Nearly 300 million glasses full, give or take a few – that’s how much wine we imported last year. Overseas wines command 45% of the total New Zealand market.
Australia dominates in volume terms (73%), far ahead of France, Italy, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Spain. But compared to the average landed price of Australian wine, we pay more than twice as much for Italian vino and more than five times as much for French vin.
California produces more than 80% of American wine, but traditionally has exported only a small proportion of its output. Suddenly, the state’s wines are a lot more visible on shelves here, especially its rich, ripe, flavour-packed chardonnays.
WHITES
Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Hand-picked from “old bushvine vineyards”, this South African wine was handled in concrete vats and old oak casks. Pale gold, it is mouthfilling and has strong, ripe, vigorous, pineappley flavours. It is showing good complexity, has a crisp, dry finish and is already delicious. (13% alc/vol) $35
Bernard Defaix Chablis 2022
★★★★★
Certified organic, this classic, vigorous Chablis is from mature chardonnay vines, averaging 35 years old. Vibrantly fruity, it is dry and mouth-wateringly crisp. Its penetrating, well-ripened stonefruit flavours reveal excellent delicacy and length. (12.5% alc/vol) $50
Bisci Verdicchio Di Matelica 2022
★★★★★
Well worth discovering, this vibrant, beautifully poised wine flows from the Marches region on Italy’s Adriatic coastline. Full of personality, it has strong, yet delicate, peachy, citrusy flavours, notable freshness and vigour and a long, harmonious finish. It’s delicious now. (13% alc/vol). $39
Brown Brothers Crouchen & Riesling 2019
★★★½
This characterful, five-year-old Victorian wine is blended from an obscure French grape and the classic riesling variety. Pale gold, it is light-bodied, has good depth of peachy, slightly spicy, vaguely honeyed flavours, a sliver of sweetness and balanced acidity. Drinking well now, it’s priced right. (10.5% alc/vol) $15-$17
Côtes Des Sommets Pays D’Oc Chardonnay 2022
★★★★½
Offering great value, this invitingly fragrant wine is from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. Fresh and vibrantly fruity, it is full-bodied, rich and savoury, with finely balanced, lingering flavours. Drink now or cellar. (13% alc vol) $23
Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve California Chardonnay 2021
★★★★½
One of America’s biggest-selling chardonnays, this fully barrel-fermented wine has loads of varietal character. Mouthfilling, it has strong, ripe, peachy flavours seasoned with toasty oak, and very good complexity, vigour and harmony. Best drinking 2026+. (13.5% alc/vol) $30-$35
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, has penetrating stonefruit flavours, a slightly salty streak, and a crisp, dry, lasting finish. (13% alc/vol) $28
Robert Mondavi Winery Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018
★★★★★
This classy wine was hand-picked in the Napa Valley, north of San Francisco, and matured in French oak barrels. Bright, light yellow/green, it is an elegant, finely structured wine that has well-ripened, citrusy, peachy flavours seasoned with biscuity oak, and excellent depth, harmony and length. (13.5% alc/vol) $60
The Prisoner Carneros Chardonnay 2021
★★★★★
From the moderately cool Carneros region at the northern tip of San Francisco Bay, this powerful, weighty, finely textured wine was fermented and matured in French oak casks (50% new). Already delicious, it has deep, peachy, complex flavours and is rich, savoury and rounded. (14.5% alc/vol) $85
SPARKLING
Brown Brothers Sparkling Moscato Rosé 2022
★★★½
This bright pink, gently sparkling muscat is invitingly perfumed, grapey and slightly berryish. It has gentle sweetness and fresh, lively acidity. Light in body, it’s instantly appealing. (7% alc/vol) $14-$15
Campo Viejo Cava Brut
★★★★
This bottle-fermented Spanish bubbly is light and vivacious. Made from indigenous grape varieties – xarello, macabeo, parellada – it is freshly scented, with lemony, appley, gently yeasty flavours. It is slightly sweet and appetisingly crisp and has a distinct touch of complexity. (11.5% alc/vol) $22
Grande Cuvée 1531 Cremant de Limoux Brut
★★★★½
From the Pyrenean foothills of southern France, this stylish, bottle-fermented sparkling was blended mostly from chardonnay and chenin blanc and aged on its yeast lees for at least a year. Fresh and vigorous, it has good intensity of peachy, yeasty flavour and is finely balanced, crisp, dryish and lingering. (12.5% alc/vol) $24-$28
LXRY Brut
★★★½
Smartly packaged, this Aussie bubbly is fresh and lively. It has good depth of citrusy, peachy, slightly appley and yeasty flavours and is dry and crisp. (11.5% alc/vol) $19-$21
ROSÉ
Côtes Des Sommets Pays D’Oc Rosé 2022
★★★★½
Delicious now, this finely poised, dry rosé is from the south of France. Bright, light pink, it has gentle peach, watermelon and spice flavours showing excellent freshness and delicacy, and a lively, lingering finish. (12.5% alc/vol) $23
REDS
Bodegas Roda Sela Rioja 2020
★★★★★
This powerful, thought-provoking, youthful Spanish red is billed as a “modern expression of Rioja” and has an accent on “bold red” fruit flavours. Made from tempranillo grapes and aged for a year in large French oak barrels, it offers a long, well-structured finish. It is deeply coloured, with rich, vibrant blackcurrant, plum and red berry flavours. Savoury, nutty notes add complexity. Best drinking 2027+. (14% alc/vol) $58
Borgo Selene Sicilia Nero D’Avola 2021
★★★★
For a taste of Sicily, try this youthful, sweet-fruited red. Made from the native nero d’avola variety, it is brambly and spicy, generous and smooth, and offers delicious easy drinking. (13% alc/vol) $23
