Week Wine Special

2007 Muga Riserva Rioja

Our most popular Rioja. "Muga’s red wines begin with the Muga Reserva, a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, with the balance Mazuelo and Graciano. It was aged for 6 months in wooden vats before spending 2 years in 60% new French and American oak. "A complete modern Rioja with cola, cassis and smoky aromas. Excellent mouthfeel and toasty black fruit and licorice flavors work well together, and the finish is refined, warm and peppery. Not an overly lush wine but it is generous and loaded with a bit of everything good: body, tannin, acidity, flavor and complexity." Parker

Louis Roederer Brut N.V Champagne

Normally $90. ( LAST OF THE XMAS DEAL ) A personal favourite with its small production and quality focus. The blend is 56% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier, including 10% of reserve wines from three former harvests, aged in oak casks for 2-6 years ."Elegant yet powerful champagne, has plenty of weight and flavour together with fine, nutty yeast autolysis and a creamy texture. A very stylish wine." Cuisine.

Veuve Clicquot Brut N.V. Champagne

Normally $80. 5 Stars in Cuisine "Veuve Clicquot trademark egg-yolk yellow non-vintage label is immediately recognisable. The wine behind is typically smooth, with cashew, stone fruits, vanilla cream and biscuity touches worked into a lush, satisfying, complex package. Although a Brut style, it has the typical light thread of sweetness that marks the house, yet remains clean and tangy."

Chandon N.V. Brut Rose Methode Traditionelle

Normally $28. Established in 1986 by Moet & Chandon this is immacute Rose. A fresh, vibrant sparkling wine blended from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A small amount of Pinot Noir provides fresh strawberry and raspberry notes and balances the creamy and complex middle palate, a result of 18 months yeast age. With a crisp, long finish Chandon NV Rose is a refreshing aperitif, or the perfect partner to a range of foods. Great Rose bubbly buying.

2009 Coopers Creek Chalk Ridge Hawkes Bay Viognier

Elsewhere this is $21. Try this beautiful wine instead of a sauvignon or pinot gris- you wont regret it and its not often we can offer a good quality viognier at this remarkable price. This indigenous grape variety from the Northern Rhone Valley in France produces rich and exotic wine. Viognier is a low acid variety so the palate is broad, rich and weighty with aromas of apricots and flowers. The fruit for this wine is sourced from the Chalk Hill block just to the south of Havelock North. It is so named due to the amount of fractured limestone in the soil profile. It is a very steep vineyard and is very difficult to work (too steep for even a tractor). The vineyard faces due north and is very warm during the day.

2008 Coopers Creek 'Little Rascal' Gisborne Arneis

Elsewhere $21. Gold and Trophy at the Aromatics Show. An ancient variety grown near Alba in Piemonte (northwest Italy). Recently saved from extinction by a few notable Barolo (Nebbiolo) producers. Arneis is sometimes referred to as Barolo Bianco although never labeled as such. Difficult to grow, "Arneis" in the regional dialect means "little rascal." It is often used as a blender to soften tannins in the red wines of the area, much as the French use Viognier in the Northern Rhone. "Richly scented and mouthfilling, it is powerful and vibrant, with refreshing acidity. The flavours are concentrated, citrusy and spicy, with hints of herbs and almonds." A charming aperitive and sipping wine and a good companion for shellfish and fish. Try something new in kiwi whites.

2010 Cloudy Bay Marlbourgh Sauvignon Blanc Magnum

With the larger sized bottles keeping wine fresher these magnums are drinking beautifully. A great present or for the dinner party, we grabbed a small parcel of these with open arms. "N.Z.'s most internationally acclaimed wine is highly sought after from Sydney to New York and London.

2006 Craggy Range Merlot Magnum ( 1.5 ltr )

"Craggy Range's flagship Syrah demonstrates how a top producer can, through selection and good viticulture, produce a great wine from a challenging vintage. This is the most accessible Le Sol since the first vintage in 2001 but it still offers great power and depth. A silken texture envelopes plum, spice and dark berry flavours." 93/100 Bob Campbell

2007 Craggy Range Merlot Magnum ( 1.5 ltr )

2009 Serafino McLaren Vale Shiraz

"This powerful Shiraz shows distinctive regional characters of dark chocolate, black prunes, pepper, licorice and spicy cedary oak on the palate, with ripe loganberry fruit and oak perfectly integrated. This well structured wine is approachable now, however has the power and concentration to guarantee longer term cellaring up to 10 years under the right conditions."