The beginning of April signalled the end of daylight savings and the slide towards the winter months where we’ll spend more time around our dinner table and less time at the BBQ. Our online-only auction offers plenty of wine choice for both for the table or the cellar, to bring a smile to your face and a glow to your cheek.
For good reason Hawkes Bay reds have a huge following and we profile a few of them in this auction. The usual suspects always put their best foot forward including Te Mata with their Coleraine and Awatea ably backed up by Villa Maria Ngakirikiri, Babich and Church Road. Not to be outdone, the Auckland region has also been producing some wonderful wines with Matakana, Waiheke and South Auckland showing their wares. This auction offers Te Whau, Te Motu, Destiny Bay and the ever-present Stonyridge Larose from Waiheke. Providence and The Antipodean from Matakana complete the line-up.
The rise of Pinot Noir from these shaky isles has been lauded both domestically and internationally and it is easy to see why. Wines from Central Otago such as Gibbston Valley, Two Paddocks, Rippon, Peregrine, and the always notable Valli never fail to impress. North Canterbury is equally remarkable with Pyramid Valley and Pegasus Bay. Not to be outshone, the North Island puts its best foot forward with Julicher, Craggy Range and Dry River making their mark in this extraordinary range of wines.
Hawkes Bay shines through again with some of the best Syrah’s available; Craggy Range Le Sol, Villa Maria, Vidals, Te Mata and newcomer Helio rubbing shoulders with Auckland’s finest in Providence and Cable Bay.
There is a great array of wonderful Chardonnays from these fair shores with Odyssey, Prophets Rock Cuvee aux Antipodes, Pyramid Valley and Vidals.
Australia too can lay claim to some impressive wines in this sale, with Block 42 Kalimna, and Bin 60A in both bottle and magnum format. and St Henri from the ever-reliable Penfolds stable. Henschke Hill of Grace from its 4-hectare single vineyard Shiraz from vines allegedly over 150 years old always has its followers. Nestled in this fabulous selection you’ll also find wines from Petaluma, Cullen, Cape Mentelle, Bannockburn and Jim Barry with their outstanding Armagh.
Germany also has been well represented in many of our previous auctions and we continue to do so with our favourites Gunderloch, Kerpen and the excellent Egon Muller.
Spain always offers great value, and we are proud to offer these well-priced wines in good quantities.
Italy is especially strong with Tuscan wines from Ornellaia, Sassicaia and Masseto (including a double magnum!).
From France we start strongly with Champagne and a number of excellent producers making waves amongst the tried and true.
We also present more of the excellent Rhone wines with Chave, Guigal, Domaine de la Mordoree, Chapoutier and Beaucastel with many 100 point wines in this range as well as some everyday drinkers.
Burgundy royalty is on offer with Lamarche, Armand Rousseau, Dujac, Grivot, Roumier and Domaine de la Romanee Conti to name but a few. If it is white Burgundy you are seeking out it is hard to go past the many wines from Chablis superstar Vincent Dauvissat.
While the Bordeaux section is lighter than the spectacular offering in the last auction, we do have some outstanding value that will be welcomed at any table. For those looking for Classed Growths, we also have wines from Chateaux Latour, Haut Brion, Dauzac, Pontet Canet and Pomerol superstar LaFleur.
All great events should finish with something wonderful and there is plenty on offer with New Zealand’s finest Mazuran’s and many great examples from the home of port – Oporto as well as many great value whiskies. Now that should keep you warm during the upcoming winter months.
As with buying any second-hand goods there can be risk. This risk can be mitigated through reviewing widely available vintage reports and critic reviews and imposing realistic expectations. You will also notice that our photographs of each new lot are very detailed, helping you to inspect the wine from the comfort of your seat. The reward however, of a fine wine at its absolute peak of maturity, offering its full range of primary, secondary and tertiary flavours should be significant enough for most to negate the occasional disappointment. So, if the risk-reward scales are deemed favourable, we have a lovely selection of wines at various stages of maturity available in our current auction.
Happy browsing and please bid responsibly.
All bids are binding.