Brown Brothers Cienna 2022
★★★
Looking for a light, sweetish, slightly spritzig red to serve chilled? From cienna – a crossing of cabernet sauvignon with a rustic Spanish grape, sumoll – this Victorian charmer is ruby hued, berryish and smooth, with fresh acidity and lots of drink-young appeal. (8% alc/vol) $14-$15
Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2017
★★★★
Offering fine value, this is a very typical Rioja. Deep ruby, it is mouthfilling and savoury. Its ripe, berryish, gently spicy flavours are seasoned with sweet American and French oak. It is showing good complexity and harmony and is drinking well now. (14% alc/vol) $23
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. Its deep, ripe, red berry and spice flavours are braced by firm tannins. Gutsy and a bit rustic but full of personality, it’s a steal. (14.5% alc/vol) $15-$20
Espirita d’Aqueria Côtes du Rhône 2021
★★★★
This is an ideal, all-purpose French red. Weighty and vibrant, it offers excellent depth of red berry and spice flavours, shows considerable complexity and has a backbone of ripe, supple tannins. (13.5% alc/vol) $28
Guigal Côtes Du Rhône 2020
★★★★★
From a celebrated producer, this robust, fleshy red is highly ageworthy but still approachable. Deeply coloured, it is weighty and finely poised and has a strong surge of blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours. It is ripe, savoury and well-structured and offers best drinking 2026+. (15% alc/vol) $34
I Mori Sicilia Syrah 2021
★★★★
This characterful Sicilian red is bargain priced. Full-coloured and mouthfilling, it has strong, ripe flavours of red berries and spices in a clearly varietal style and is fresh and generous. (14% alc/vol) $20
Joseph Drouhin Fleurie 2020
★★★★★
From a top village in Beaujolais, this seductive, gamay-based red could easily be mistaken for a pinot noir from Burgundy. Deep, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and packed with ripe, plummy, gently spicy flavour. It is vibrant and supple with surprising complexity and is still unfolding. (13.5% alc/vol) $40
Luzon Organic 2021
★★★★½
From Jumilla, in southeastern Spain, renowned for its reds from mature monastrell vines, this full-coloured wine is certified organic. Mouthfilling, generous and supple, it has excellent weight and depth of ripe blackcurrant and red berry flavours. Slightly raisiny and finely textured, it’s already delicious. (14% alc/vol) $27
Moulin de Gassac Elise 2022
★★★★½
Grown in the Languedoc region of southern France, this is a highly attractive blend of syrah (60%) and merlot (40%). Partly barrel-aged, it is weighty, lush and sweet-fruited, has generous red berry and spice flavours and is rich, ripe and well rounded. (14% alc/vol) $26
Moulin de Gassac Combe Calcaire 2022
★★★★★
This lovely young red is a blend of equal portions of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, with a splash of carignan. Barrel-aged for a year, it is fragrant and deeply coloured, with concentrated, vibrant, ripe fruit flavours, good tannin backbone and a long finish. Best drinking 2027+. Top value. (13% alc/vol) $35
Muriel Rioja 2019
★★★★½
This finely crafted, youthful Spanish red is from tempranillo grapes aged in American and French oak casks. Deep ruby, it is full-bodied, with strong, vibrant, berryish, gently nutty flavours. It is vigorous and savoury and well worth cellaring to 2026+. (14% alc/vol) $25
Saldo California Zinfandel 2021
★★★★★
Combining power and elegance, this barrel-aged red is robust but not heavy; very ageworthy, but already delicious. Full-coloured and sweet-fruited, it has gentle tannins and strong, brambly, spicy, nutty flavours that are rich and rounded. (15% alc/vol) $50
Sardon Quinta Sardonia 2020
★★★★★
From Spain’s largest wine region, Castilla y Léon, this dark, weighty, cask-matured red was made from tempranillo grapes. It has concentrated, very ripe blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours with a hint of liquorice, oak complexity, good tannin backbone and a firm, sustained finish. Best drinking 2027+. (14.5% alc/vol) $37
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2020
★★★★★
Boldly coloured, this powerful, vibrant, youthful red should flourish in the cellar for a decade or two. Matured for 18 months in French (principally) and American oak barrels, it is sturdy and vigorous. It has impressive depth of cassis, plum and black pepper flavours and is deliciously rich, ripe and smooth. (14.5% alc/vol) $35
St Hugo Barossa/ Coonawarra Cabernet/ Shiraz 2020
★★★★★
This classy South Australian marriage of cabernet sauvignon (60%) and shiraz (40%) works beautifully. Dark and purple-flushed, it is weighty, with deep blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, a hint of mint, ripe, supple tannins and a finely balanced, lasting finish. Best drinking 2027+. (14.5% alc/col) $35
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 with hints of black pepper and dark chocolate, gentle tannins and excellent depth and poise. (14.5% alc/vol) $18
Taylors Jaraman Clare Valley/Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
★★★★★
Dark and fragrant, this South Australian red is already drinking well. Mouthfilling, with excellent density and complexity, it has an array of blackcurrant, plum, spice and mint flavours and is rich and rounded. (14.5% alc/vol) $25-$29
Taylors Reserve Parcel Limestone Coast/Clare Valley Shiraz 2021
★★★★★
Very finely textured, this powerful, yet elegant South Australian red is dark, rich, savoury and smooth. It has deep blackcurrant and spice flavours, gently seasoned with nutty oak, and a fresh, persistent finish. Fine value. (14.5% alc/vol) $24-$26
