NEW ZEALAND WINE

The Main Divide is the name of the majestic Southern Alps, which form the backbone of the South Island of New Zealand. It is also the name of a range of outstanding, approachable priced drink-me-now styled wines from Pegasus Bay winery in North Canterbury. 

These wines consistently punch well above their price weight, including this Chardonnay, which is made from hand picked grapes, which were whole bunch pressed into large French oak puncheons and fermented with the grape's natural yeasts then matured on yeast lees for a year. Full bodied, creamy, bold and powerful.

One of New Zealand?s best bubbles and one of its most consistent, complex handmade wines; it's typically a 70/30 blend of toasty flavours from Pinot Noir with crisp citrus creamy ones from Chardonnay. It comes from one of the country's oldest producers of traditional method sparkling wine - Rudi Bauer in Central Otago, who pioneered Quartz Reef Brut NV in the early days of Otago as a wine region.

Quartz Reef Brut NV began life when winemaker Rudi Bauer teamed up with a visiting French winemaker Clothilde Chauvet (daughter of champagne maker Marc Chauvet). Together they pioneered this high quality, traditional method sparkling wine, using mostly Pinot Noir (now 72% of the blend) with the balance being Chardonnay. The wine is typically aged for two years on lees in bottle following its second fermentation - longer than most champagnes. No wonder it massively over delivers on both taste and price. This is a stunning sparkling wine. Ignore at your peril.

Martinborough Pinot Noir at its best with earthy aromas, dried red fruit flavours and freshness. Kereru is the brainchild of lawyer-winemaker, John Porter, who donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every bottle of Kereru Pinot Noir towards the upkeep and maintenance of a block of restored land with the aim of retaining its restoration into native forest for future generations.

This wine drinks beautifully now at seven years old and retains gorgeous bright fruit freshness with a core of savoury complexity and a long finish. We think it represents great value for money.

Charles Wiffen Chardonnay is a fruity, medium bodied dry white offering flavours of lemon, grapefruit and white peach, given depth by creamy richness and balanced acidity.

It's a top buy at this price and a super tasty wine for everyday enjoyment. 

Te Mania Chardonnay is an elegant wine made with just a little oak to compliment and show case the fresh fruity flavours. This wine offers nectarine and ripe citrus aromas with just a touch of light oak. Stone fruit characters continue with citrus on the palate, complemented by a silky texture. The palate has appealing weight, texture and a long fresh finish.

This Cabernet Malbec is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. The varieties were hand-picked, de-stemmed and fermented separately in small open topped vats where they were gently hand plunged and pumped over to aid in extracting the maximum amount of flavour and colour from the berries. Following an extended maceration period the wine was transferred into French oak barrels where it spent 11 months.

This is a dark and brooding beast with fruits of the forest including Black Doris plum and spiced cherry. It is rich and powerful on the palate with a silky mouthfeel and well-pitched tannins. Attractively rounded with upfront fruit flavours this wine is very attractive now but will certainly reward with time in the cellar. Drink now through till 2030.

Violets, spice, chocolate and damson plum saturate the nose whilst the palate is rich and opulent giving loads of dark red fruits. The tannins give the wine plenty of structure, also providing longevity for many years to come. Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Franc at its peak. Drink now until 2030.

Peachy, flavoursome, rich and full bodied, this dry white is The Millton Vineyard's top Viognier, made from grapes grown on the steep slopes of the special, small and beautifully formed Clos de Ste Anne vineyard in Gisborne.

This wine is certified organic and biodynamic. 

The 2020 vintage was superlative and is the first year since 2014 in which all five wines made from the Clos de Ste Anne vineyard have been produced. 

Paul Mooney has been at the helm of winemaking at Mission Estate for over 30 years, making him one of the most experienced winemakers in New Zealand. He makes this dry, medium bodied red as an alter wine for The Mission Estate Winery, which is New Zealand's oldest working winery, established in 1851 by French priests. 

This fleshy, savoury, super silky and earthy Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown on a small .8 of a hectare situated on the road to Castlepoint in the northern Wairarapa. The first vintage was 2016 and the wine is a  collaboration between winemakers Karl Johner and Raphael Burki. All grapes in this smooth Pinot were hand harvested with 20% whole bunch to provide floral and fruit aroma lift and silkiness. The wine was aged for 12 months in French oak, 20% new, and bottled without filtering or fining. It is vegan friendly.Lime Hill Pinot Noir is made from a small vineyard of .8 of a hectare situated on the road to Castlepoint in the northern Wairarapa. The first vintage was in 2016 and the brand is a  collaboration between winemakers Karl Johner (of Johner Wines at Gladstone) and Raphael Burki, who have been making wine together since 2009. 

This wine is bottled without any filtering or fining. It is vegan friendly.

Tasting Note: Deep and complex bouquet of red cherry and sweet raspberry, pomegranate and hints of fresh zesty blood orange. Full-bodied yet extremely elegant, fine-grained but present tannins, minerally, youthful acidity and hints of Five Spice and a deep core of cool, vibrant fruit, lovely length, and persistence. Cellar 12 to 18 years.

Winemaking Notes: Harvested 9th April 2016, bottled 15th February 2018. Hand-picked and carefully selected 100% Abel Clone Pinot Noir grapes. All de-stemmed, cold-macerated and fermented in small batch stainless steel vats and left on grape skins for 4 weeks. Aged in 100% new French oak barriques of the Bourgogne Tonnelleries Rousseau, Remond and Meyrieux for 20 months. No fining and only light filtration before bottling.

?With a slew of red-berry and spicy nuances, this is a super-elegant pinot noir with very fine tannins that are now almost perfectly resolved. Extremely long, polished and mineral finish of the kind you expect from Grand Cru red Burgundy with some age. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.? ? James Suckling, January 2022

?Plenty of spiciness to the hibiscus, ripe-cherry, strawberry, oyster, mushroom and earth aromas. Smoky, too. Full and dense. Then it changes to dried cherries with some citrus, closing up nicely with freshness and intensity. Needs time to open. First bottling of this. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Better after 2024.? ? James Suckling, October 2022

Certification: Organic

Alcohol: 14.0%

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: Wairarapa, New Zealand

Escarpment Pinot Noir is made by one of New Zealand's most admired winemakers, Larry McKenna, who adores Pinot and makes it in a delicate but powerful style. Sound like an oxymoron? Try this excellent wine. It's made from hand picked grapes from a blend of Martinborough vineyards which are planted in clones 667, 777, Abel, 114 and 115. Gentle hand plunging extracts taste but keeps tannin in balance and the finished wine is aged for 11 months in French oak, 25% of it being new barrels.