I’m not a farmer rounding up the stragglers, nor are there any lost sheep in this muster, but as many readers know I regularly have reviews for wines that through no fault of their own, I just quite simply run out of room for when I first taste them. They wait patiently for their opportunity for me to redress the balance. So today, I’ve herded together six diverse wines from almost as many grape varieties and regions, and not one black sheep among them. Hopefully the old adage that "variety is the spice of life" comes true for you? 2023 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay Price RRP $39.99 Rating Very Good Ripely fruited and powerful nose with ripe peach, banana, melon, tropical fruits, driven by fruit rather than oak. The palate takes a different path, leaning more towards stonefruits, lighter on flavour depth, tauter, with relatively bold acidity. Nice freshness here, wisps of oak now, more a food style than a sipper, crying out for creamy pasta or grilled fish. www.trinityhill.com 2024 Carrick Organic Bannockburn Pinot Noir Rosé Price RRP $39 Rating Very Good to Excellent An initial burst of flower petal, then more subtle, quietly fragrant. Quite a dry expression, bright acidity, stone fruits building as it opens backed by hints of citrus. Doesn’t feel over-forced, just nice drinking. Aeration sees a nutty aspect arrive on the nose, cashew nut too on the palate, all wrapped up with the bright, citrussy finish. www.carrick.co.nz 2024 Alpine Rift Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc Price RRP $27.99 Rating Very Good to Excellent A touch more subtle, teasing you with capsicum, apple & grassiness as it quietly reveals itself. The palate ups the ante, clear concentration & flavour intensity and another slightly drier expression, with a minerally, stony aspect adding to the mix rather than just fruit. Bright finish, really perking up with crisp, juicy freshness. www.themarlborist.com 2024 Monte Christo Central Otago Rosé of Pinot Noir Price RRP $40 Rating Very Good to Excellent Powerful nose of watermelon, Hubba Bubba gum, & dried strawberry with a seasoning of cracked pepper. Fine in the mouth, a drier expression that with its structural backbone in its youth points to food-friendliness. Grab hold of one of the warmer days and this will lend itself to autumn sipping alfresco. Youthful, taut finish, this one grows nicely on me. www.montechristowinery.co.nz 2023 Main Divide by Pegasus Bay Riesling Price RRP $21.99 Rating Very Good to Excellent An appealing melange of mandarin and orange zest with a honeyed backdrop, wisps of flinty minerality and spice too. Carries those flavours on to the palate, orange notes leading the charge, fruit pastille, fruit sweetness giving this a just off-dry feel. This is already so drinkable, offering pleasure in every sip. www.maindivide.com 2023 Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris Price RRP $24.99 Rating Very Good Attractive nose of pear, citrus & fruit pastille, a little talc perhaps. A drier expression, cooling freshness, again pear with a touch of nectarine, crispness like biting into an apple. Aeration sees a grainy aspect appeal on the palate with hints of bruised apple. vying with pear. One to bang open now and enjoy in its youth rather than a keeper. www.trinityhill.com
