That time of the year too when we begin to see the new releases; the number of 2025 vintage wines on the shelves steadily increasing as the 2024s sell through. This group of wines are just begging to be opened and enjoyed, as rose tends to do, so hopefully you will all be rather better than me and not leave them languishing in the fridge.
2024 Rua Central Otago Pinot Noir Rose
Rating Very good to excellent
Perfumed and
fragrant, rose petal,
strawberry, peaches
and cream, very
engaging. Strawberry
and fruit pastille-led
palate, a fruit kernel-
like bittersweet aspect
keeps this nicely dry,
while there’s good
mouth-feel and
plentiful depth. A
nicely crisp tautness
on the close. Full of
flavour, just begging
to be opened and
enjoyed with
abandon.
2024 Mora Bannockburn Pinot Rose
Rating Excellent
Freshly cut apricot
and nectarine with a
dusting of icing
sugar, savoury
nuances, a quiet
subtlety yet lots going
on. Hard candy,
strawberry, excellent
chew and grip adding
to the textural impact,
closing quite dry.
Comes across as a
little more serious.
The palate fleshes
out, lending creamy
richness, yet the
bright acid line keeps
this fresh and bright.
2024 Rabbit Ranch Central Otago Rose
Rating Excellent
Attractive nose of
stone fruits and wild
rose, some stony
mineral, hints of
perfume swelling,
baked apple later. The
palate is crisp, dry,
supple roundness yet
good grip by contrast
with a refreshing
bittersweet quality.
There’s a crunchy
juiciness along with a
wee touch of salinity,
which gives the close
an attractive, licking-
your-lips-like quality.
2025 Dunnolly North Canterbury Pinot Noir Rose
Rating Excellent
Roasted strawberries
and cream, plum, a
savoury aspect.
There’s youthful
tautness to this in a
nice way, linearity as
the flavours carry
right through the
mouth, driven by
strawberry and a
touch of spice, with a
long, dry finish.
Generosity of flavour,
now hints of cracked
pepper and spice on
the close. Youthful
but already very tasty
drinking.
2024 Hawkshead Central Otago Pinot Rose
Rating Very good to excellent
Powerfully fragrant
nose, rose petal,
lychee, musk, a deeper
register to the fruit with
mandarin and orange
zest. The palate takes
another tangent,
graphite and earth
mingling with
strawberry, quite
mouth-filling. Initially
thoughts that it could
be a crossover to a
light red, but its rose
credentials win the day.
Fruit sweetness yet a
tangy close snap this
back to a drier finish.
2025 Riverby Estate S.V Marlborough Rose
Rating Very good to excellent
Quite aromatic, rose
petal, fruit pastille,
musk, all dusted
with icing sugar.
Stone fruits lead the
palate, strawberry, a
seasoning of
cracked pepper, it
has richness without
heaviness. Really
nicely balanced,
great length and just
quietly moreish. The
stone fruit notes
grow with air — you
could readily have
another glass of
this.
