Hemingway Fine Wines, Premium Wines, Christchurch, New Zealand

Christmas is just a month away and with numerous good wines coming it's hard to know which ones to highlight. It's been Riesling weather and The Crater Rim Waipara Riesling 2008 absolutely stunning; floral and stonefruit nose with a palate concentration to behold, tangerine and limes, beautifully balanced between acid and sugar, Germanic in style and only 9.5% alcohol. It again emphasises the good quality Riesling NZ is now producing with our recent tastings of Felton Road and Pyramid Valley wines very clear in the memory. The Rieslings coming out of these two biodynamic producers are nothing short of brilliant. Riesling is the variety in NZ that's made the biggest leap forward and yet it's still the the most ignored and maligned grape. Non Riesling drinkers should give this truly noble grape another chance. Scroll right down to the bottom of the page to get our Riesling choices from recent tastings and here are some great buys below that fit nicely into summer drinking.
Domaine Grand Veneur Rose 2007 One of the best value-for-money wines we have ever stocked and now the good weather has arrived this one is a must. The new vintage of this wine is just as good as the old vintage and whilst there has been a slight price increase the value here is not doubted. No bubblegum or candy floss characters in this as it has a bone-dry finish which is preceded by a typically French Grenache Rose - excellent balance, texture and fruit nuances RRP $21.90/btl. Special price only $19.70. Case Price only $230
To place an order for any of these wines CLICK HERE
Ostler Sagittarius Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 This is stunning but I warn you it's not a traditional grassy, gooseberry, asparagus or sweaty armpits style savvy. Instead, it's more the Sancerre style with concentrated, lemony citrus with lovely texture and length, and thus balance. It also finishes dry and is great with the cheesemongers 'Munster.' The winemaker Jeff Sinnott of Amisfield fame has done a great job with this classy, complex white that is also so good with many seafoods. We are the only ones that stock it and we put it 'on-special' to get the price at under $20 which is great value. RRP $21.90. Our special price just $18.50. Case price only $216
To place an order for any of these wines CLICK HERE
Breaksea Sound Pinot Noir 2006 I have a thing about Central Otago Pinot Noir being poor value for money but here's a wine we were blind tasted on, picked it as a well-made $40 pinot and were pleasantly surprised it came in well below that figure, and in-fact our shelf price was just $29.90. This one is nicely balanced between complex black-cherry fruit and good pinot noir varietal characters, and structure, holding up well through the mid-palate and showing good length on the finish. We think it's a very good wine and particularly like the price we can offer it to you for. RRP $29.90. Our special price is $26.90/btl or case for $312
To place an order for any of these wines CLICK HERE
La Consulta Pinot Gris 2007 Pinot Gris in our shop has a few 'front-runners' when it comes to buying value and this is certainly one (Land Of Fire is another). It isn't always available but at present you can get it and you won't be disappointed; based on pure low-yielded fruit quality as there is no barrel ageing or malolactic ferment. The wine is light straw coloured, has good texture and is dry on the finish. Excellent with seafood and white meat dishes with a little spice. RRP $18.50/btl. Our special price only $16.50/btl. Case price $198
To place an order for any of these wines CLICK HERE
Miro 2005 Waiheke Island isn't famous for its conservatively priced wine but this is one that's definitely under the odds. And it's very, very good. A bordeaux style red with predominately Cabernet Sauvignon (52%), Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (17%) and Malbec (1%), the wine has loads of elegance and silky characters of complex fruits which are preceded by a bouquet of subtle pot pourri. Having tasted Waiheke reds that have been double the price and not as good, I was pleasantly shocked we could sell it for so little. In the North it's $45/btl. Our great price $35.90/btl. But to you $32.30/btl or $375/cs
Vega Montan (pictured right) is yet another of our excellent under $20 Spanish wines (Mencia grape) and that has lots of character and is well worth trying. Another is the 100% Tempranillo wine from Ribera Del Duero called Obra Joven 2006 while we highly also recommend the 100% Monastrell Luzon Organic 2006 . Others back in stock are Gran Feudo 2003 , The Crater Rim Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 (only $24.50 on special), Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir 2006 and Domaine Jacquiery Pinot Noir 2003 which has improved out of sight with a little bottle age and is highly recommended. Papa Luna 2006 is in-stock again as is Guigal Cotes-du-Rhone 2004 which is drinking brilliantly right now and comes in to you at only $21.50/btl. To purchase the wines here or below email: hemingwayfinewines@xtra.co.nz
Christmas isn't far away and we are focusing here on some of the best value non-champagne examples. The Simonnet-Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne NV (pictured) offers excellent blanc de blanc style bubbly from the Chablis region. Your price is just $25.90/btl. Cremant is really just Methode Champenoise and we have some other beauties at similar prices incl the Gustave Lorentz Cremant de Alsace Rose NV and the Lucien Albrecht Cremant de Alsace Brut NV (richer in style). They are excellent food wines. Other good French bubbly is the Bouvet brand from the Loire which comes in Vintage, NV and Rose. A cheapish but good value Aussie bubbly is Hightide Dunes NV (crisp and clean, mostly chardonnay) and is brilliantly priced to you at only $13.40. Local bubblys drinking really well are the Pelorus NV (fantastic quality at our recent Cloudy Bay launch), Arcadia Brut NV ($21.50) and Quartz Reef NV ($27.80) and Quartz Reef Vintage 2004 ($37.30)

Business Hours Hemingway Fine Wines: Monday & Tuesday 10.30am to 7pm Wednesday to Friday 10am to 7pm Saturday 10am to 7pm We freight wine all over NZ and most parts of the world. Phone 374 3344. Fax 374 3343. Ample parking at rear of building for use by HFWs after 5PM and all-day on Saturdays. *The wine you drink is the wine you deserve*

Riesling to cellar - all these wines will aged beautifully Felton Road Dry Riesling 2008 Lifted bouquet of pear, citrus with palate of complex fruit, mineral, crisp and good length. 12%alc Felton Road Riesling 2008 Lovely balance between acid and the fruit sweetness (RS 55g/l), well integrated, classy and will age well. 9.5%alc Pyramid Valley Rose Riesling 2007 Orange blossom, smoke, lime and hints of quince, complex mineral, barely off-dry, good length. Pure and very focused.RS 9g/l, 13.1%alc Pyramid Valley Riverbrook Riesling 2007 Tropical fruit characters, lifted perfurmed nose, characters of musk, spiced honey and mineral. Long gingery finish. Excellent RS 20g/l, 12.5%alc Pyramid Valley Lebecca Riesling 2007 Floral with pear, apple tangerine and honeysuckle. Opulent, textured, rich and complex, lingering finish. RS 34g/l, 11%alc The Crater Rim Canterbury Riesling 2008 Characters of apples, citrus and smokey spice, minerality, well balanced, Kabinet style. 10.5%alc The Crater Rim Waipara Riesling 2008 Lovely texture, complex notes of floral, stonefruit and honey, Spatlese style, good length. 9.5%
Best Wine Tip : Buy a mixed dozen of the above Rieslings and bury them for five to eight years. Next Best Tip : Look both ways when you cross the road; you don't want to get run over in the next five to eight years!