2/2/2024 - Jon and Bek wrote:

Alistair liked it

3/22/2023 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Superb blend of Merlot and Cabernets (maybe Syrah?) from one of the Gimblett Gravels vineyards that started it all. Nose alluringly aromatic and floral even after 25 years, red fruit, dried lavender, dark ruby red colour. Palate rich with velvety black plum and bramble fruits on a dense savoury core; tannins big and silky, complex, long finish with tobacco, vanilla and cloves.

2/23/2023 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Drinking well, even at 9 years under cork, but probably no point keeping much longer.

1/30/2023 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

This unassuming Viognier from Gisborne is drinking beautifully, and after 9 years under screwcap shows no signs of decline yet. Floral nose with lily and jasmine, sweet apple. Palate rich and full, slightly viscous, citrus zest acidity, ending with honeysuckle. Beautiful.

1/31/2023 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Dark ruby red colour; nose floral, blackcurrant, rhubarb, musky spice; palate concentrated, blackcurrant and plum fruits, supple tannin and long finish. Lovely Australian Sagrantino.

8/5/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Lovely cabernet; dark red, floral violets, blackcurrants, a little herbs and eucalypt on the nose. Palate rich and dense with black fruit and berries, fine dark chocolate tannins and a long finish with a little vanilla and cream. Beautiful!

8/13/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Beautiful GSM, lots of Mourvèdre for dense purple colour and black elderberries on the palate. Raspberries and plum, with a little mint in the aroma. Great balance and length.

8/13/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Concentrated fruits, apricot, pear, green melon. Floral, balanced.

6/4/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

A great Chardonnay. Pale straw yellow colour; peach, butterscotch aromas. Dense, creamy texture with intense peach and apricot, orange zest, fine balanced acidity, lemon curd, and finishing very long.

4/29/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Great value for money, solid every day red. Roses and mint nose, good black fruit, blackcurrant, fine grained savoury tannins, a little chocolate in the finish. Still doing well after 7 years. Keep an eye out for their superb Tannat, too.

5/20/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Sassy, crowd-pleasing, immensely guzzleable red for NZ$19. Med-dark ruby red colour. Nose fruit forward, plum and blackberry, palate fruity and Primitivo-like, Montepulciano-like... strong tannins and good acidity, possibly from the Nero d'Avola. Interesting blend, lovely and approachable, great value for money.

4/28/2020 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Bordeaux blend from Zepelin, former winery opposite Black Barn in the Te Mata area of Hawke's Bay. Dark ruby, a little mint and lavender on the nose, silky black plum and berry fruits, cream, tobacco. Elegant, deep wine. A slight touch of prune or raisin, from 14 years in the bottle, but still going strong; probably peaking now.

5/29/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Drinking well now. Dark garnet-red, nose is dark roses and black plum. Palate rich, juicy ripe black plum, tobacco, wood shavings. Long finish, complex. Lovely wine

6/1/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Pale yellow colour. Nose of honeysuckle, white flowers. Palate dense, medium sweet with melon, apricot, balanced with lemon zest, and a line of almost savoury wild honey, pollen. Beautiful.

5/22/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

A good off dry apples and pears NZ Pinot Gris. Pleasant and smashable, with a touch of wild honey.

6/1/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

A really beautiful Chardonnay. Dark golden straw colour. Big peachy nose with only a hint of reductive flint. Rich and opulent, palate is luscious peach and apricot, mandarin zest, butterscotch, and a lovely long creamy finish. Hats off to The Landing crew in the Bay of Islands.

2/4/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Medium-dark purple-red. Ripe red raspberry and boysenberry fruits through the aromas and palate. Balanced tannin and acidity, medium-bodied, notes of stewed black plum, roasted red peppers, almost savoury, hints of rosemary. Lovely wine.

2/4/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

After 5 years drinking well, still ascending; 1 hour decant. Dark, dense ruby red. Beautiful intense nose, black plum, cassis, complex floral aromatics: dark rose, dried mint, lavender. Palate is full, intense; berry compote, polished chocolatey tannins, silky structure, and long finish. Very enjoyable, great B4B. Drink or hold, probably 2030+

1/31/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

MMMMMMMMMM... Montepulciano! From a cracker 2019 vintage in Hawke's Bay. Dark inky purple; strong aromas, black plum, violets; palate is fruit forward, perfectly ripe, astonishingly intense, plum, boysenberry even, tannin fine and balanced, finishing long with a little coffee and perhaps licorice. Structure still a bit tight, but will age for donkeys.

