Description
A sample pack of the fine vinous wares of New Zealand. This great value mix gives you a cross-section of wine styles and interesting producers.
- 2022 Churton Sauvignon Blanc
- 2023 Kumeu River Village Chardonnay
- 2022 Unkel Life’s a Beach Orange
- 2022 Mount Edward Gamay
- 2022 Kenzie Duet Pinot Syrah
- 2021 Te Mata Estate Vineyards Merlot Cabernets
2022 Churton Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborough as a region is notable for its Sauvignon Blanc production. Some of it very good, some not so much. Here's one of the very good ones.
Organically farmed by the Weaver family, this wine shows a rare intensity for this variety. Each of the 10 Churton Sauvignon Blanc blocks are harvested individually by hand, a portion sees some time in larger format oak, and all the wine spends six months on lees before bottling.
Textural, powerful, and incredible value for money given the care taken to craft this. This is Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc done right.
94 Points
"Crikey! Delicious. Tastes more like the kind of Loire chenin blanc I drink than Marlborough savvy B. Lemony, so much sea spray and brine, wet fern characters and sure, a touch of tropical fruits, but subdued under the zestiness of the wine. Mouth-watering and delicious. Absolute ripper."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Kumeu River Village Chardonnay
Kumeu River are producing some of the most exquisite Chardonnays this side of Burgundy, in the words of Tim Atkin MW “If Michael Brajkovich MW were a Burgundian rather than a New Zealander, he would be among the most celebrated white winemakers in the Côte de Beaune.”
Pretty high praise, and quite apt when you’re looking at this wine from them. The value for money is through the roof. Creamy, with a slight flinty-mineral note, on the palate there is a subtle fruit character up front moving to a delicate tight and crisp mid-back palate. Fully of bright acidity and a lengthy clean finish.
As an entry point into the Chardonnay range of Kumeu River, this wine is insane; pure, precise and oh so Chablisesque!
2022 Unkel Life’s a Beach Orange
Unkel Wines is the project of winemakers / grape growers Rob and Kate Burley. Kiwi-born Rob launched Unkel several years back in Victoria after learning his craft under the likes of Pat Sullivan and William Downie, before relocating with wife Kate back to Nelson, New Zealand. Here they now farm their own organically & dry farmed vineyard, crafting delicious natural wines shaking up the typically more conservative New Zealand industry.
Here we have a skin-fermented blend of Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, from various picks and various ferments, crafted together to make a smooth and seamless orange wine, full of tropical fruits and complimentary but gentle structure.
Rob describes this "a great intro to orange wine", and we couldn't agree more. Fun and versatile drinking!
2022 Mount Edward Gamay
One of the best examples of the potential for Central Otago's to produce top-quality Gamay.
The wine was made by Duncan Forsyth and his team, looking to bring their low-intervention philosophy to this jubilant and juicy red variety.
In Beaujolais, the home of Gamay in Burgundy, the finest examples in modern times are made with a more natural winemaking philosophy. Duncan tackles the variety in a similar way, making the wine with no additions apart from the most minimal amount of sulphur during the winemaking process.
Thanks to this, the wine is open, bursting with red and purple berries and herby spice. It's a soft, slurpable and all-round charming example of the variety from the southern hemisphere.
93 points
"It’s super bright, crisp, vibrant. A refreshing red with verve and crunch. Tart cherries, pomegranate juice, a lick of rose hip tea; scents and flavours match here. It dances on the tongue, such a fresh style, almost could be a chillable red but for the structure, tension and filigree of tannin here. A beauty to drink, wholly in a modern, nouveau vogue but plenty to get stuck into."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2022 Kenzie Duet Pinot Syrah
The Kenzie Duet Pinot Syrah is a wine that sings, with beautiful balance between its performers; not a diva in sight.
Despite what you might think, a Pinot Noir/Syrah blend is a thing to behold. The earthiness and elegance of Pinot often goes swimmingly with the spice and depth of Syrah, such as with the Kenzie Duet. They work in concert to create a wine with no jagged edges.
It's a feast for your senses. Blueberry, cherry, boysenberry, smoke, pepper, rosemary, with firm tannins that will continue to see this wine age well and a juicy palate that will always deliver a flavourful drop.
2021 Te Mata Estate Vineyards Merlot Cabernets
The lesser-known Cabernet Merlot blend from the iconic Te Mata Estate, and a brilliant value part of their range.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vie for dominance, with a touch of Cabernet Franc also in the mix. It's all very classy and silky with beautifully ripe dark blackcurrant and plum fruits.
The fruit comes from across Te Mata's vineyards in the Havelock Hills, Bridge Pa Triangle, Gimblett Gravels and Dartmoor sub-regions of Hawke’s Bay.
94 points
"Hard to imagine a better value, and more serious Bordeaux blend at this price point. Incredible."
-Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
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Shipping
Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!
For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.
We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.
Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.
Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you.
Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.
Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.
Ordering
We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
- The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
- We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
- We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
- It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.
- It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.
We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.
At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!
No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.
We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.
To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you.
If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.
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