Wine Reviews

Intense Key lime, lemongrass and pear flavors are fleshy, bright and precise in this white, showing details of tangerine, kiwifruit and grapefruit, with sleek notes of saline and green tea, plus a hint of white pepper on a mouthwatering frame.

The 2023 Le Sol Syrah hails from the Gimblett Gravels in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay. Aromatically, the wine leads with sweet roasted game, beetroot, pomegranate molasses, cocoa, crushed rocks and notes of peat. The tannins show the typical graphite quality that we have come to expect from this cuvée and this terroir, and one could even go so far as to say that the wine feels incredibly elegant, almost light. The fact that any wine was made in Hawke’s Bay after Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall on February 11, 2023, can be considered an immense achievement, never more so than when the wines are great, as this is. As always with Le Sol, exercise patience; you will be rewarded. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2023 Chardonnay is lean and flinty on the nose, with notes of white peach, green apple, freshly picked curry leaf and preserved lemon rind. In the mouth, the wine is very good, behaving exactly as the nose has laid out, with mineral phenolics and sleek length. 2023 was the year of Cyclone Gabrielle, which made a catastrophic landfall on the February 11, bringing widespread destruction. 12.7% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Aromas of blackberries, smoke, dried flowers, nuts and a touch of earth. The palate is medium-bodied with nerve, precise tannins that add precision, focused dark fruit and a savory note in the finish. This is very balanced and should evolve nicely. Drink now or hold.

Showing the freshness and salinity of its coastal Te Awanga origin, this is a pure-fruited style with a fragrant nose of white peach, white flowers, lemon and subtle flint. The palate is fine, silky and tightly structured, with nice intricacy. Great finesse with good layers and length, finishing with an attractive chalkiness.