The 2006 Pinot Noir displays a plum-scented nose with touches of mulberry and damson, full-bodied on the palate but I feel is just a touch over-worked with a grainy, peppery finish. I think there will be superior Pinot Noirs from Amisfield in the future, but there is no doubt that Jeff Sinnott is on the right track.

Winemaker Jeff Sinnott is a wired ball of energy?and that is before you get him talking about his wines! He tenured at the Isabel winery before his appointment with Amisfield Wine Company in 2001, and his approach is towards hands-off, holistic winemaking, which will be facilitated by the completion of their new winery at the Lowburn vineyard bordering Lake Dunstan. The vineyard itself covers 60-hectares and includes plantings of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc with all fruit estate grown.

WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS Score: 90 Release Price: $39 Country: New Zealand Region: New Zealand Issue: Apr 30, 2009 Bright and focused, with a lively balance of acidity to the ripe currant and floral flavors, persisting nicely on the finish. Best from 2010 through 2015. 7,000 cases made. –HS

Babich 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborugh, New Zealand
Bright and open-textured, with very good depth to apple, grass and grapefruit flavors. Stone notes underscore the finish. Drink now.

The winery promised something even better on this vintage and they delivered. Remarkable consistent quality and value for money, unmatched from Central Otago. Made by Wild Earth who produced the Pinot that got the Trophy for Top International Pinot Noir at the International Wine Challenge in London. Smoky herbs and macerated cherries on the nose lead into a dry savoury palate with spicy fruit and a long finish. The legacy continues into the new vintage!

WINE SPECTATOR 92 POINTS Dramatic, aromatic and elegantly proportioned, with vivid grapefruit, green apple, passion fruit and vaguely piney aromas and flavors competing for attention on a sleek frame that lets the finish reverberate nicely. Drink now. 500 cases imported. –HS Score: 92 Country: New Zealand Region: New Zealand Issue: Apr 30, 2009

BRANCOTT 2009 SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVE
Brancott Reserve wines represent a selection of super-premium regional varietal wines crafted at Brancott Winery in Marlborough. Crafted using traditional winemaking techniques, Brancott Reserve wines are renowned for their rich intensity. The wine is light straw in color with green highlights. Aromas of gooseberry, stone fruits and red capsicum characterize the nose with the palate showing ripe gooseberry supported by peach notes and a tantalizing minerality. This wine shows a fantastic equilibrium of concentrated fruit flavors and zesty acidity.

<

CRAGGY RANGE 2008 CHARDONNAY
"KIDNAPPER'S VINEYARD"
WINE SPECTATOR 92 POINTS - "An elegant style, deftly balanced, with refined pear and lime on a satiny frame. Lingers effortlessly. Drink now through 2014."

FALLEN ANGEL 2008 PINOT NOIR
This really well made wine from Central Otago is a dark full bodied Pinot Noir from New Zealand's top region for this variety. Intense dark color, classic floral fruit on the nose with a pleasing savory aspect to it, this generous red has a rich and complex palate with strong flavors of cherry, plum and spicy notes from 10 months in all French oak. It has a warm dense texture under pinned by firm fine tannin. Great drinking now; it has the potential to improve over the next three to five years.

FALLEN ANGEL 2008 SAUVIGNON BLANC
A classic Sauvignon with fresh pungent aromas of red capsicum, gooseberry, tropical fruit and passionfruit with a slight herbal note. The concentrated palate shows more of the same, with some extra texture derived from time spent on the yeast lees. Ripe, juicy fruit is the hallmark of this wine. Very limited release from the Stonyridge Winery!

Goldwater 2007 Sauvignon Blanc "Dog Point"
Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Goldwater's 2008 Sauvignon Blanc displays elegant floral and citrus fruit aromas. This full-flavored, medium-bodied, and extremely well-balanced wine offers focused grapefruit, passion fruit, and lemon-lime flavors in its persistent personality. It admirably combines New Zealand's characteristic in-your-face Sauvignon flavors with a degree of refinement. Drink it over the next two years.

GREENHOUGH 2005 PINOT NOIR "HOPE VINEYARD"
Greenhough (pronounced Green Hoff) Pinot Noir ranks among the very best in New Zealand. We discovered this while attending the Pinot conference in Wellington back in 2007. It is truly quintessential New Zealand as it displays the finer qualities of Pinot Noir whilst maintaining a unique identity that highlights it terrior origins. Greenhough is blessed with a complex nose of brambles, dark cherries, florals and exotic spices and a densely concentrated palate of mixed berry fruits with nuances of cocoa, licorice and spice. Fresh acidity and fine tannins bind the components together into an exceptional Pinot Noir that’s not to be missed.

ISABEL 2009 SAUVIGNON BLANC
This excellent, family owned estate is back in the market with a new importer and a better price. This is their best Sauvignon Blanc in years! Quintessential Marlborough Sauvignon, the nose exhibits intensity of herbal and exotic hints of guava and elder flower. Balanced by the floral notes of geranium, gooseberry and figs, as well as tropical fruits - passion fruit and honeydew melon in particular. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but the first sip was like one of those exotic tropical fruit cocktails at a swim-up bar - 'holiday flavors'. The weighty palate and exquisitely soft texture is rounded out with layers of fresh acidity. Delicious medley of tangy citrus and minerality from the Isabel terroir.

KIM CRAWFORD 2009 SAUVIGNON BLANC
A bouquet of citrus and tropical fruits backed by characteristic herbaceous notes that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is famous for.On the palate, An exuberant wine brimming with flavours of pineapple and stonefruit with a hint of herbaceousness. The finish is fresh and zesty. Good to drink with anyone at anytime. Ideally suited to fresh oysters, asparagus dishes or summer salads

WINE SPECTATOR 92 POINTS #41 TOP 100 WINES OF 2009 Bright, tangy and elegant, this vibrant wine has grapefruit and pineapple flavors at the fore, picking up apple and spice as the finish lingers effortlessly. Drink now through 2017. 7,000 cases imported. –HS

MAHI 2007 PINOT NOIR
This wine comes from three vineyards in the Wairau Valley of Marlborough, all giving different characters. The Rive vineyard portion from the Rapaura area consistently offers rich dark characters that provide great depth to the wine. The Twin Valleys portion from the cooler Fareham Road area gives us the palate structure that we require; offering fineness to the back-palate, and the Byrne vineyard this year gave some lovely delicacy, with slightly more red than black fruit notes.Simply delicious Pinot Noir that’s not to be missed!!