Chillingworth Road - French & Kiwi Wine Dinner
An evening hosted by Puneet Dhall of Dhall & Nash Fine Wines
Chillingworth Road French & Kiwi Wine Dinner - 5 courses, paired with 6 carefully curated French and New Zealand wines from the Dhall & Nash portfolio.
- De La Terre Cuvée II Methode Traditionnelle Blanc De Blanc , Hawke's Bay
- Domaine Muré Pierres Sèches Pinot Gris, Alsace, France
- Folium Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough NZ
- Earthkeepers Otiake Pinot Noir, Waitaki, NZ
- Château Branas Grand Poujeaux 'Les Eclats' Medoc, Bordeaux, France
- Chateau d'Arche La Perle d'Arche Sauternes, Bordeaux, France
To book email dine@chillingworthroad.
The Hermit Ram - a bit gnarly, a bit wild and a lot delicious
The Hermit Ram
A bit gnarly, a bit wild and a lot delicious
“It all began in 2002 when I stumbled across an etching of a large gnarly looking ram standing in a field during my travels. He was defiant, a little sauvage, had an old world charm and was very New Zealand. I bought him, had him framed and hung him up in my lounge…”
Theo Coles is no stranger to winemaking in New Zealand. He was the hands and palate behind the likes of Kalex and Mountford Estate – both brands we’ve enjoyed enough to have represented at some stage in our DN journey.
The Hermit Ram is Theo’s own personal wine ‘experiment’, if you will. It’s how he can express himself freely and work really naturally using ancient techniques in this new-world country.
“One of the more unusual North Canterbury producers is Theo Coles of the Hermit Ram… Mr. Coles is an iconoclast, much given to experimentation. His wines are unusual… but they are almost always interesting and distinctive.
“I make wines with structure but without tannins,” he said. “What does New Zealand taste like? Forest and animals.””Eric Asimov for The New York Times
The “Reasons” Explained by Theo
10 years after finding his gnarly ram etching, Theo met Gareth Renowden, the owner of the Limestone Hills vineyard in the Waipara Gorge.
“Along with a truffiere he had 1000 Pinot Noir vines planted on beautiful active limestone soil. He wanted help to make some wine, after a walk and a talk we agreed to make the wine together. I thought ‘at least I’ll have some decent Pinot to drink..’
Gareth’s vineyard ticks all the boxes, it is close planted, naturally farmed and small. I made the first vintage of Pinot Noir in 2012, all naturally, no additions and matured in neutral oak hogsheads. As the wine progressed through maturation it got better and better, and revealed its true vineyard character to me. It had an exciting mix of savoury fruit aromatics and salivating salty acidity. I had to bottle it.
I was sitting on my couch contemplating how I’d present the wine in bottle and I looked up. There staring me in the face was the framed etching of the Ram. It all made sense.
So ‘The Hermit Ram’ came into being. He summed up the ethos of working with tiny sites and ancient techniques applied to New Zealand flavours, that I really wanted to pursue.
Today, the range of wines has expanded. In general the fruit comes from tiny vineyards throughout the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Every wine has it’s own story to tell. The vines are naturally farmed and the wines made with the minimal amount of additions. Old techniques are employed. They are wines of depth, complexity, individuality and most importantly drinkability.”
“Theo Coles makes quite remarkable wines from the Limestone Hills Vineyard… They are so far removed from what most people experience as New Zealand wines, and yet they are full of excitement, even if that sometimes takes them close to the edge.”
David Crossley’s World of Fine Wine
The Limestone
One of the driving passions behind the Hermit Ram is the seeking out of Pinot Noir planted on active clay limestone soils. The activity in the soil promotes a salinity and acidity in the wine which surpasses tannins for structure.
Ultimately this structural profile drives an incredible link between the flavours of the resultant wine and the conditions unique to that site. The wines can be haunting and fine yet salty and assertive. They tell a story about their little patch of dirt.
To make certain that the story they tell is true, all the wines are made with as little interference as possible and bottled with a minimal amount of Sulphur.
