Church Road is one of the oldest wineries in New Zealand. Led by legendary winemaker Tom McDonald, they were one of the first to craft exceptional Bordeaux-style red wine in Hawkes Bay. Today, they still maintain Toms vision of quality and craft in all the wines they make. Church Roads commitment to centuries-old winemaking techniques using French oak wine vats and French oak barriques remains undiminished. The winery is celebrating Tom McDonalds vision and legacy with the Church Road McDonald Series, complex, textural wines that are a fitting tribute to a legend whose influence is still felt today. This is a serious, multidimensional Merlot. The heart of this wine is its dense, brooding plum and dark berry fruit. This is complimented by lifted aromas reminiscent of roses, cedar, sandalwood and warm spice, while the oak delivers underlying dark chocolate and savoury notes. The palate is rich, weighty and long driven by a firm yet fine-grained tannin structure.

Church Road is one of Hawke's Bay's pioneering wineries, and its McDonald Series wines celebrate one of its original owners from the early 1900s, Tom McDonald, and his entrepreneurial spirit. New for Vintage Cellars, Church Road McDonald Series Pinot Gris is a hedonistic style with its rich perfume and texture and a seductive natural sweetness balanced by a touch of spice on the finish. Appealing ripe pear, peach, rose petal, ginger and warm spice aromas are evident on the nose, complimented by subtle creamy complexity. On the palate the wine is lush and full bodied with a moderate level of sweetness balanced by gentle acidity and a touch of ginger spice on the finish.

Church Road is one of Hawke's Bay's pioneering wineries, and its McDonald Series wines celebrate one of its original owners from the early 1900s, Tom McDonald, and his entrepreneurial spirit. New for Vintage Cellars, Church Road McDonald Series Chardonnay is a finely structured, elegant white with subtle oak influence and great drinkability. An elegant yet multidimensional Chardonnay, with a core of ripe stonefruit and fragrant citrus, overlaid with aromas of roasted nuts, subtle creaminess and a hint of smoky struck flint. The palate is powerful yet fresh and restrained with fine texture, great length and balanced fresh acidity

It is refreshingly sour and aromatic and yet clean and crispy, and carbonated Sake Bubbles stimulates your taste spots.

This very special drop is the perfect way to add a little sparkle to every occasion. Delicate pale yellow with an edge of green in colour, this sparkling wine is made from a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The bouquet is bright and driven by lemon, pear skin and an exotic subtle marzipan perfume mixed with suggestions of baked French pastry. The palate is lively and also exhibits fresh lemon, Granny Smith apples complemented by an interwoven chalky minerality. This wine has spent 3 years in bottle providing yeast autolysis influences on the palate and provides further complexity to this traditionally made sparkling wine from Zonzo Estate.

Rich, creamy and quite concentrated chardonnay with peach, hazelnut, bran biscuit and savoury, nutty yeast lees flavours. A seamless and satisfying wine that is deliciously approachable now but promises to age well. Alcohol: 13%. Closure: screwcap. Drink: 2019-2024. Rating: 95/100.

With a crisp pink color, this wine offers a gentle balance between acidulated aromas with notes of white blossom and small red fruit like raspberry and redcurrant. Its fine bubbles promise a delightful roundness in the mouth, which reveals all the subtlety of Pinot Noir. Underscored by a pleasant vivacity and sustained fruit, Perle d'Aurore is a delicate Crémant de Bourgogne that can be drunk in any circumstances.

Its yellow in colour with hints of green and gold show its fine bubbles in a lovely light. The nose opens on white blossom then citrus, before developing pleasant buttery and brioche notes. Full and rounded in the mouth, with a certain vivacity, and complex secondary aromas that evolve over time, delighting the taste buds. The harmony and elegance of Perle d'Ivoire makes a match for a wide variety of dishes, from the simplest to the most exotic. The grapes come mainly from the north of Burgundy (Yonne, Chatillonnais) and the south (Mâconnais). Gentle pneumatic pressing respects the fruit, and separate handling of the juice produces musts of great quality. Cold settling followed by fermentation in temperature-controlled vats preserves the personality of the wine, in particular its aromas. Once the bubbles have formed in the bottles, Perle d'Ivoire ages on laths for more than 18 months, enhancing the wine and bringing great elegance. Crémant de Bourgogne has been an Appellation dOrigine Contrôlée since 1975. It covers a particularly large territory that stretches from the north of Burgundy to the south, covering the Chablis region, the Châtillonnais, the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise, the Côte Mâconnaise, and into the Beaujolais. Such diversity means that a wide range of different base wines can be created that reflect their terroir. This allows for the creation of subtle blends to achieve the perfect balance for each cuvée and to bring out the qualities of each varietal: Pinot Noir for fruit, structure and vinosity; Chardonnay for freshness and elegance; Gamay for tastiness; and Aligoté for vivacity. Empowered by more than 130 years of history and expertise, creativity and respect for the terroir are the fundamentals of the Louis Bouillot philosophy.

Tasting Note: Deep garnet with crimson edges. Aromatically, blueberry, lavender, aniseed, and a flicker of black pepper. The palate is vivid and finely structured: lush fruit threaded with tannin and tension.