Just across the road from Ata Rangi, Martinborough’s finest estate, Te Rehua is the warmest and richest of Escarpment’s vineyards. Larry McKenna skilfully offsets its black and red berry and cherry fruits intensity and drive with the dried herb and lifted exotic spice complexity of whole bunch fermentation. Structure is wonderfully textured and firm, and […]

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I once believed that a lighter-bodied, red fruits expression was a regional signature of Marlborough pinot noir, but I have a rising feeling that this is simply a consequence of young vines and inexperience with the variety. As Marlborough comes of age, its pinots are becoming deeper, darker and more harmonious, and Villa Maria exemplifies […]

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Planted at three times the density of most NZ vines, this is the best corner of Escarpment’s estate vineyard. Just one kilogram of fruit per vine produces incredible complexity and understated density. Black olives, coal, liquorice, exotic spice and black berries are all present here, drawn out by vibrant, taut acid structure and finely poised, […]

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Let’s be honest, robust reds aren’t everyone’s bag.
The wine world is increasingly prizing diversity and subtlety.

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If there’s a word to sum up our food and wine tastes of the past decade it has to be “experimentation.”

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Sales of this sassy little Spanish white blend have gone ballistic in Oz over the past year and it’s not hard to see why. It’s tangy and textural, with a dry, structured finish of impressive control. More generous and fruity in the warm, dry 2011 season, it’s taken on notes of passionfruit, greengage plum, nashi […]

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This is the wine that stopped the Victorian judges (and the rest of us) in their tracks at the Barossa Wine Show this year. Ian Hongell has been learning clever tricks from Kym Schroeter (Penfolds) and other chardonnay luminaries, crafting a wine that utilises funky barrels and solidsy ferment to create delightful struck flint and […]

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Bilancia has managed to retain delicate poise in a gris of impressive exoticism of starfruit, nashi pear and ginger. A softly textured lemon blossom palate is built around well-considered, gently phenolic structure that heightens mouthfeel and definition. A well-crafted wine for food. $20 at Ki WiNZ.

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This vintage walks a tightrope between elegant restraint and fleshy fruit presence, and pulls it off with particular prowess. A brilliant colour of luminescent, medium purple heralds vibrant layers of violets, stewed plum and black pepper from start to finish, pulled in by tightly textured, gravelly tannins and taut acidity. Give it time to integrate […]

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The cool 2011 vintage exemplifies the rule that off-dry rieslings are all about acidity, making this a particularly long-lived Prima. More than a year after release, it’s still as pristine, primary, zesty and succulent as ever. Racy lemon zest and spicy kaffir lime notes are the theme here, with a wonderful tension between succulent sweetness […]

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