White

18 Points - Matthew Jukes "While the first two wines are ready to go and eminently affordable for everyday drinking, we now take a big step up for the rest of the portfolio. A new wine in the line-up and it pleases me greatly to see that it comes from Hawke’s Bay. I adore Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and I can certainly see why these coolish climate kings have chosen to seek more fruit and also more challenges in this part of Kiwiland. I love Rays road. Classy, layered and complete this is a very different take on this grape from the remainder of the portfolio, given that the rest come from Kumeu (north of Auckland). There is a distinct beginning, middle and end here, which is often a challenge in a new wine and particularly I love the acid line and elegance on the finish."

17 Points - Jancis Robinson "From a limestone, north-facing, dry-farmed hillside at 180 m. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged in old French oak.
Neat and well integrated, quite restrained. And already very accessible though with light, fine tannins and quite opulent fruit on the front palate. Sprightly. Lemon-pastille flavour. Very long. Beautifully made. 13.5% Drink 2021 – 2027."

98+ Points – Stuart McCloskey (Sampled June 2022) “What a stunner and surpasses my expectations. The bouquet delivers Dog Point’s tell-tale struck match however, 10-years in the bottle has dampened the producer’s reputation for being overtly reductive – this is not. Wonderfully precise bouquet which needs a little coaxing - liquid minerals, limestone, white flowers and lemon rind. The palate oozes with flavour, yet it is far from being over-the-top. Layered, oily-textured, but precise and focused. Wonderfully spicy – butter and fresh ginger too. The acidity is lively and the finish is incredibly long. So youthful even at 10-years of age. This is magnificent and will continue to age effortlessly (perhaps 5-10 years). I'm grinning like a Cheshire cat. Do not overchill. We sampled in both Zalto’s Bordeaux and Burgundy glassware with no clear winner.” 

18 Points - JancisRobinson.com "Really smoky, more so than the 2015. A little more oaky, but the acidity is brighter and crisper. Less rich overall than the 2015 but still some lovely citrus fruit. Tight and a touch spicy on the finish. Still so youthful and even more elegant and long than the 2015." Julia Harding MW tasted February 2018

17.5 Points - Jancis Robinson "Mid coppery gold. Like the 2019 regular Dog Point Sauvignon, this has a strong struck-match character. I love it but not everyone will. The varietal character is almost submerged beneath the reductive fume. Much drier than the Sauvignon 2019. Really vibrant and deep. A New Zealand Sauvignon for white-burgundy fans."

94 Points - Decanter "Powerful, precise and classic Dog Point Sauvignon: stylish and mineral nose of citrus and tropical fruit and an abundance of fresh herbs. All the attributes displayed in the bouquet come alive on the silky, fresh, salivating and fruity palate. A lively, refreshing example; well made, lengthy and tasty."

93 Points - Mike Bennie TheWineFront "Ye olde standard. Flinty, struck match characters, well done, lemon juice, passionfruit, aloe vera – big bouquet. Limey to taste, a little more mellow than the bouquet but sure is puckering and shapely to sip on. Very fine, chalkiness in feel too. Very nice."

98 Points - James Halliday "Citrus and passionfruit blossom soar as you swirl the glass, and the palate achieves the seemingly impossible with the volume of turbo-charged fruit. It reaches every receptor in the mouth and there's no hint of added acidity, the balance and length faultless."

97+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “This is right up my street so far as Sauvignon Blanc goes. A distinct personality and shows Sauvignon Blanc in the finest of forms. I selected Zalto’s Bordeaux glass as I wanted immediate aeration (Universal is perfectly fine). The bouquet delivers an immediate impact of struck match, smoked minerals along with blackcurrant leaf. Wait for a few minutes for the yellow stone fruits, lime zest, lemongrass, kaffir leaf, fresh, green pepper and wafts of sea spray to develop. A tropical element sits in the background and will come to the fore with more bottle age – Passionfruit and fresh ginger juice being the most obvious. The palate delivers outstanding levels of complexity along with layer-upon-layer of character which most Sauvignon Blancs can only dream of. Kudos to Matt and Sophie. Scintillating freshness combined with deep, textural perfection – wonderful mouthfeel which covers every facet. Savour the yellow stone fruit infused with a smoky mineral wash – the epically long, salty finish is incredible. Wonderful, serious and certainly one of Australasia’s best available examples. Fantastic. Drink now to 2027.” 

