There’s no shortage of good wine on the shelves. The real challenge in wine buying – and the greatest satisfaction – lies in discovering wines that deliver great value for money, or more bang for your buck.
To assess value for money, after rating a wine for quality, I check its retail price. The price-quality ratio, which can vary between grape varieties and wine styles, indicates whether it offers below average, average or above average value.
The following wines are all bargains.
Whites
Babich Marlborough Pinot Gris 2023
★★★★
Finely balanced for early enjoyment, this full-bodied wine has very good depth of vibrant, peachy, gently spicy flavours, a distinct touch of barrel-fermented complexity, and a dryish finish. $16-$20
Church Road New Zealand Pinot Gris 2023
★★★★
This is typically estate-grown in Hawke’s Bay, but the 2023 vintage is labelled as being of “New Zealand” origin, which presumably reflects the cyclone-hit growing season in North Island regions. Attractively scented, it is fresh and mouthfilling, with generous, peachy, spicy flavours, hints of pears and ginger, a sliver of sweetness and finely balanced acidity. A distinctive wine, it’s delicious in its youth. $18
Cotes Des Sommets Pays D’Oc Chardonnay 2022
★★★★½
This invitingly fragrant chardonnay is from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. Fresh and vibrantly fruity, it is full-bodied, rich and savoury and has finely balanced, lingering flavours. Drink now or cellar. $23
Lawson’s Dry Hills Marlborough Chardonnay 2022
★★★★
Crafted to showcase its lively fruit flavours, this wine was handled with some use of “native” rather than cultured yeasts, lees-stirring and a softening malolactic fermentation, but new oak was excluded from the recipe. Mouthfilling, it has very good depth of ripe fruit flavours. Gentle mealy/biscuity notes add a distinct touch of complexity and it has a smooth, very harmonious finish. $20
Loveblock Marlborough Pinot Gris 2022
★★★★½
Certified organic, this characterful wine was estate-grown in Awatere Valley and handled with some use of oak casks and concrete eggs. It is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with vibrant peach, pear and spice flavours. It has very good complexity, a vague hint of sweetness, and plenty of flavour and personality. $23
Main Divide North Canterbury Chardonnay 2023
★★★★
This vigorous, vibrantly fruity wine was fermented and aged in French oak puncheons and barriques. Fragrant, mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, it has stonefruit, butterscotch and toasty oak flavours showing good complexity, and a savoury, creamy-textured finish. (From Pegasus Bay.) $18-$22
Mount Brown Estates North Canterbury Riesling 2023
★★★★½
Bargain-priced, this is a distinctly medium style. Fragrant and full-bodied, with strong, ripe, citrusy, peachy, slightly honeyed flavours, it is a powerful style of riesling, well worth discovering. $17
Mount Riley Limited Release Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Grown mostly in Wairau Valley, this full-bodied wine has generous, vibrant, passionfruit and lime flavours to the fore, a herbal undercurrent and a crisp, dry, lingering finish. $18
Opawa Marlborough Pinot Gris 2023
★★★★½
Grown in the Wairau and Awatere valleys, this is a good, all-purpose wine. Tank-fermented and briefly lees-aged, it is attractively scented, mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity. It has good intensity of peach, pear and spice flavours, balanced acidity and a finely balanced, dryish, lingering finish. Already delicious. $22
OTU Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Estate-grown in Awatere Valley, this is a mouthfilling wine with strong passionfruit and lime flavours. It is crisp, finely poised, dry and lasting. $20
Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2021
★★★★
This Hawke’s Bay wine highlights its vibrant fruit characters, with a subtle wood influence. Currently delicious, it is fresh and mouthfilling. It has peachy, slightly mealy and biscuity flavours, shows good complexity and has a dry, well-rounded finish. $22
Pazo Cilleiro Rias Baixas Albarino 2022
★★★★★
Albarino at its best, this punchy wine was hand-picked from mature vines in Galicia, northwest Spain. Full of youthful vigour, it is fragrant and mouthfilling, with penetrating stonefruit flavours, a slightly salty streak, and a crisp, dry, lasting finish. $28
