Looking for a gift to excite that wine lover in your life? Ranging in price from $36 to $165, none of these wines are cheap, but they are all full of personality and make great discussion points.
A bottle of high-quality wine can also be a stimulating contribution to a dinner or party, increasing the chances you’ll be invited back.
Clos Henri Otira Single Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022
★★★★★
Clos Henri, near Renwick in the Wairau Valley, is owned by Henri Bourgeois, a top, family-owned producer in the Loire Valley of France. Grown in stony soils, this highly distinctive wine was mostly handled in stainless steel tanks but 15% was fermented in French and Austrian oak casks. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling, with rich tropical fruit flavours, vigorous and complex, and a resounding finish. Certified organic. (13.5% alc/vol) $36
Penfolds Bin 704 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
★★★★★
This sturdy, rich, yet elegant California red seeks to redefine Napa Valley cabernet “through a Penfolds lens” operated by Australia’s most famous red-wine producer. Invitingly fragrant, with dark, purple-flushed colour, it is weighty, with a powerful surge of ripe, blackcurrant-like flavours, complex, supple and very finely poised. Already delicious, it should be long-lived; best drinking 2026+. (14.5% alc/vol) $130
Pegasus Bay Encore Noble Riesling 2017
★★★★★
This exceptional Waipara, North Canterbury wine is from grapes shrivelled and dehydrated on the vines by “noble rot”, the dry form of the Botrytis cinerea mould. Golden, it has a rich bouquet of apricots and honey. A wine of great depth, beauty and harmony, it has rich, oily peach, apricot and honey flavours, abundant sweetness, good acid spine and an enduring finish. (10.5% alc/vol) 375ml $44
Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2021
★★★★★
Breed, rather than brute power, is the hallmark of Coleraine, New Zealand’s most famous red wine designed in the classic tradition of Bordeaux. From a great vintage, this deeply coloured blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc was grown in the Havelock North hills and matured for 17 months in French oak barriques, mostly new. Highly refined, it is mouthfilling, with notably concentrated blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, hints of herbs and nuts, lovely complexity, and a lasting finish. Best drinking 2028+. (14% alc/vol) $165
Wine of the week
Burn Cottage Sauvage Vineyard Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
★★★★★
This very classy, compelling red was hand-harvested from 20-year-old vines and matured in French oak casks. Deep ruby, it is fragrant, rich and supple, with beautifully ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, very complex and savoury, gentle acidity and a finely textured, long finish. It should flourish with cellaring. (14% alc/vol) $70