1/10/2022 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

This is a great Montefalco Sagrantino, in a modern style. Aromas strong, blackberry and red fruit, geranium florals, dried herbs. Palate concentrated, dense, full bodied, complex; bright fruits, tannins big but beautifully velvety, like silky chocolate; a little savoury broth, finishing very long, with plum compote. Fantastic Sagrantino, from a great 2016 vintage in Umbria by all accounts. Up there with Caprai and Bea for me. Drinking very well now with 1 hr decant, but will probably cellar for decades too.

12/29/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Pale greenish yellow; white lily, pear skin, lemon zest nose. Palate is sour apple, pear; strong food-friendly acidity, great with shellfish.

3/21/2019 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Blend of Barbera, Dolcetto and Lagrein, grown in Otago. Medium ruby red colour, rose petal and spice notes on the nose. Bright red fruit through the palate, still with a youthful sour acidity, some good tannin, with affinity for cheeses and meats. Lovely food wine.

11/24/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

This Monty is phenomenal. Dark, inky purple-black. Huge aroma, of violets and black plums; beautifully ripe black fruit on the palate, silky texture, soft velvet tannins, and a little licorice on the long finish. Superb!

11/16/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Red cherries, cranberry, roses, savoury acidity, fine tannin structure, finishing long. Lovely wine.

11/14/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Dark dense inky red colour; nose strong with eucalyptus, mint, black berries. Palate full, lush with blackcurrant jam, big silky cocoa powder tannins, cedar, a little cream; long vanilla finish.

11/12/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Dark violet-red colour, dense, very slightly cloudy (unfined, unfiltered). Beautiful nose: strong floral aromas, roses, violets, black berries. Palate rich, black plum and boysenberry, good silky tannin, savoury notes, leather, only a little pepper on the long finish. Lovely wine.

11/5/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

At 15 years, still singing. Made in the Amarone style, from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Montepulciano, dried for 2 months, 15.5% alcohol. Dark garnet red colour; dense with black plum, blackberries, fruitcake, vanilla; big alcohol but well balanced, pine bark, wood shavings on the finish. Superb wine. Hardly changed since i tasted it 3 years ago (but possibly more sediment).

10/28/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Pale yellow; ripe apple, flowers on the nose; palate apple pie, peach, good acidity, honey on the finish.

10/25/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Rich dark garnet-red colour. Nose fully evolved, black fruit, mossy earth. Palate full and complex, blackberries, blackcurrant compote, prune, tannins powdery, with chocolate. Long tertiary finish with old leather and pipe tobacco. Peaking now, drink up.

10/7/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Dark purple-red colour; black plum, fennel on the nose; palate is ripe black plums and brambles, soft tannins, coffee finish. The food friendly acidity is lovely with grilled lamb.

10/5/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Given an hour in the jug, opened up nicely. Dark red, floral aromas of roses, blackberry and cooked blueberries. Good fruit driven palate, medium bodied. Inexpensive, uncomplicated; pleasant drinking with food. Drink now.

6/3/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

A beautiful Aglianico; dark, inky purple; intense nose of blackberries, violets and cloves; concentrated blackberry and black cherry palate, tannin still tight but opens up with an hour in a jug; complex, with lovely notes of espresso and spice. Beautiful now but probably drink 2023-2028+ at least.

9/21/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

A Gisborne Merlot Malbec blend, dark ruby-purple colour. Mint, black plums on the nose, a little violets; palate rounded and full, plums and blackberry, peppery clove spice and a little vanilla on the finish. Very enjoyable.

8/19/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Like most NZ merlot, better after some bottle age. Good aromas of plum and blackberries, velvety and low acidity. No tertiary yet, good for a little longer.

5/9/2018 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Inexpensive and competent Merlot for the price, $15. A bit linear but good nose of plums and berries, smooth, acidity not too sharp. Purchased at the "cellar door" (a van at the Gisborne Farmers Market!)

8/16/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Australian rosé, from Sagrantino. Bright salmon pink colour; aromas of roses and herbs; palate is raspberries and bright cherry acidity, even some powdery tannin, but nicely balanced and with good length. Lovely with salmon and cream tagliatelle.