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Bull Block Marlborough Gruner Veltliner 2021
★★★★★
From Austria’s favourite white-wine variety, this is a strongly varietal wine with mouthfilling body. It has fresh, deep, citrusy, peachy, spicy flavours, balanced acidity, a slightly salty streak, and a finely poised, dry, lingering finish. $27
Seifried Nelson Gewurztraminer 2024
★★★★½
From a low-cropping, frost-affected season, this wine was harvested in March, bottled in May and on sale by June. Highly aromatic, it is medium- to full-bodied, has excellent intensity of vibrant pear, lychee and apricot flavours, and a slightly sweet, distinctly spicy finish. (12.5% alc/vol) $20
Starborough Marlborough Pinot Gris 2023
★★★★½
Blended from grapes from the Wairau and Awatere valleys, this mouthfilling, fresh and lively wine has strong, ripe, peachy, gently spicy flavours, slightly gingery notes, a sliver of sweetness and very good harmony. $22
Tohu Nelson Chardonnay 2022
★★★★
Grown in the Waimea Plains and coastal Tasman districts, this wine was tank-fermented, with some oak handling. A very harmonious wine, it is mouthfilling and generous, with very good depth of fresh, ripe, peachy flavour, hints of butterscotch and toast and lively acidity. $19
Two Rivers Phoenix Marlborough Pinot Gris 2023
★★★★½
This fleshy, full-bodied wine has fresh, generous stonefruit flavours that show a distinct touch of complexity, a sliver of sweetness and a finely textured, very harmonious finish. Open and expressive, it’s already drinking well. $22
Sparklings
Brown Brothers Sparkling Moscato Rosé 2022
★★★½
This bright pink, gently sparkling Victorian muscat is perfumed, grapey and slightly berryish. It has gentle sweetness and fresh, lively acidity. Light in body, it is instantly appealing. (7% alc/vol) $14-$15
Campo Viejo Cava Brut NV
★★★★
This bottle-fermented Spanish bubbly is vivacious. Made from indigenous grape varieties – xarel.lo, macabeo, parellada – it is freshly scented, with lemony, appley, gently yeasty flavours. Its slight sweetness is balanced by appetising acidity, and there’s a distinct touch of complexity. (11.5% alc/vol) $20-$22
Hãhã Brut Cuvée NV
★★★★
This non-vintage bubbly consistently offers good value. The batch I tasted recently – a blend of Marlborough chardonnay and pinot noir – has very good vigour and depth of peachy, citrusy flavours. Gentle, yeasty, toasty notes add complexity, and it offers a crisp, dryish finish. $18-$22
Rosés
Hãhã Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2023
★★★★
This is a bright pink blend of merlot and malbec. Crisp and lively, it has very good depth of fresh strawberry and watermelon flavours, gentle spicy notes and a basically dry finish. (11.5% alc/vol) $18
Odyssey Marlborough Rosé 2023
★★★★★
Certified organic, this bright pink wine is from pinot noir, estate-grown and hand-harvested in the Brancott Valley. Fragrant and full-bodied, it has strong, lively watermelon, strawberry, peach and spice flavours, a hint of apricot, and a crisp, dry finish. $22
Thornbury Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2023
★★★★
Priced sharply, this is a blend principally of merlot and malbec. Bright pink, it is light- to medium-bodied, with peach, strawberry and watermelon flavours. Showing very good delicacy and freshness, it has a sliver of sweetness and appetising acidity. (12% alc/vol) $15
Reds
Caravan Petite Sirah 2021
★★★★½
Is this the most full-bodied, flavour-packed Aussie red on the market for less than $20? From a grape variety also known as durif, it is dark and robust, with deep, ripe, red berry and spice flavours, braced by firm tannins. Gutsy and a bit rustic but full of personality, it’s a steal. (14.5% alc/vol) $15-$20
Church Road McDonald Series Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2021
★★★★½
Still unfolding, this barrel-aged red is deeply coloured, sturdy and sweet-fruited, with strong, almost lush, dark berry and plum flavours, finely integrated oak, supple tannins and a finely textured, harmonious finish. Well worth cellaring. $27-$30
Elephant Hill Le Phant Rouge 2021
★★★★½
This is a full-coloured Hawke’s Bay blend of six grape varieties – merlot (40%), syrah (36%), tempranillo (14%) and malbec (8%), with splashes of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Full-bodied and vibrantly fruity, it is a generous, very harmonious red, with strong, plummy, spicy flavours, savoury notes that add complexity, and ripe, supple tannins. Best drinking 2025+. $26
