BEST ROSÉ BUY OF THE YEAR
Momo Organic Marlborough Rosé 2020
Certified organic, this is a delicious, distinctive marriage of Pinot Gris, Semillon and Pinot Noir, cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks and matured briefly on its yeast lees. A bright pink, finely poised wine, it has lively peach, strawberry and watermelon flavours, showing excellent delicacy and depth, and a dry finish. From Seresin Estate, it offers delicious drinking for the summer of 2020-21.
Price: NZ $18
Rating: 4.5
BEST RED WINE BUY OF THE YEAR
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019
Offering outstanding value, this Gimblett Gravels red was matured for a year in French oak barriques (15 per cent new). Deeply coloured, with a fragrant, berryish, spicy bouquet, it is mouthfilling and supple, with concentrated, ripe blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, oak complexity, and a long, very harmonious finish.
Vino Fino, a prominent, specialist wine retailer in Christchurch, praises Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019 as ‘the best value red in New Zealand’ – and I agree. Well worth cellaring, it’s already a delicious mouthful.
Price: NZ$15–$18
Rating: 4.5
BEST WHITE WINE IF THE YEAR
Stoneleigh Latitude Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020
‘Marlborough in a glass’, I jotted down, after tasting this great value wine. Estate-grown in Pernod Ricard NZ’s vineyards in the ‘Golden Mile’, which lines Rapaura Road, on the north side of the Wairau Valley, it was deliberately crafted as a ‘full-on’ style with ‘big aromatics’ – and delivers the goods.
Harvested from mature, 15 to 31 year-old vines, mostly in the original Stoneleigh Vineyard, it was mainly tank-fermented, but 25 per cent of the blend was fermented in seasoned oak cuves, to add ‘palate weight and texture’. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, with deep, ripe tropical fruit flavours, finely balanced acidity and a rich, basically dry (4.9 grams/litre residual sugar) finish. Already delicious, this punchy, youthful, very harmonious wine is likely to be at its best from mid-2021 onwards.
Price: NZ $17–$20
Rating: 5
Other shortlisted wines
Whites
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2019 ****1/2 $20
Church Road Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2020 ****1/2 $20
Eradus Awatere Valley Marlborough Pinot Gris 2020 **** $15
Eradus Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 **** $17
Giesen New Zealand Riesling 2019 ****1/2 $15
Hunter’s Marlborough Chardonnay 2019 ****1/2 $23
Hunter’s Marlborough Pinot Gris 2020 ****1/2 $19
Main Divide North Canterbury Gewürztraminer 2019 ****1/2 $21
Mount Riley Limited Release Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 **** $17
Mount Riley Marlborough Gewürztraminer 2020 **** $15
Nga Waka Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ****1/2 $19
Old Coach Road Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ***1/2 $14
Seifried Nelson Gewürztraminer 2020 ****1/2 $19
Stoneleigh Latitude Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ***** $20
Stoneleigh Wild Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ****1/2 $18
Sugar Loaf Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ****1/2 $20
Thornbury Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 **** $16
Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ***** $24
Vidal Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 ****1/2 $20
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Gisborne Albarino 2020 ****1/2 $18
Villa Maria Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 **** $15
Yealands Reserve Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ****1/2 $19
Rosés
Momo Organic Marlborough Rosé 2020 ****1/2 $18
Yealands Marlborough Rosé 2020 **** $15
Reds
Alexander Dusty Road Martinborough Pinot Noir 2019 ***** $27
Brookfields Back Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 ****1/2 $21
Brookfields Ohiti Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ****1/2 $21
Church Road Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ****1/2 $20
Church Road McDonald Series Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2016 ***** $28
Church Road McDonald Series Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 ***** $28
Clos Henri Petit Clos Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 ****1/2 $27
Esk Valley Gimblett Gravels Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec 2018 ****1/2 $20
Jackson Estate Homestead Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 **** $23
Luna Martinborough Pinot Noir 2018 **** $24
Mission Barrique Reserve Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ***** $30
Mount Riley Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 **** $20
Mountford Liaison North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2016 ***** $28
Omeo Hidden Valley Single Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 ***** $30
Satyr by Sileni Estates Foothills Pinot Noir 2019 **** $16
Seifried Nelson Pinot Noir 2019 **** $19
Stables Ngatarawa Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2019 **** $16
Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 ****1/2 $25
Te Mata Estate Vineyards Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 ****1/2 $22
Thornbury Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 ****1/2 $26
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019 ****1/2 $18
Villa Maria Private Bin Organic Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019 **** $15
Yealands Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 **** $19