“One of the more unusual North Canterbury producers is Theo Coles of the Hermit Ram… Mr. Coles is an iconoclast, much given to experimentation. His wines are unusual… but they are almost always interesting and distinctive.
“I make wines with structure but without tannins,” he said. “What does New Zealand taste like? Forest and animals.””Eric Asimov for The New York Times
“The more winemakers we meet, the more we understand that the greatest winemakers are also the most humble. That’s definitely the case when it comes to Theo Coles of the Hermit Ram. When we chat with him, it’s clear his enthusiasm for his craft grows on a daily basis, but so does his way of thinking – with experience, he becomes more open-minded, not less.
It’s arguably this mindset that has brought him to where he is today; creating some of the most thrilling and exciting wines that New Zealand has to offer.”Christina Rasmussen for Little Wine
“Theo told us that “Europe has the benefit of many generations of winemakers who did the exploring – out here, we need to do it all in a single life.” This statement resonates with his wines, deep and clear, and which taste refreshingly full spectrum.”
“The Hermit Ram is one of New Zealand’s most idiosyncratic and compelling wine projects.”
Normanby
“My region tastes like kelp and the sea and shellfish. A lot of people try to remove these notes, but I want to lengthen and deepen them.”
The Wines
“For me, The Hermit Ram is about capturing the raw, wild spirit of New Zealand’s South Island—its rugged landscapes shaped by volcanic and seismic forces over millions of years. The limestone soils here tell a story of ancient seas, but beneath the surface, the land’s restless energy continues to pulse through the earth, giving our wines a vibrant mineral backbone and a sense of place that’s both dynamic and alive.
These wines take a very different journey to the New Zealand norm—driven by curiosity and a love of experimentation. There are no strict rules here, only one guiding principle: that the wines must be delicious.”
The Hermit Ram Salty White 2022
- Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling
- Whole bunch fermentation, partially in stainless steel, and partially in amphora. Two barrels are filled and left untopped to develop a layer of flor.
- Video of it being made here
“Salty White is my ode to the New Zealand coastline, an attempt to marry both the saline and floral elements of our land.” – Theo Coles
- Jamie Goode’s The Wine Anorak, 94 Points: “The latest hit from the ever-interesting Theo Coles. 11.5% alcohol. Full golden colour, this is beautifully salty and fruity with pineapple, pear, ripe apple and some grapefruit. Dense and ripe with nice intensity and a lovely tangy edge from some Flor involvement. Such goodness here.”
The Hermit Ram Zealandia Chardonnay 2024
- 100% Chardonnay
- Foot-crushed Chardonnay from Nelson fermented in tank then matured in ancient 500L barrels for 24 months
- Grown on gravels and marine clay
Saline and textural this wine straddles the divide between new world and old world Chardonnay.
The Hermit Ram Zealandia Pinot Noir 2024
- 100% Pinot Noir | 12.5% alc
- Whole berry fermented, short maceration
- From several vineyards in North Canterbury. Grown on clay limestone and gravels
The Pinot Noir grapes come from organically-grown vineyards around North Canterbury. They are destemmed, fermented with native yeasts (with just one gentle punchdown) and macerated on skins for six weeks. The wine is matured in Tinajas (lined Spanish clay amphora) and bottled unfined, unfiltered with only minimal sulphur.
The Hermit Ram Dead Flowers 2023
- Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer blend
- Whole bunches Gewürztraminer fermented in Gewürztraminer juice, pressed when dry and matured in tank for 18 month
- Blended with Pinot noir which was macerated for 6 weeks on skins to create a supple, aromatic yet mineral light red wine.
- Grown on clay limestone and glacial gravels.
“I loved his 2023 Dead Flowers, that blend of pinot and gewürz, juicy, saline and easygoing — ‘one plus one equals three,” is how Mr. Coles described it.” -Eric Asimov, New York Times
“The Hermit Ram is one of New Zealand’s most idiosyncratic and compelling wine projects.”
Normanby
[SOLD-OUT!] Master of Molly' - A Mollydooker Lunch with Matt Willmer (Christchurch)
Come one, come all to this fabulous Mollydooker-ful extravaganza!
