New Zealand

• Central Otago
• Hawkes Bay
• Marlborough
• Martinborough

Another excellent world class Chardonnay from this New Zealand producer. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is very nice with lemons, slight peach and slight tropical fruit. Medium bodied. Crisp. On the palate, this is young but plenty of depth. Lemon and peaches with some minerality. Long finish. This is drinking well now but should improve a bit. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years. Great on its own, this will work well with lobster.

Really one of the best Chardonnay's in the world and a great value (although not inexpensive).  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lemons and slight peach with just a bit of minerality.  Very tight.  On the palate, this is delicious.  More peach with some lemon tartness and underlying minerality.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This has a deep complexity to it.  Still has ten to fifteen years left of great drinking.  It drinks great on its own and would be a nice with seafood such as Tuna. 

This is a reasonably priced New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  Light silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a steely minerality with some grapefruit.  Light bodied.  On the palate, this is a bit restrained on the fruit.  Refreshing minerality.  Nice finish.  This drinks ok on its own and will work well with lighter foods.  A fruit salad would be a nice match.  Drink over the next year,  

This is not your typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc!  If served blind, I would probably guess the Loire Valley in France (the ancestral home to the grape).  Light green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with lots of yellow grapefruits along with a bit of peach and minerality.  Light to medium bodied.  Nice balance.  On the palate, again, lots of yellow grapefruits with some peach and underlying minerality.  Very clean and refreshing finish.  This drinks great on its own and will work well with lighter foods and especially sea food.  Drink over the next few years.  

Screw capped.  Ruby in color, but a bit flat.  There is a fair amount of volatile acidity on the nose.  Also some sour cherries.  Nice texture with light tannins.  On the palate, tart cherries.  A lot of acidity.  Long finish.  This probably would benefit from a bit of a decant as the VA did slightly blow off.  There is a nice complexity here.  It should have another seven to ten years left or maybe more.  It will pair well with roasted fowl.  

One of the great Chardonnay's anywhere!  Screw capped.  Light gold/green in color.  Great nose with minerality, lemons, slight vanilla and a hint of pears.  Medium to full bodied.  Crisp and clean.  Refreshing and delicious.  This took maybe 30 minutes to open and then kept opening all night long.  The palate had lemons, lots of minerality and a sort of "poached pears in vanilla sauce only crisper quality".  Lots of depth.  Long finish.  This bottle is still on the young side but drinking great.  It will continue to do so for another ten to twelve years.  Drinks great on its own, this worke

From Oregon producer Sineann, they also make a line of wines in New Zealand.  This is a delightful and classic style of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has peaches but also a hint of tropical fruits.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the fruits come thru to match the nose.  More tropical fruit on the finish.  Slightly viscous texture.  Dry.  This is drinking well but probably should be consumed in the next few years.  It drinks great on its own and will work well with lighter foods.  

Wow.  Even better than the spectacular Hunting Hill!  Still quite young, but with some air, this is wonderful.  Light golden in color.  The nose has lemons, slight citrus, a hint of mineral and tons of minerality.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is big and rich, but then it has so much zing that cuts right thru it.  Layers of complexity.  Grapefruit and lemons over minerals.  Slight green apple on the finish.  This should continue to develop for another five to ten and then drink well for another ten to twelve after that.  It drinks great on its own but will work well with sea food or ev

Sineann is more well known for the Oregon and Washington wines, but they also make this gem in New Zealand.  Owner-winemaker Peter Rosback just can't sit still.  Screw capped.  Silvery/gold in color with a slight copper hue.  The nose is tight upon opening but with a bit of air open to show a nice minerality followed by gooseberries.  With more air a yellow lemonade note become prominent.  This has a lovely oily texture.  On the palate, the lemonade note is there right away followed by gooseberries and an interesting menthol tobacco note.  This has nice acidity.  A long finish that does sho

Another from this top producer of Chardonnay.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with lemon curd, slight pineapple and minerality.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is crisp and energetic.  The lemon curd comes thru but also some lemon candy with underlying minerality.  Long finish.  This is delicious but also the kind of wine that makes one take notice.  Still young with a great vibrancy, this easily should continue maturing for the next dozer or so years.  Great on its own, this will work well with lighter foods and even heavier sea food or fowl dishes