Two dozen generally excellent wines from New Zealand's North Island. Above, Elephant Hill, whose Chardonnay and bordeaux blend each garnered an enthusiastic score of 17/20.
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s second most important wine region, was the worst-affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Just a day or two after my visit there last February, on the eve of the 2023 grape harvest, it was ravaged by floods that left communities isolated and covered many of the vineyards with silt.
I’m delighted, therefore, to present some good news from the east of the North Island in the form of hand-picked wines representing...