Collection: Fine Wine Whites
WAS $35.99, NOW $27.23
GOLD MEDAL: Mundus Vini Spring Tasting 2024
GOLD MEDAL: Sakura Japan Women’s Wine Awards
GOLD MEDAL: Mundus Vini Spring Tasting 2023
GOLD MEDAL: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Comp
94 POINTS & 5 Stars: Sam Kim; The Wine Orbit
BEST BUY: Wine Enthusiast
"Complex and enticing, the bouquet shows grilled stone fruit, roasted fig, vanillin oak and brioche aromas, followed by an opulent palate offering creamy texture and beautifully infused acidity, finishing persistent and highly appealing. At its best: now to 2028."
- Sam Kim; The Wine Orbit
From Monterey, a slightly cooler sub-region of California, comes this delightful Chardonnay. It takes all the things that we love in Cali Chardy and turns them up a notch; toasty caramel notes, buttery characters and creamy mouthfeel all meld seamlessly and the result is a truly delicious glass of wine.
Grapes are left on the vine slightly longer than normal and are picked when the balance between acidity and fruit ripeness is absolutely perfect. The grapes are pressed immediately after harvest and then fermentation occurs in a combination of stainless steel tanks and French and American Oak barrels to add body and complexity.
If you're a fan of American Chardonnay and are looking for your new favourite, you've just found it.
ABV: 13.5%
93 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
91 POINTS: Cameron Douglas MS
"An enticing bouquet of lees and lemon pith, white peach and blossoms, white apricot and a touch of apple. Crisp and dry on the palate with layers of fine lees and super fine tannins, medium+ acid line and flavours that reflect the bouquet. Ready to drink expression, and likely best with seafood or summer soups."
- Cam Douglas MS
"A classically styled Picpoul de Pinet that ticks all the boxes: citrus and white stone fruit aromas and a really ripe and delicious palate. It’s concentrated, super succulent, tangy and mouthwatering. Serious summer white wine. Perfect with anything from the sea."
- Wine Direct Tasting Team
"The Picpoul de Pinet typically presents a bright and zesty profile. On the nose, you’ll find aromas of citrus—lemon and lime—combined with green apple, white flowers, and a hint of sea spray or salinity, evoking its coastal origins. On the palate, it’s crisp, light-bodied, and refreshing, with vibrant acidity that gives it a lively, mouthwatering feel. Flavors of lemon zest, grapefruit, and green pear are prominent, often complemented by a subtle minerality and a slightly salty finish, which makes it a fantastic pairing for seafood."
- Winemakers notes
Picpoul is one of the oldest indigenous grapes of the Languedoc region; its use is recorded in the 17th century. Today it is most famous for the wines produced around the village of Pinet, which is close to the coast, just west of Sète. Unoaked the wine shows a good level of freshness for a wine from such a warm climate, with a citrussy and stone fruit character highlighted with floral notes.
ABV: 12.5%
94 POINTS: Sam Kim - The Wine Orbit
94 POINTS: Bob Campbell MW
93 POINTS: Decanter Magazine
93 POINTS: James Suckling
Organic & BioGro NZ Certified.
"A beautifully styled Sauvignon, showing Granny Smith apple, nectarine, lime peel and fig characters on the nose. The palate displays pristine fruit flavours with refined texture and zesty acidity, finishing lingering and mouth-watering. Wonderfully expressive and harmonious with true varietal intensity and vibrancy. At its best: now to 2029."
- Sam Kim - The Wine Orbit
"A more Sancerre-like sauvignon blanc with sliced green apples, spiced pears, crushed stones and some gooseberries. Medium to full body. Round mouth-feel and steely acidity. From organically grown grapes."
- James Suckling
The 2022 release shows distinctive Awatere characters of guava, white currant, and elderflower coupled with lovely ripe passionfruit & tropical notes and hints of basil and lime from the Wairau fruit. These follow through to the palate – which is fine and soft with loads of fleshy fruit balanced by a ripe, juicy acidity and lingering minerality. There is real fruit weight here and that is complimented by lovely texture from the time on lees and the barrel parcels – It is utterly delicious!
ABV: 13.5%
97 POINTS: Sam Kim, The Wine Orbit
95 POINTS: Cameron Douglas MS
95 POINTS: James Halliday - Wine Companion
Organic & BioGro NZ Certified
"Exquisitely composed and finely scented, the delicately fragrant bouquet shows lime cordial, jasmine, lemon pith and crunchy apple characters, followed by a finely flowing palate that’s pristine and focused. It’s light on its feet with saline texture backed by perfectly pitched acidity, finishing persistent and gracefully slim. At its best: 2025 to 2036."
