VINTAGES#: 499855 | 750 mL bottle
90 Points Wine Orbit
This is fruit expressive and fragrant on the nose showing yellow peach, mango, rockmelon [cantaloupe] and vanilla characters with a touch of cedar complexity. The palate delivers generous fruit weight and intensity, wonderfully supported by creamy texture and bright acidity. The wine is immediate and friendly, and finishes long and succulent. At its best: now to 2019. Score – 90. (Sam Kim, wineorbit.co.nz, Sept. 2016)
Sara D’Amato – Wine Align “excellent concentration for the price”
A region known for high quality chardonnay, this Gisborne incarnation from Invivo certainly meets the standards. Nicely defined, cut with lively acids but still with chardonnay substance and viscosity. Bright and fresh on the finish with excellent concentration for the price. Tasted June 2017.
VINTAGES#: 490045 | 750 mL bottle
95 Points Decanter Managzine
Luxuriant and silky, with bags of oaky, smoky, coffee and mocha softly laced with morello cherry, caramel and cedar wood hints. The silky smooth palate offers seamless layers of smoky tobacco and exotic spice, and buoyed with a fine acidity and wonderful tannins. Lovely wine, deserves respect. Score – 95. (Judging panel, Decanter World Wine Awards, 2016)
94 Points Michael Godel – Wine Align
This is greatly structured nebbiolo from Monteforte D’Alba, rich, showing more fruit ripeness than so many and yet despite being inscrutably built upon a solid foundation you get a sense of drinkability right from the start. Candied roses and a mild swath of tar add depth to the berry-plummy fruit while tannins sweet and fine gather it all up into a spiced package. The level of sophistication here is great but it talks to you in a language you can understand. Nebbiolo and and those who know yet not of this terrific grape should flock to enjoy.
VINTAGES#: 222018 | 750 mL bottle
90 Points Decanter Magazine
100% Shiraz. Rich, concentrated and intense, with sweet raspberry and blackcurrant, inky, deep cassis and black olive aromas all laced by hints of soft coffee espresso. Silky smooth tannins and jammy fruit fill the palate.
David Lawrason – Wine Align
This is a very minty shiraz with cranberry-blackcurrant fruit and some oak spice and smoke. It is full bodied, quite dense and edgy, with some sweetness. A bit thick but impressive. The length is very good to excellent. Decent value. Tasted June 2017
VINTAGES#: 441238 | 750 mL bottle
92 Points Wine Enthusiast
While there are powerful tannins at work here, this wine is mainly full of rich black fruits that have a juicy side from the acidity. The addition of Tannat brings even more tannin to the wine while also giving it density and longevity. Drink from 2019. The wine comes from a long-time wine family that tended the few remaining Malbec grapes that survived phylloxera of late 1800s. Alain Gayraud is the current owner.
91 Points John Szabo – Wine Align
Lovely nose here, with ripe dark fruit, judicious wood, lots of dark baking spice, violet-floral notes, and more. The palate is equally impressive, firm but not hard, succulent, long. Classy wine with lots of complexity for the money. Tidy value indeed from a leading Cahors producer. Drink or better yet hold into the ’20s. Tasted June 2017. Value Rating: ***
Soléna Grand Cuvée Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, Oregon 2014 – $34.95
VINTAGES#: 486944 | 750 mL bottle
92 Points James Suckling
Aromas of smoke, strawberries, caramel and toffee – yet this is still fresh and subtle. Medium to full body, velvety tannins and a fresh finish. A little closed now. Needs a year or two to soften. Better in 2018. Score – 92. (James Suckling, jamessuckling.com, Nov. 2, 2016)
91 Points John Szabo
A light and delicate, fragrant and juicy Willamette Valley pinot, despite the relatively hot, dry vintage. I love the savoury-spicy side here, the fine-grained tannins, and the ripe but fresh acids. Fine length, too. Tasted June 2017. Value Rating: **1/2
Mimi en Provence Grande Réserve Rosé, Cotes de Provence 2016 – $17.00
VINTAGES#: 452573 | 750 mL bottle
Food & Drink Vintages Feature Rosé of the Year
An effortlessly elegant Provençal rosé with typically pale colour, dry palate and offering distinct notes of mineral and saline. A little flesh, more fruit and greater depth of flavour than the mean. Terrific value. Tasted June 2017. – Sara D’Amato
This is a very pale, cool, smooth and dry rose with a gentle nose of dried strawberry/currants, herbs and some minerality. It has more weight than appearance suggests, with well balanced alcohol and acidity. Finishes nicely dry and a touch sour edged. Very good to excellent length. Tasted June 2017 – David Lawrason
Sister’s Run Bethlehem Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Barrosa Valley 2014 – $18.95
VINTAGES#: 360636 | 750 mL bottle
90 Points James Halliday
Curranty fruit with tips of raspberried sweetness. Dusty tannin. Oak plays a minor role at most, though there’s a gentle creaminess. No alarms or surprises and decent heft. Special Value. Drink By: 2021. Score – 90. (James Halliday, winecompanion.com.au, Aug. 11, 2016)
This is nifty cabernet for the money, with lively aromatics of blackcurrant, mint, vague chocolate and tobacco. It is medium weight, fairly firm with fine tannin. The length is very good. Tasted June 2017- David Lawrason – Winealign.com
VINTAGES#: 486746 | 750 mL bottle
90 Points Wine Spectator
A firm, dark, gutsy style, with a chunky edge to the black currant paste, warm plum cobbler and hoisin sauce notes, all backed by roasted mesquite and tar on the finish. Shows good range and character. Drink now through 2019. Score – 90. (James Molesworth, winespectator.com, 2013)
92 Points David Lawrason
Here’s a gorgeous Bordeaux just starting to drink at prime. It is sleek, composed and quite elegant, yet packs the power and depth of 2010, the best vintage in the last decade. The fruit is ripe, swaddled in oak and accented and made complex with some meatiness. It is a very complete wine. Tannins are still starchy; the length is excellent. Best 2020 to 2025. A bargain cellaring wine. Tasted June 2017
VINTAGES#: 368134 | 750 mL bottle
90 Points Vinus Media – Josh Raynolds
Saturated ruby. Deep-pitched dark berry, cherry pit and woodsmoke aromas show very good clarity, picking up a smoky quality with air. Juicy and tightly focused, offering vibrant blackberry and bitter cherry flavors enlivened by tangy acidity. Shows very good depth and power, finishing sweet, smoky and very long, with dusty tannins lending grip. Drinking window: 2018-2023.
“…a rich, juicy, pure gamay expression with enough tannic capability to have carried it this far and to see it go three more seasons. This is quite firm and even pinot drying on the palate like though markedly modern and getable….” Michael Godel Winealign.com