18 Points - Julia Harding MW | JancisRobinson.com “If the Holdaway Sauvignon was all about the fruit, with a little bit of winemaking, this is more about the winemaking but could not be built like this without that same fruit quality and intensity – as it opens there’s blackcurrant leaf and an almost hidden note of tropical fruit and richness. Marked struck-match, smoky, cordite first impression, but not excessive unless you don’t like this style. This is bold, fresh, with the start of some cedary development of bottle age. On the palate, the texture is rounded and deep, filling the mouth but still incredibly fresh. Long, mouth-watering, salty finish, and a promise of more bottle-aged complexity to come. Delicious now but no rush. Classy, complex, distinctive. For lovers of Sauvignon in the style of Dogpoint Section 94."

97+ - 98 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Parallels have already been drawn to Coche Dury which are unmistakable as are similarities to Domaine Leflaive. The bouquet fascinates – smoky popcorn, toasted nuts, hay, milk, a fresh rasp of nutmeg and saline – super savoury with the faintest lemon twang on the end. Fascinatingly complex and a wine I could sniff for hours.  The palate is beautifully detailed and fine boned. I love the texture – silky and caressing. Power juxtaposed with finesse. This is immensely satisfying whilst raising questions of intrigue. Wonderfully complex albeit in a nonchalant way. Drink now (do not overchill) to 2030. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

18 Points - Julia Harding MW | JancisRobinson.com "Seductive and well-judged ‘reductive’ (smoky, struck-match) aroma and really toasty as it opens up, something cedary. Very Coche Dury but, most importantly, there is the fruit intensity to carry off this winemaking style. Nutty, creamy, mealy citrus. So many things going on that it makes you slow down to try to enjoy all this complexity. Deep, deliciously fresh and incredibly persistent with an aftertaste of savoury/mineral citrus. Worth every penny of its NZ price of $45 (from the producer's website). Classy and got better and better over the few days post opening."

97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Put this in a blind tasting and tell me it’s almost ten-years of age - astonishing. Moreover, this kills off the argument that New World Sauvignon Blanc cannot age well. Of course, the caveat being that it must be ‘very good’ in the first instance, which this is. The freshness and vitality is extraordinary – I am genuinely bowled over. The bouquet expands with nettle, passionfruit, baked apricot, blackcurrant leaf, fennel seed, fennel throngs (essentially anise-like fresh herbs), lemon grass, freshly grated lemon zest (almost sorbet like freshness to the lemon), a little ginger and fresh Thai spices. Spiced, poached pear and guava if you leave a drop in the glass for a minute or two. Simply delectable and would serve as a dream pudding. The flavours are mouth filling and range from ripe stone-fruit and spice. Lemon drives the citrus with a soupçon of lime and fresh herbs. The wine’s structure remains firm and completely intact – there’s nothing blowsy about this. Wonderfully clean and moreish. Set aside your prejudice for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - This is an example of great winemaking and most importantly, a delicious wine. This is an emphatic, mature release. The wine was bottled in November 2014 and cellared at the winery prior to its release. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drink now to 2025.”

Delivery ETA to UK August 2022

Incredibly vibrant and expressive on the nose with layers of lemon flesh, lime juice, apples and grapefruit at the forefront. Elevated and lifted notes of lemon myrtle, sweet jasmine, kaffir lime leaf, coriander seed and sea spray promote the purity and clarity.

Lively and concentrated palate with focus and finesse. Cut lime and lemon zest meet with minerality and a tightly coiled acid structure. A saline thread is evident throughout with delicate and textural layers towards the crisp and talc-like finish.

Delivery ETA to UK August 2022

99 points - Ray Jordan, WinePilot.com "In many ways the most Burgundian of any of the Leeuwin releases, this will rank up there with the best to date. There’s a waxy light mealy aroma which picks up nuances of limestone and spice with a trace of grapefruit. But it is the palate that really distinguishes it. There is an austerity with the minerally chalky feel that cuts through the fruit extending to a finish of extraordinary length. Precision and focus harness a wine of great power and poise before dry savoury edges lift the finish.”

