Astrolabe Chenin Blanc Sec 2021
Grown on the sunny clay slopes of Marlborough, this fresh Chenin reveals soft apple and honeysuckle flavours to enjoy year-round. Medium-bodied, with good acidity and a light spritziness, giving flavours of red apple, nectarine and honeysuckle. Delicious when youthful but has strong maturation potential.
ORGANIC
Blank Canvas Grüner Veltliner 2015
Creamy texture with rich honey and stone fruits fleshed out on the edges by succulent Meyer lemon. Baking spices and subtle white pepper (classic Gruner flavours) add to the seduction of the palate, lithe natural acids and minerality ensure its generosity finishes with salivating freshness.
Clos Henri La Chapelle Blanc de Noir
This is technically a “Blanc de Noir” – made from 100% Pinot Noir and in a rich and full bodied style of Methode Traditionelle. If you prefer your bubbles on the yeasty, chocolatey and savoury end of the spectrum this should definitely catch your eye. Creamy long and satisfying savoury finish too.
Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Hand-picked from its own vineyards in Marlborough, Dog Point’s Sauvignon is bright, crisp and super-fresh, more typical in Marlborough style than the barrel-fermented ‘Section 94’ cuvée, with huge punch and verve. Passion fruit is there, with tropical notes suggesting lychee and guava, a touch of capsicum, but really all about the fruit. In the mouth the texture has some richness and mealiness to it, the citrus blast of the acidity balanced perfectly against that more unctuous, tropical fruit into a dry and beautifully balanced finish. Typical and yet not, this is a fine example of Marlborough’s unique Sauvignon style.
La Monella Bianco 2019
A playfully bad girl, un-conforming, wild and natural, La Monella is an organic natural white blend of Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Naturally fermented, and left in old oak french barrels for 7 months, the wine was bottled without filtration or fining. A delicious, generous wine offering tropical and white flower notes underpinned by a lovely citrus acidity.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL
Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Blended from several parcels of Sauvignon Blanc from across our three different vineyard sites, as well as a small volume of Semillon, this is a true reflection of Seresin Estate in a bottle. Subtle on the nose with warm notes of ripe yellow stone-fruit, soft passion fruit and a chalky-mineral complexity. The palate is layered and finely-textured, with ripe gooseberry, tropical and citrus notes, framed by a mouth-watering acidity, which creates a persistent finish.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL
Vandal Gonzo Combat Rouge 2020
Vandal Wines was set up by three unnamed, masked Marlborough winemakers as an escape from the restrictions of their day jobs. Field blend from a single vineyard in the Southern Valleys of Marlborough. 50% whole cluster fermentation Only hand plunged once during fermentation. Small batch pressed. 6 months aging on full yeast lees. Natural (wild) fermentations (Alcohol and 100% malo lactic fermentation). Unfined and unfiltered. Supple and cloudy with nice sweet, alluring, spicy raspberry and cherry fruit. No sulphites until bottling. There’s a juicy, grippy edge to the fruit with some nice spicy hints.
ORGANIC / NATURAL
Vandal Gonzo Militia Blend 2021
Vandal Wines was set up by three unnamed, masked Marlborough winemakers as an escape from the restrictions of their day jobs. The Gonzo Militia is a field blend, picked together on the same day and vinified together. The blend is unusual to say the least 20% Viognier, 20% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Gris, 15% Riesling, 15% Syrah, 5% Chardonnay, 2.5% Tempranillo and 2.5% Muscat, sourced from a single site in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys region. After pressing 50% is macerated on its skins for 24 hours, the whole is fermented in neutral French oak barrels using the natural yeasts and undergoes malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends 6 months on its lees with battonage, lees stirring, before bottling un-fined and un-filtered. The wine has delicate pink hue to its golden colour with a slight haze due to the lack of fining and filtration. The flavour is wild with a creamy mouth full of peach, plums with lemony, green apple acidity and nutty notes from the casks. A complex and fascinating break from the norm.
ORGANIC / NATURAL
Vandal Pet Bat 2020
Vandal Wines was set up by three unnamed, masked Marlborough winemakers as an escape from the restrictions of their day jobs. Hand harvested Muscat 50% and Chardonnay 50%. Fruit was sourced from a 30 year old single vineyard in the Southern Valleys of Marlborough. Grapes were gently pressed and co-fermented ‘wild’ in seasoned French barriques at ambient temperatures with high solids. At 10 g/l residual the wine was bottled to capture natural effervescence. Harmless yeast sediment remain.