We're lucky this year to be hosting Matt Willmer, Mollydooker's left-hand man for this hemisphere for the most important week of the year for them - the one with International left-handers day on the 13th!
- Date: Thursday, 15 August [SOLD-OUT!]
- Time: From 2PM
- Location: Twenty Seven Steps
- Cost: Free for TRADE
Enjoy a three-course late lunch paired with six juicy Mollydooker wines - tickets to the late-lunch tasting are strictly limited. Book today to reserve your place.
Tasting:
- 2021 Mollydooker The Maitre D Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2021 Mollydooker The Scooter Merlot
- 2021 Mollydooker Two Left Feet Shiraz / Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot
- 2022 Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz
- 2021 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz
- 2021 Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz
Meet Mollydooker
If you haven't yet met Mollydooker, let us introduce you... A powerhouse in every sense of the word, Mollydooker has been a crowd-pleasing, wow-inducing, glass-filling favourite in the Dhall & Nash portfolio for years.
These unapologetically lush and vivacious wines are everything their quirky labels make them out to be – loud, bold and utterly scrumptious. With a look to turn the head and a taste to delight the tongue, there’s nothing this Aussie superstar can’t achieve.
What's with all the 'Left' references?
Mollydooker is Aussie' slang for a left-hander, which has been an oddly strong theme throughout this brand's entire journey. Both of the winemakers who started the label were Mollydookers, but it's more than that! You'll notice all Mollydooker staff will only shake your left hand, the Boxer Shiraz (their most popular bottling) has two left-handed gloves in his depiction, and is part of the 'Lefty' series. Wine critic Robert Parker helped to boost this brand to international recognition, which they found particularly poignant given he too is a left-hander and they've named their wine room after him: ‘Nosey Parker Experience.’ Mollydooker also employs an unusually high number of Mollydookers - despite only making up around 10% of the population, around 50% of their winery staff just so happen to be left-handed.
D&N Portfolio Sensorium 2023: That’s a Wrap!
D&N Portfolio Sensorium 2023: That’s a wrap!
Your Support made it a Success
Our Dhall & Nash inaugural Sensorium Tasting Event was a blast, thanks for being part of it – we truly value your time & outstanding participation. Whether it was in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, or Wellington – We really couldn’t have done this event without you all – customers, suppliers, colleagues, friends & whanau!
As esteemed Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas said on the day:
“This event is outstanding – you should have done this five years ago”.
Cameron Douglas
Thanks Cam, you’re right… so, watch this space!
We would like to express our gratitude towards all attendees for making the event so darn informative & fun. Our D&N valued suppliers really tickled quite a few hundred tastebuds all around the country. They worked hard – they chatted, they poured wines, they joked & cajoled! How lucky are we to represent such hardworking quality artisanal producers. We’ve actually exhausted the superlatives. Here’s a huge heartfelt thank-you from D&N to:
Duckhorn, Bogle Family Vineyards, Pares Balta, Champagne Billecart-Salmon, Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Easthope Family Winegrowers, Collaboration Wines, Bohemian, Folium, Hawkshead, Knappstein Enterprise Winery, Zema Estate, Chambers Rosewood, Coravin, Poppies, 144 Islands, Clevedon Vineyards, Columbia Crest, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
for taking the time, effort and energy to attend attend in person, celebrate and support this endeavour.
And another warm thank you to those who weren’t able to attend but contributed in other ways to making sure this event was full of delicious offerings:
De Martino, La Marca Prosecco, Sartori di Verona, Quinta do Crasto, Cillar de Silos, Frank Cornelissen, Schloss Lieser, Champagne André Clouet, Digby Fine English, Digby Fine English, Wines of Substance, Cristom, Causse Marines, Domaine de Noiré,Tania et Vincent Careme, Col d’Orcia, San Felice, Pelissero, Bibi Graetz
And even though our international and local suppliers have headed home, and we’ve taken down the signs, tidied up, relived some super-duper tasty wines, then reluctantly gone back to our daily routines, we’d love to share some special event memories with you…
Our design whiz kid Aimée certainly covers how the whole D&N team felt:
“It was an absolute whirlwind before, during and after! Usually as a very behind-the-scenes persona I don’t get to see a lot of the ‘action’ so it was really amazing to see the team at the forefront doing what they do best – not just our DN team but our wider team of suppliers, winemakers, customers and visiting producers. It was a really wonderful reminder that we really are surrounded by such awesome folks and products!”