Stuart McCloskey “This is a style of Chardonnay that makes friends with those seeking a weighty expression of the varietal, yet it tempers with wonderful seduction. The bouquet unfurls to brine, stone fruits, quince, honeysuckle, ripe apricot, crisp apple, quartz, confit lemon and a gentle waft of oak. The palate enjoys a creamy opulence whilst at its core, acidity provides vim and vigour. It opens beautifully and gains stature with a little aeration.  I opted for Zalto’s Burgundy glass which worked a treat – for best results, ensure you use a large bottomed glass and do not overchill. This is full of energy and provides bucketloads of deliciousness - A wine that quenches the soul. Yes, it’s a fuller style however, everything is measured and perfectly controlled which will assist cellaring (5-8 years). The flavours linger – oh do they linger as they take five-or-so-minutes before they disappear into the distance, which is mighty impressive. This is a wine of immense beauty…”

The fruit is sourced from two vineyards in Hawke's Bay, 20-year-old Clone 15 and 95 vines that are dry farmed on a silty loam over gravel with some limestone influence, and old Mendoza vines grown on river terrace soil, light loam over gravel. 

• 1 x Dr Edge Chardonnay Tasmania 2019
• 1 x Dr Edge Chardonnay East 2019
• 1 x Dr Edge Chardonnay North 2019
• 1 x Dr Edge Chardonnay South 2019

Six of our award winning white wines from 2021, a mixture of our top Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne and white blends.

• 1 x Coulter Wines C1 Chardonnay Adelaide Hills 2019
• 1 x Mulline Bannockburn Fumé Blanc 2019
• 1 x JC's Own Freestyler 2020
• 1 x Little Reddie Lancefield Chardonnay 2019
• 1 x Gemtree Wines Small Batch Marsanne 2020
• 1 x Grey Sands Blanc de Noir 2019

White wines are great crowd pleasers from the outset – superb as an aperitif, they also pair extremely well with a huge variety of foods. We understand that choosing from our colossal collection can be a daunting task. We have put together a selection of our favourite white wines which offer some of the best value we have ever seen.

• 1 x Wantirna Estate Isabella Chardonnay 2019 (98 Points)
• 1 x Domaine Naturaliste Artus Chardonnay 2019 (97+ - 98 points)
• 1 x Grey Sands Blanc de Noir 2019 (97+ Points)
• 1 x Stolpman Vineyards L'Avion Roussanne 2017 (98+ Points)
• 1 x Coulter Wines C1 Chardonnay Adelaide Hills 2019 (97+ - 98)
• 1 x Mulline Bannockburn Fumé Blanc 2019 (98 Points)

97 Points - Decanter "Among all of the different regions where Chardonnay has impressed in Australia, the Yarra is perhaps the one where the fruit itself charms most readily from the off. This steel-green wine carries its oak very lightly, and the fruit sings out: nectarine, peach and dessert apple all draw the drinker into the glass. On the palate, the wine is soft, tender, almost juicy: its perfect ripeness apparent in that limpidity of expression, and in the seamless incorporation of vibrant and rounded acidity into a natural and succulent poise. The oak, once again, is almost invisible: a swelling of tone rather than flavour. The only danger with deliciousness of this order is that you might be tempted to drink it all too quickly. Fine quality raw materials suggest there's no hurry here."

97+ / 98+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “The concept behind Soumah’s Equilibrio range is to promote the very best barrels, clonal mix and new oak integration to create a few cases that will benchmark the potential of each vintage. A faint whiff of sulphur / gunflint. Tightly coiled and flirts between mineral and flint. With time, lemon oil expands the aromatics along with the most delicate, white flowers – a lovely sense of harmony. The palate has a beautiful tension and is far from flamboyant. Yuzu, freshly squeezed lemons, crushed stones / stony minerality provide a perfect crystal-like delineation. Reserved but far from miserly. More succinct, precise and as per its name, effortless equilibrium. It is tempting to drink now, but I would find a dark corner and ignore it for 2-3 years for that special experience. Better still, come back in a decade. In short, it is a very, very fine wine”. Served at a cool warehouse temperature & utilising Zalto’s Bordeaux glassware (I recommend decanting for 30 minutes too).

* Every purchase of 6 bottles will include the original wooden case * 97+ - 98 Points – Stuart McCloskey “There are some wines which look so sexy in a glass – the gloss and clarity is remarkable (perfect viscosity too). Wonderfully classical – the bouquet and palate flow to the same tune of yellow stone fruits, salty lemon, yuzu, there’s a distinct lemon sherbet-like feel, spring flowers, minerals and a creamy chalkiness. Medium-bodied and showing serious pedigree. Tightly wrapped, racy, balanced to perfection and almost perfect which is daft to declare for such a young wine. This screams Margaret River, and is a faultless example of a varietal Chardonnay. This is, in short, a truly spectacular wine and joins the list of epic ‘new’ releases from Australia. Drinking now to 2030+. Please keep a few bottles for ten years as this (I believe) will be its highpoint. Do not overchill and I advise to decant and serve using Zalto’s Bordeaux glassware.”

