The Ancestral is one of the first wines to disappear off the shelves at Hinterland. Pure fruit on the nose — red berries and red currants and strawberries and rhubarb, oh my, what a fun sparkling wine on the nose and on the palate. Yes, it’s sweet, but it’s a balanced attack of sweetness. I dare you to put your glass down after one sip.
This is a ripe and creamy Chardonnay with moderate aromas of peach, pineapple, vanilla, spice, butterscotch and a slight minerality. Leans to the full end of the spectrum and has lovely density as well as persistency.
Sourced from a Rocky Knoll Vineyard block in Cromwell sub-region. Complex aromas of dried herbs and savoury meats. Mix of ripe red/black fruit flavours on creamy-textured palate, supported by well-integrated tannins. Finishes with chocolate and spice notes. Ready for venison.
Amarone is made in northeastern Italy from a blend of indigenous grapes. What makes it unique, and delicious, is that the grapes are partially dried before fermentation. The resulting sweet juice easily produces alcohol levels of 15% or more, but it remains drinkable because the highly concentrated flavours, and some oak aging, balance the wine. This particular version is a very deep garnet colour, has smells of stewed black cherries and caramel and is very full-bodied, tasting of cooked fruits, caramel, chocolate and spices. Perfect to accompany rich dishes such as osso buco. Drink in the next couple of years.
Peach, yellow apple, honey, pineapple, pear, white flowers and mineral find a home in this crisp white. Great length and ready to drink, preferably with a cheese board or freshwater fish.
White gold in colour with a minerally, lime and white peach nose lifted with a light floral note. Light-bodied and off-dry with honey and green-apple flavours.
Alvarinho is the same grape as Albariño, which is grown across the border in Spain’s Rias Baixas region. The wine is very pale in colour with a lime tint. Minerally, spring flowers, lemon peel and white peach on the nose; dry, elegant, grassy-herbal and citrus flavours; light and crisply dry with a light spritz. Great value at the price.