road’ Pinot Noir 2018
A gold medal winner at the 2019 NZIWS , from the family run Hinakura vineyard in Martinborough. A dark cerise colour in the glass, with buoyant scents of juicy raspberry, cherry and spiced plum pudding. A lively acidity is woven with chocolatey oak and a solid depth of sweet and succulently ripe flavours. A full bodied palate with supple tannins and swathed with a herbal savouriness. A dense and complex wine with a long finish, giving a lingering sensation of violets and damson. Outstanding value at around $25 a bottle for a winery that has consistently won many medals over recent years.
Saint Clair ‘James Sinclair’ Chardonnay 2018
A gold medal winner at the recent New World Wine Awards, as well winning gold at the 2019 NZIWS. Also, despite not being the Chardonnay Trophy winner – was awarded the Trophy for Commercial White Wine (under $20). From the Awatere Valley in Marlborough. A bright gold with greening at the edges in the glass. A beautifully aromatic wine, with a suggestion of struck match flintiness on the nose, as well as heaps of ripe peach and lemon blossom. A creamy texture (lots of lees age and stirring here, and full MLF) with a soft rounded palate of toasty cashew, layers of tropical fruit and zinging citric acidity. To get this wine, presneted in the same fashion as any premium lines, at under $20 is an absolute treat – I think it would even age well for years to come.
Saint Clair ‘Pioneer Block 1’ Sauvignon Blanc 2019
A gold medal winner at the 2019 NZIWS, from a batch of superb new wines of the new 2019 vintage. Single vineyard fruit from the lower Wairau Valley, Marlborough. Instantly identifiable as Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – this does exactly what it says on the tin – pungent intensity on the nose, with a hint of savoury herbals, but with the tangy tropical fruit and crunchy green capsicum in full effect. The palate has a minerality of wet stone and oyster shell, an incisive acidity, but also threaded with an intensely varietal succulence of gooseberry and lime. I also detected a green olive or a leafy tomato, almost an earthiness to the layers of fruit in here.