Esk Valley Artisanal Collection Malbec/Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
★★★★½
Bargain-priced, this characterful, full-bodied red was grown in the Gimblett Gravels. Deeply coloured, with fresh, spicy aromas, it is weighty, vibrant and youthful with concentrated blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours. Well worth cellaring, it should be at its best 2025+. (14.5% alc/vol) $25
Jackson Estate Homestead Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
Offering impressive value, this deep ruby red was matured in tanks and French oak barrels. Full-bodied, it has strong, vibrant cherry, plum and spice flavours, is showing excellent depth and has cellaring potential. $23-$27
Mission Jewelstone Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2021
★★★★★
Very refined and ageworthy, this single-vineyard red was estate-grown at Mere Rd in the Gimblett Gravels and matured in French oak casks (30% new). Dark and purple-flushed, with a floral, spicy fragrance, it is mouthfilling and savoury, with deep plum and black pepper flavours. It is showing excellent ripeness and density, has a hint of dark chocolate, and a finely structured finish. Best drinking 2028+. $37-$40
Pā Road Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★½
This deep ruby red was aged in stainless steel tanks with some oak contact. Full-bodied, it has generous, ripe plum and spice flavours in a moderately complex style with good depth, supple tannins and lots of drink-young appeal. (From te Pā.) $18-$19
Paritua Stone Paddock Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2020
★★★★½
This highly attractive red was estate-grown in the Bridge Pā Triangle and barrel-matured for a year. Full-coloured and fragrant, it is mouthfilling and smooth, with concentrated ripe berry, plum and spice flavours gently seasoned with oak, considerable complexity and excellent richness and harmony. $24
Seresin Leah Marlborough Pinot Noir 2023
★★★★½
Certified organic, this estate-grown, Omaka Valley red was matured in French oak barriques. Deep, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and fruit-packed, with concentrated cherryish, plummy, spicy flavours showing some savoury complexity, and good tannin backbone. Youthful and vigorous, it should be at its best mid-2026+. $33
Shed Five Thirty Estate Hawke’s Bay Woolshed Red 2021
★★★★½
This generous red is a blend of merlot, malbec and cabernet sauvignon. Full-coloured, it is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with a good concentration of berry, plum and spice flavours, a hint of liquorice and ripe, supple tannins. Drink now or cellar. $27
Taylors Estate Shiraz 2021
★★★★
This instantly likeable South Australian red is a great buy. Dark and full-bodied, it has strong, ripe, berryish, spicy flavours, hints of black pepper and dark chocolate, gentle tannins and excellent depth and poise. (14.5% alc/vol) $18
Terra Sancta Mysterious Diggings Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
★★★★½
Crafted for early enjoyment, this ruby hued, barrel-aged red is markedly more complex than most sub-$30 Central Otago pinot noirs. Invitingly fragrant, it is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with vibrant, cherryish, gently spicy flavours, smooth tannins, excellent harmony – and loads of drink-young appeal. $25-$30
Vidal Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
★★★★½
Matured for 18 months in French oak barrels, this great-value red was grown in the Gimblett Gravels. Full of youthful energy, it has deep, bright colour. It is mouthfilling, has generous red berry and blackcurrant flavours, spicy and nutty notes that add complexity, and refined tannins. It’s well worth cellaring. A steal at $16-$20.
Villa Maria Private Bin Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
★★★★
Matured for 18 months in tanks and oak barrels, this is a blend of merlot (92%) and cabernet sauvignon (8%). Full-coloured and mouthfilling, it has strong, youthful plum and spice flavours, hints of herbs and spices, savoury notes that add complexity, and a fairly firm finish. (12.5% alc/vol) $15 l
Note: all wines are 13-14% alc/vol, unless stated otherwise.
