Make this the weekend you step sideways from commercial brands and dive into something on the boutique side. These will have you walking the stride of pride the next day ...
Collaboration Aurulent Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2013
Named after the colour of gold, this hand-picked, barrel-fermented baby, crafted from the Mendoza clone, has incredibly intense aromas of grilled lemon, pineapple, roast stonefruit and grapefruit. It bursts with juicy intensity in the mouth, yet all that citrus has a web of seasoned,
spicy oak and a seam of buttery complexity reining it in. A chardonnay with density and structure, tension and poise and a deliciously smoky finish.
Price: $35
Whistling Buoy Canterbury Pinot Noir Rosé 2015
Crafted from fruit grown in a gorgeous Banks Peninsula vineyard overlooking Charteris Bay, this has pretty, coral-pink colour and punchy fresh berries, cherry and raspberry sorbet aromas. These all soak through to the palate to create a taut, tangy, lipsmacking freshness on the finish. It's an excellent example that even the most hardened, anti-rosé ratbags really need to try. It's dry, has some meat on its bones and is perfect with watermelon, feta and mint salad.
Price: $25
Paritua Vineyards "Grace" Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2013
If you're looking for a seriously different sauvignon and less aggressive than the super-green examples that often personify the classic Kiwi style, then give this a go. Crafted in a "Graves" style (the region in Bordeaux famed for its deep, gravelly, quartz-pocketed soils), by winemaker Jason Stent, this complex sauvignon - packed with crushed nettles, lime, guava, basil and white peach - has undergone 60 per cent wild ferment and then been aged for 10 months in old oak barrels. It's a sauvignon for chardonnay lovers.
Price: $35
