Other Great Buys

Also consider these wines at these prices

Main Divide Pinot Gris, 2012; Waipara, Canterbuy, New Zealand

From the moment the screw cap is removed there is an incredible fruity and spicy aroma which intices you in and gets the gastric jucies going.  Pear, and rich peachy and tropical flavours with spice and body.  The length is suburb and it has lots of complexity due to the use of aged oak barrels for aging part of the wine and aging on its natural yeast deposit.  I bought a bottle for $NZ 15.95 which was a great buy.  This wine could easily be aged for 4 to 5 years which will result in an interesting mix of maturation characters.

Peter Yealands Pinot Gris 2013, Marlborough, New Zealand

Quite aromatic on the nose, with lots of spicy pear character and apple.  Hints of ripe citrus and lychee. This wine is well balanced with good length.  It normally sells for around $12 - so is a pretty good buy at this price.  2013 was a good vintage throughout much of New Zeland, so the wines from this year are likely to be universally good and well worth buying and putting a few in the cellar.  Get in now why they are on the shelves.

Church Road Hawke's Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 1998-2011. 

This was an interesting selection of wines to taste: 1998, 2000, 2007, 2008 and 2011.  Wine of the tasting was the 2007, with lots of fruit cassis, olive and leather and a burst of chocolate and maturation character.  Intense on the palate with excellent weight and length, balanced and overall very good.  2007 was a good vintage and this was reflected in the wine.  All wines were drinking well, demonstrating the the advantage of cellaring with good conditions and that you do not need to spend a fortune (prices between $15-25) to have wines that can surprise after a period of careful storage.

Church Road Hawke's Bay Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2011. 

Currently available at Countdown for $14.99.  This is a fruit drive wine , with lots of young black fruit and plum flavours with the characteristic leather hints.  This wine has the fruit and essential incredients to age well over the medium term say 5-7 years.  Put a few away now into the cellar and have a treat in 2018 or 2020. Posted 13/09/2013.