A blend of pinot noir (61%) and chardonnay (39%) from the Bendigo district of Central Otago. It’s a weighty wine with an appealing bite of fresh acidity that fades to leave a soft and beguiling suggestion of sweetness on the finish (the wine has been given a dosage of eight grams per litre). A nice mix of austere citrus and mineral fruit flavours with fine, toasty yeast autolysis. The currently available cuvee has been in bottle for two years after being disgorged.

Vibrant, crisp green apple, pear and peach flavors are accented by notes of lemon zest, toasted biscuit, honeycomb and dried white flowers. Finishes with a refreshing jolt of acidity. Drink now. –M.W.

This was tiraged in 2012 and disgorged in the first months of 2015. It is a blend of 58% pinot noir, 42% chardonnay. And 1% magic. So Rudi Bauer says. “I wanted to say something special, but didn’t know what to say. Maybe semillon is in this wine”. Ahh Rudi… This comes from a single site too (in Bendigo). ‘The acidity is a fibre optic cable, radiates and carries flavours into the wine. There’s so much different information to show off in a wine’, finishes Rudi. Rich perfume but very fresh. Ginger biscuits, honey drizzled stone fruit, toffee apple, floral notes. Lovely. Light, fresh, creamy texture, frisky bubbles, saline acidity under toasty, lightly honeyed fruit characters. Sits in the palate so well. Elegant, superior feel. It’s very good.

4½ stars. A pinot noir dominant crackingly good fizz with all the characters you would be impressed by - yeast, flintiness, lees influences adding biscuity notes and fresh, spicy strawberry fruits to the fore, lifted by a fine, lively mousse. Ready to be enjoyed. Goes with: Seafood Entrees.

This was tiraged in 2012 and disgorged in the first months of 2015. It is a blend of 58% pinot noir, 42% chardonnay. And 1% magic. So Rudi Bauer says. “I wanted to say something special, but didn’t know what to say. Maybe semillon is in this wine”. Ahh Rudi… This comes from a single site too (in Bendigo). ‘The acidity is a fibre optic cable, radiates and carries flavours into the wine. There’s so much different information to show off in a wine’, finishes Rudi. Rich perfume but very fresh. Ginger biscuits, honey drizzled stone fruit, toffee apple, floral notes. Lovely. Light, fresh, creamy texture, frisky bubbles, saline acidity under toasty, lightly honeyed fruit characters. Sits in the palate so well. Elegant, superior feel. It’s very good.

4½ stars. A pinot noir dominant crackingly good fizz with all the characters you would be impressed by - yeast, flintiness, lees influences adding biscuity notes and fresh, spicy strawberry fruits to the fore, lifted by a fine, lively mousse. Ready to be enjoyed. Goes with: Seafood Entrees.

It is quite a feat to craft a sparkling wine that captures richness within a frame of delicacy. Quartz Reef has met the brief impeccably, celebrating the power of Central Otago pinot noir (almost two-thirds of the blend) in its rich stone fruit, mixed spice and baked apple glory, then toning it with the pink grapefruit and preserved lemon notes of chardonnay. It pulls accurately into a well-balanced finish of mineral presence and taut acidity, carrying with impressive line and persistence, finishing with a refreshingly low dosage of 8g/L of sweetness. Drink: 2012-2013.

A masterful sparkling with abundantly fresh nectarine, white peach and lemon citrus. The palate swings more into grapefruit territory and holds a neat, fresh and zesty stance. A savoury and stony finish. Drink now.

Winemaker Rudi Bauer exceeds expectations with his outstanding sparkling wines, which make up 40 percent of his wine production in Central Otago. This makes him stand out in more ways than one: quality is at an all-time high and it's unusual for an Otago winery to focus so strongly on wines other than Pinot Noir, although it is the toasty richness of the gently pressed Pinot grape that gives this sparkling wine its exceptionally consistent delicious edge. Full-bodied, long, powerful and elegant all at once. A stellar bubbly from a great winemaker. 18.5/20.

Palate strength and definition are the highlights of this red-grape-dominant (72 per cent pinot noir, 28 per cent chardonnay) Champagne-method bubbly. It’s very much in the stonefruit flavour quarter, though age-derived breadiness and yeastiness also play their roles. Serve as an aperitif or with simple seafoods such as freshly shucked oysters.