* Every purchase of 6 bottles will include the original wooden case * 97+ - 98 Points – Stuart McCloskey “There are some wines which look so sexy in a glass – the gloss and clarity is remarkable (perfect viscosity too). Wonderfully classical – the bouquet and palate flow to the same tune of yellow stone fruits, salty lemon, yuzu, there’s a distinct lemon sherbet-like feel, spring flowers, minerals and a creamy chalkiness. Medium-bodied and showing serious pedigree. Tightly wrapped, racy, balanced to perfection and almost perfect which is daft to declare for such a young wine. This screams Margaret River, and is a faultless example of a varietal Chardonnay. This is, in short, a truly spectacular wine and joins the list of epic ‘new’ releases from Australia. Drinking now to 2030+. Please keep a few bottles for ten years as this (I believe) will be its highpoint. Do not overchill and I advise to decant and serve using Zalto’s Bordeaux glassware.”

Winemaker Notes: Expressive Riesling crafted in clay amphora (lightly cloudy).

Living wine relying on ancient knowledge and intuition. Energetic wine of expressive character and lo-fi technique. Domaine Simha Amphorae wines are crafted in white clay fermentation vessels. Derived from the cosmic golden ratio, the ovoid shape promotes a gentle passive convection current. Wine is energised by constant motion and naturally maintains a stable temperature. Micro porosity allows wine to breathe and evolve over time. Intricate geometric patterned Amphorae labels reference the exquisite architectural beauty of jali screens carved in stone.

Lotus blossoms floating in a cool pond.
Perfumed dewdrops on soft petals, lemon vervain, limestone, umami.
Memories on the wind.

 

These bottles represent the pinnacle of our rather impressive range. We have personally scored every bottle in this case at least 97 points so we’re confident that you will be beyond impressed with every one of these six different Australian Chardonnays. This is a great starting point for tasting the immense quality of Chardonnay currently being produced by our talented Australian winemakers. Our own tasting notes for each of the wines in the case can be found below and they provide the perfect description of each wine.

• 1 x Wantirna Estate Isabella Chardonnay 2019 (98 Points)
• 1 x Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Chardonnay 2019 (97+ points)
• 1 x Villa Maria Keltern Chardonnay 2018 (97+ Points)
• 1 x Dr Edge Chardonnay North 2019 (98 Points)
• 1 x Domaine Naturaliste Artus Chardonnay 2019 (97+-98 Points)
• 1 x Coulter Wines C1 Chardonnay Adelaide Hills 2019 (97+-98 Points)

99+ Points - Josh Raynolds "Light gold. Remarkably perfumed nose projects an exotic bouquet of deep, leesy yellow fruit, minerals, honeycomb, smoked meat and flowers, with Asian spices building expanding in the glass. Almost painfully concentrated, offering a surreal parade of orchard and pit fruits, smoked meat, toasted brioche and marrow braced by intensely salty, stunningly incisive minerality. Imagine a Frankenstein's monster of Chablis Le Clos and Clos Ste. Hune-but one with perfect balance, of course-and you get an idea of what I found in my bottle. The energetic, stony character builds exponentially on the finish, which didn't seem to, well, finish. The best analogy I can come up with for the intensity, focus and clarity of this Champagne is liquefied barbed wire. Utterly hallucinatory and one of the most amazing wines I've ever been fortunate enough to drink. At the risk of sounding completely out of touch with reality, this is a value."

Vineyards are located in Tupungato and Tunuyan in the Uco Valley at up to 1,172 metres elevation. The 2019 vintage was characterised by great thermal amplitude, low rainfall and ideal health conditions throughout the harvest period, enabling even fruit ripening, optimum concentration of grapes and good acidity. This wine was aged for 12 months in new and second hand French oak barrels and bottled unfined.

97 Points James Suckling  “Intense aromas of cooked apple, pie crust, butterscotch and salted caramel follow through to a full, intense and deep palate with layers of fruit, light phenolics and savoriness. It’s a plush, rich white.” 

Hell Freezes Over is a Chardonnay from single vineyard in Ashton, Adelaide Hills. “This is what happens when an old mate rings you out of the blue and tells you he owns one of the best vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, and would I take a look – 30 year old vines of the Gin Gin clone on a steep westerly slope based on sandy loam over sandstone at the superior Ashton end of Piccadilly Valley. After years of saying ‘We’ll make a Chardonnay when Hell Freezes Over’… well here you have it and it’s delicious” Michael Twelftree