It cannot have escaped your notice that spring has, well, sprung.
As the promise of warmer days puts a spring in our step, that warm glow can have one looking at life through rose-tinted glasses.
As a wine lover, I'm rather more tempted by rosé-tinted glasses and the new releases that are hitting our shelves.
You may see a trend towards paler hues of salmon or onion-skin, and sweetness levels pared back, but there is still something for everyone.
Price: $24.99
Rating: Excellent
Sweetly alluring perfumed nose of flowers, gum drops, dried strawberry and a little stony minerality. Excellent flavour intensity, adding stony, savoury notes to the palate; while there is a wine gummy fruit sweetness here, this closes relatively dry, all neatly bound together with freshening acidity and a good carry.
Very good overall appeal.
Price: $22.90
Rating: Very good to excellent
Lovely florality here with wild flowers and currants, sweet strawberry with time. A little bit of a slow burner that grows over time, subtlety yet finesse and deceptively easy drinking on a summer’s day. Hints of minerality run through the medium-weight palate which picks up a refreshing mandarin zest note on the close.
Splash this into a glass and give it some air.
Price: $30
Rating: Very good
Darker fruited nose with raspberry, toasty hints, dustiness and finally cherry. Power through the palate with fruit cordial and red fruits: chewiness adding weight and texture with a toffee apple element on the close.
Juicy, bright and lots of appeal in a sweeter style that is perhaps closer to a light summer pinot noir and would happily take a little chilling.
Price: $27
Rating: Excellent
Attractive white flowers and red fruits, schisty and savoury touches in support. Nicely textural entry with a creamy richness, sweet fruit elements popping in the mouth, balanced by good freshness and a little touch of welcome grip. The fruit sweetness builds over time and flows into the long appealing finish with a little warm glow.
Lovely balance here and drinkability.
Price: $15
Rating: Very good
There’s a subtlety, yet deliciousness about the nose: top notes of raspberry, backed by strawberry spice and fragrance. Rich and mouthfilling, dry, minerally and chewy with strawberries and cream on the palate and a nectarine/ citrus zest element on the close.
Structured drier style that would work very nicely with food.
www.astrolabewines.co.nz/Durvillea
Price: $17.99
Rating: Excellent
Fascinating nose, a little sav blanc ‘‘sweat’’ at first before the strawberry, nectarine and apple notes shine through. The powerful fruit fills the palate, the creamy texture a foil to the freshness as classic strawberry and cream notes build, before a tingly mineral touch.
Very appealing and deceptively moreish.
Price: $25
Rating: Very good to excellent
Subtle but appealing nose, floral, then savoury, building all the while. Creamy entry with chewy grip to the mid palate before a salivatory, sweet & sour note comes into play adding apple and balsamic to the zesty acidity.
Fascinatingly different; very much in the food spectrum.
Price: $20.99
Rating: Excellent
Hints of struck match, herbs and savoury notes mingle with the red fruits. A creamily, sweet fruited entry with a crunchy, tangy, appley vein coursing through it leaving you salivating. A real piquancy here that shouts ‘hot summer’s day’ with zesty drive and interest.
The bright acidity here would be a great foil for the fattiness in bbq sausages.