- Sam Kim - The Wine Orbit
The team at TWR love Riesling as a variety for its purity, elegance and age ability and believe that our old vines (mostly planted in late 70s) combined with the growing conditions in Marlborough are capable of making world class Riesling. The SV (SV5182) Riesling ‘D’ is a dry style which has excellent fruit weight and concentration to balance the lingering mineral acid structure. This wine is finely structured with great length of flavour.
ABV: 12%
95 POINTS & 5 STARS: Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
94 POINTS: Bob Campbell MW
Organic & BioGro NZ Certified
"It’s finely scented and enticing on the nose, showing nectarine, Asian pear, fig and white floral aromas. The palate is equally attractive with pristine fruit flavours together with creamy mouthfeel, finishing splendidly long and refreshing. Gorgeously composed and styled with elegance as well as weight and body. Certified organic."
– Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
"Pristine, flavoursome wine with moderately intense ripe pear, quince, honeysuckle and lime zest characters supported by refreshing acidity. Standout wine from an excellent vintage."
– Bob Campbell MW
This wine is finely structured with great purity & length of flavour and a lovely fleshiness. Lifted aromas of nashi pear, honeysuckle, red apple and white florals follow on to flavours of the same along with savoury undertones which are balanced by fine, supple texture and lingering minerality. This release is a dry style which has concentration, balance and great texture with layers of flavour.
ABV: 13%
90 POINTS: James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
"Fresh lemongrass, stones and apple pith on the nose. This is pristine, fresh and sleek on the palate with subtle white fruit and citrus notes before a zesty, pure finish. Fresh acidity throughout."
- James Suckling
Nestled between the Orcia and Ombrone rivers on the southern slopes of Montalcino, Tuscany, the Castello Banfi vineyard estate is unique for its wine culture and tradition. The wines of Banfi Toscana range, produced with grapes selected from specific Banfi vineyards as well as other noble areas of the region, express the genuine and authentic character of Tuscany. They reflect the love for Tuscany, revealing joy and genuine nature in their easy-drinking style thanks to an inherent liveliness and freshness, these wines are appropriate for everyday consumption, yet always reflect the Banfi standard of character and quality.
ABV: 12.5%
91 POINTS: Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate
Macabeo 50%, Garnacha Blanca 50%
"There is now a white 2022 Manga del Brujo Blanco produced with 50% Macabeo and 50% Garnacha Blanca grapes, a white with some lees and a little bit of oak. The style of their wines is more Burgundian, with direct pressing of the bunches and fermentation in old oak barrels. It has good concentration, character and style, with balsamic and medicinal notes, bay leaf and orange peel. It has good ripeness, 13.7% alcohol and good freshness from the altitude of the vines and an early harvest. It is tasty, clean and with an herbal touch in the finish. 6,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2023, six days before I tasted it!"
- Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate
ABV: 13.5%
91 POINTS: Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate
91 POINTS: James Suckling
91 POINTS: Decanter Magazine
Classic blend of 45% Semillon, 35% Sauvignon-Blanc, 15% Sauvignon Gris & 5% Muscadelle
"The 2020 Marjosse Blanc comes skipping out of the glass with vibrant notes of lime leaves, grapefruit oil and crushed rocks, giving way to emerging notions of green apples, dillseed and fresh hay. The medium-bodied palate delivers a great intensity of herbs-laced citrus flavors, supported by a racy backbone and finishing long and chalky."
- Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate
"A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Muscadelle and Semillon. Typically aromatic nose, herbal and grassy with tropical and citrus elements. Succulent, softly mouthwatering with a weight and density from the oak ageing that also gives a slightly spiced edge to the peach, pear, nectarine and apricot fruit. Fresh and full-bodied, structured and complex. HVE3 certified."
- Decanter Magazine
Built in 1782, Château Marjosse is a property located in Entre-deux-Mers on the right bank of Bordeaux. Château Marjosse was purchased in 1997 by French 'wine royalty', Pierre Lurton - president of two of Bordeaux’s best-known châteaux; Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem.
