New Zealand Rosé production has grown apace, following the global trend. Currently rosé is the fastest growing wine style domestically as well as the fourth largest export category – 2020’s export volumes were 10 times that of 2010. There’s even a dedicated Rosé Day each February. Astrolabe recently released two rather beautifully labelled examples that…
Tag: nz wine
You say Te Mata…
Te Mata has a long-established and rather enviable reputation in New Zealand but appear not to rest upon their laurels nor resist change. The past few years have seen the passing of the torch from long-time senior winemaker Peter Cowley to Phil Brodie – a seamless transition given Phil’s near 30-year tenure making wine at Te Mata…
Jules Taylor Rosé
According to the 2020 NZ Winegrowers Annual Report, rosé is now New Zealand’s fourth most exported wine style, behind perennial favourites sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and pinot gris.
Seifried Estate : new releases
Established in 1973 by Hermann and Agnes Seifried, over the last 40-odd years the family (children Heidi, Christopher and Anna are now part of Team Seifried too) has crafted a range of strongly varietal wines that reflect their Nelson origins.
2019 Eva Sauvignon Blanc
Eve Pemper was born in Croatia but has just gained her New Zealand citizenship making her a proud Criwi. She has worked in Marlborough for a number of years but wanted to launch her own label and in 2019 was able to do so. Eva released a 2019 Sauvignon Blanc and she hopes that in…
Chard Farm 2017 Pinot Noirs
Chard Farm may be located in one of the world’s more spectacular settings for a winery but the wines themselves are resolutely unshowy. Indeed, when tasting Chard Farm’s stable of pinot noirs, it’s hard not to think about John Wallace, winemaker for the past two decades
Te Whare Ra : new releases
The Flowerdays are strong advocates for organic and biodynamic farming and have worked to convert their vineyards to full organic certification. The subtle ‘SV5182’ on their estate wines references the vineyard designation number awarded by BioGro NZ.
Thoughts on Chardonnay
The recent arrival of a couple of high profile 2018 Hawke’s Bay chardonnays piqued my interest and I thought it might be interesting to add a couple of other 2018s from different regions. It turned out to be a mini masterclass in the stylistic debate that has been raging around chardonnay the past few years.
Jules Taylor : new releases
The latest releases from Jules Taylor shows that, as we’ve come to expect, she excels at creating ebullient, fruit laden wines that have just the right degree of complexity and structure.
Dog Point : new releases
For a team as experienced as the Dog Pointers (surely some of the most consistently capable of hands) it would take a catastrophic upset for the wines to be anything other than excellent. So when the year’s new releases arrived from the winery there was an initial fleeting thought; “do we actually need to review these or shall we just drink them?”
Giesen Zero Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc
However the modern trend for wellfulness, coupled to health and dietary concerns seems to have created a newly burgeoning market, despite the inherent cynicism of the category.
Dry River : new releases
Long regarded as one of NZ’s icon wineries, under the direction of Chief winemaker Wilco Lam Dry River’s wines seem to have taken on a more animated character. These are not wines that walk on the wild side, and are definitely made to be cellared, but there seems to be more spirit in each bottle, the wines no longer buffed and polished within an inch of their lives.