Will Lyons On Wine: Stoked About New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

“New Zealand has a reputation for zingy, hugely aromatic Sauvignon, but it now produces a range of styles. If you thought New Zealand only made one style of Sauvignon Blanc, think again.

Yes, the country has a reputation for zingy, hugely aromatic Sauvignon, but shine a spotlight on the country and you find it has moved on, now producing a range of styles. These are perhaps most easily categorized into four flavor profiles: wines that show an obvious dry, mineral character; those with herbaceous notes such as fennel, sweet pea and herbs; those that display more citrus and tropical fruit, with notes such as lemon and grapefruit; and those, that have had oak used in the winemaking process, leading to a more rounded, softer, fuller flavor.

Te Whare Ra 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
An absolute stand out, Te Whare Ra’s wine has a real depth of flavor on the nose, with tropical and citrus notes. Once sipped it has a core of minerality rounded off by a vibrant, juicy acidity.
Quite simply one of New Zealand’s top Sauvignon Blancs.”

http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/Rum-with-a-Sherry-pedigree-5022198.php

What happens when you combine one of Sherry’s best names with one of the country’s top spirits curators? The extremely limited Ron Navazos Palazzi Cask Strength Rum ($150/750 ml, 51 percent alcohol).

The product is a partnership between Equipo Navazos, which hunts and bottles rare individual casks of Sherry; and Nicolas Palazzi, who, under his PM Spirits label, does much the same with the hard stuff.

The short story: Rum aged for five years in the Caribbean was bartered with a Sherry house, which then aged it another decade in a solera-style system of oloroso casks. The result is 1,500 bottles that combine the burnished depth of Sherry, the sweetness of bourbon cask and the funk of molasses.

You won’t encounter another rum like it.

Available at K&L Wine Merchants.

Gusbourne Estate is pleased to announce that it was presented with two trophies at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) awards banquet on 13th November 2013 at the Guildhall in London. Gusbourne Estate was presented with the trophy for “English Wine Producer of the Year”, and the trophy for “Best Bottle Fermented Sparkling Wine” for Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2008.

http://www.gusbourne.com/