Although located in Entre-deux-Mers, its terroir closely resembles that of Saint-Emilion, as Pierre Lurton explains it:”a fairly rare thing in Entre-Deux-Mers, the limestone at Astéries, the same one that has made the reputation of the wines of Saint-Emilion, comes to the outcrop here”. The estate is composed of young and old vines, some of which are centenarians. Nearly 50 hectares are planted with red grape varieties, native and typical of local The rest is planted with sauvignon-blanc/ (around 50%), semillon and a little muscadelle, to produce an Entre-Deux-Mers white wine.
ABV: 13%
93 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
"The nose is fragrant and powerful with notes of yellow flowers and white-fleshed fruit and hints of herbs such as thyme and mint. The palate is balanced by freshness and savouriness, dominated by crisp white fruit and fresh acid. Super wine. If you haven’t discovered Pecorino yet this a must-try."
- Wine Direct Tasting Team
The Pecorino grape variety still leads an unjustly shadowy existence, yet it has so much fun and seriousness to offer. We at Wine Direct are on a mission to bring it into your home, we simply love the variety and lovey super drinkable dry wines it produces. A great companion to light summer dishes, also enjoyable with bread and olives whiling away those long summer days ahead.
ABV: 13%
92 POINTS: Wine Enthusiast Magazine
92 POINTS: Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate (2022)
94 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
"This is a lovely wine from high-elevation, quartz-rich soils and is available at a great value price. The Cantina Valle Isarco 2022 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Kerner shows a rich consistency with deep favors of ripe fruit, apricot, pine nut and honey. There is crushed stone at the back that gives lift and contouring to the otherwise bigger texture of this hot-vintage expression. The wine finishes on a dry, elegant note."
- Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate (2022 Vintage)
A stunning white from the height of the Dolomites in Northern Italy. Cantina Valle Isarco’s Kerner displays beautiful freshness, minerality and regional typicity. Stone fruit flavours of peach and apricot, spiced and aromatic. Very expressive, well-balanced acidity with great length. Great value for money. The wine is aged in stainless steel tank on fine lees for around 4 to 5 months before bottling.
The Kerner grape varietal originates from a cross of Riesling and Schiava (Trollinger) first created in 1929; it’s named after the German poet and medical doctor Justinus Kerner. Kerner has been cultivated in Valle Isarco since the 1990s. Thanks to its resistance to frost, it is ideally suited to being grown on sun-filled sites between 600 and 1000 metres above sea level. Light sandy-gravelly soils provide ideal growing conditions to make wines with excellent fruit and body. The higher altitudes result in moderate vine growth, a longer maturation period and lower yields. This in turn leads to high levels of concentration in the grapes. Valle Isarco’s Kerner is full of minerality, rich in primary fruit and is impressively aromatic.
93 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
- Wine Direct Tasting Team
Valle Isarco lies at a point in northernmost Italy where glaciers meet the gentle rolling hills of the Mediterranean. It’s a region, within Italy’s Alto-Adige, characterised by a wine tradition that span back to 500BC. But while its wine tradition may be historic, it also defined by the personality of its contemporary growers who, thanks to a wide variety in soils, in cultivation areas and sunlight exposures – as well as in the microclimates of specific vineyards, allow each vineyard to develop and thrive within its own character. Steep terraced vineyards call for year-round dedication and can, in many cases, require solely hand tending, so it’s no wonder the spirit of each family of winemakers is so at one with its vineyard.
WAS $28,99, NOW $23.34
90 POINTS: Jeb Dunnuck
93 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
“Crushed citrus, pear blossom, and honeysuckle all emerge from the 2021 Côtes Du Rhône Samorens Blanc, a medium-bodied, juicy, crisp, beautifully balanced white with tons to love.”
- Jeb Dunnuck
“Bright, pale golden colour with silver hints and aromas of white flowers and white fruits. The palate is nicely balanced, the Clairette brings the freshness and the white Grenache brings the body and softness.”
Ferraton was set up in 1946 by Jean-Orens Ferraton and now has vineyards in Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. Expansion started after Michel became involved and added other vineyards. The move to organic and biodynamic farming began in 1998 when Michel Chapoutier became involved. He was happy to share his knowledge of making wine without the use of any additives, pesticides or chemicals. The Ferraton focus switched firmly to making wines of good quality using new and ambitious methods.
The wines we see now from Ferraton focus on respecting the environment in which they are created. Biodynamic methods allow the vines to find balance without pesticides or chemical fertilisation. This is reflected in their quality.