8/28/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Pale salmon pink colour; aromas floral, with strawberry, perhaps a little citrus zest; dry, fresh, balanced good acidity with red fruit and good finish. Great food wine, lovely with salmon, beets and white cheese.

8/16/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Superb Hawke's Bay Syrah from vines on a slope, near the Bridge Pa Triangle. Dark ruby, powerful room-filling aromas of berries and violets. Masses of succulent black fruit, boysenberry spectrum, perfectly ripe, strong and structured, fine beautifully knitted tannins, acidity and great length with developed vanilla, coconut and almost creamy oak finish. Does not need much of a decant at 11 years, drinking very well now. Bacchus amat colles!

7/24/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Perhaps I am biased, but I very much love the Australian Rhône blends. In this bracket the Bin 138 and the Burge Holy Trinity are both great wines from Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre. Dark red, opaque purple core. Lashings of luscious red and black fruits, liquorice, cocoa and a long woody vanilla finish. Drinking well now; developing sediment so maybe don't overkeep? Hard to know; great colour still.

10/20/2018 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Nebbiolo from South Australia; medium garnet-red colour; cherry, violets and damp earth aromas; Red cherry compote, tobacco on palate, strong acidity, softer tannins than a Lange; finishing long and a little creamy. Lovely wine! No longer made at Coriole.

7/16/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Superb Syrah, from a warmer, more northerly bit of NZ. Dark ruby colour. Blackberry and mint, floral aromas; full and juicy palate with supple velvety tannin, and a long butterscotch finish with a hint of pepper. Lovely drinking after 8 years.

7/8/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

A very good, fruit-forward Barbera from Matakana. Dark ruby colour, blackberry, mocha, and medium tannins, a touch of caramel on the finish. Rare grape in NZ; also from De la Terre in Hawke's Bay, and recently Terra Sancta in Otago (currently blended with Dolcetto and Lagrein, but watch out for varietal releases as their vines mature).

7/10/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Very enjoyable Carménère from Gisborne. Purple crimson colour, plentiful rose floral and mint aromas, blueberry and plum, cloves, and finishing with a little cream. Drinking very well now, should keep a few more years under screwcap.

7/1/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Now this had several years to mellow out, the great 2013 Hawke's Bay vintage shines through in luscious ripe plum, a still floral nose and seductive, velvet fine tannin structure. Finishing with some cedar and cocoa, this is a lovely Merlot that cellars well and affordably. Ten years or more, easily.

7/1/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Beautifully dark purple red. Pungent plum and rose aromas and plenty of fruit on the palate, tending to mulberry and hints of coffee and liquorice, full bodied and fabulous with steak. It's a pity this grape isn't more widely planted here in NZ.

4/19/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Very nice imitation Tuscany red; mostly Sangiovese and Montepulciano, with a little Cab Franc and Merlot. All grown on the estate in the Bay Of Islands, Northland GI. Dark ruby red, roses and violets, raspberry and black cherry. Lovely juicy med-full bodied, fine tannin, long finish. A more fruit-forward New World style than recognizably Italian, but great with a steak. Might keep, to 2024+ maybe but I'd drink it all now! 🍷

4/14/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Like a Canavese rosato, this unique New Zealand rosé is made from its only Freisa vineyard, with barely a few hours of skin contact. Also like a Canavese, it ages well without losing its rosy florals. Salmon pink colour, strong red fruit, raspberry characters and plenty of zesty acidity. Great with a coconut fish curry.

2/10/2021 - Jon and Bek wrote:

Beautiful wine when fresh - a little straw-amber tint from the skins, unfined, unfiltered, organic, whole-bunch pressed. Apricots and mandarin, with tangy apple skins and a zingy fresh acidity that is lovely with food.
Sadly, not built to be aged, oxidised and thin in 2021; Silly me... leftover wedding wine.

2/1/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

Dark ruby red, aroma of black plum and Christmas cake spices. Drinking well, good remaining tannin, black cherry and berry acidity, secondary earthy character and hint of espresso on the finish. Very pleasant Montepulciano expression, probably the only one in Gisborne; good with steak and tomato-based pasta.

1/29/2021 - Jon and Bek Likes this wine:

This is drinking well now; dark garnet-red, rich palate dense with black plum and secondary moss, tobacco, wood shavings. Long finish, complex. Lovely with porchetta.