Now here’s a few special shout-outs:
- To Takaki from Folium, for turning up hours early and helping with event prep, and then staying hours late to help with pack down. A humble hero!
- To Julz from Collaboration for being kind enough to work Sensorium with us on her birthday! 🥳
- To our new portfolio additions, 144 Islands and Clevedon Vineyards – they’ve already made a big impression & we’re extremely excited to introduce them to the rest of NZ.
- To our international representatives who travelled from far afield to little Aotearoa – you made it a truly unique experience for our trade show attendees.
- To the hardworking crew at each venue who made it all look seamlessly effortless.
- To the dog lovers’ group, Denis from Hawkshead, Karl from Duckhorn, Sonja & Aimée from D&N sharing proud puppy pics. It’s not just about the wine you know! 🐶
What about a few beverage highlights:
- Aimée had some stand-out bevvies on the day: “I slammed a few Pentire+Tonics during the day, I will admit! For someone that works in this biz I don’t drink a lot, and it can make me feel like a wet blanket sometimes, so to have such a swishy drink that isn’t just a coke and looks and tastes very ooh-la-la is still quite novel to me! For the harder stuff, I did enjoy some classic Bille’ Rosé. It just simply never disappoints.
- From the BECA group of hardcore Bordeaux buffs who attended the Bordeaux Masterclass: “those were bloody delicious wines & we learned more about the region & the vintage!”
- For D&N Content Specialist, Sonja, it was too tough to choose: “It’s hard to pick a favourite child when there were so many divine wines – here’s but a few, starting with the ethereal, elegant, Tuscan producer Bibi Graetz’s Colore & Testamatta. Such precision & purity from Sangiovese is mind boggling. Then Julz’s Collaboration Verdant chardy knocked my old cotton socks right off – classy. And how about Easthope’s Paddock Six Syrah – soaring out in the stratosphere!”
- Our senior Auckland account manager, Tori, was at all the events & succumbed to the charms of the Italians – “Looking after the Italian table was dreamy… Sangiovese heaven. From Chianti Classico to Brunello di Montalcino, and a very special Bibi Graetz.”
You Can't Beat Welly on a Good Day...
From Brandon (a.k.a. the wild DJ of Wellywood):
“Wellington Sensorium was buzzing! A sensational day in the Capital City. Massive thank you to all the customers and suppliers of their support and to the Public Trust Hall for having us at their fabulous venue. Special shout to our loyal out of town customers who made the effort to come down from Hawkes Bay, Whanganui, Bulls, and Palmerston North.”
Of course, a shout-out must go to the ‘last-(wo)men-standing’, who have such stamina to keep the party going even when everyone was ready to turn into a pumpkin – no naming or shaming 😉
Our resident American specialist & Auckland Account manager Melissa, summed up our sentiments well:
“What a special opportunity to have some of our fabulous suppliers and makers, from near and far, all under one roof to share their stories, anecdotes and wines with our customers.”
Hear Hear to that!
The Garden City Put on a Show...
After these intense multi-city series of events, we would love to keep our conversations going – you know – those crazy wine geek talks we managed to squeeze in whilst jostling, pouring, & 3-way explaining that scintillating bottle of obscure vino to eager young wine enthusiasts planning new listings for summer.
Let us know if you tasted something fresh & delectable at the show from a new producer perhaps or revisit an old favourite from a new vintage? We want to keep our chats humming & the wine pouring.
Please stay in touch with your Account Managers & don’t forget to check out our D&N Upcoming Events page on our website.
If you haven’t already, feel free to share any thoughts & give us your feedback so we can do it even better next time! Your feedback does count.
Our sincerest thanks to ALL ♥︎
Sommelier's Dinner - Jean-Luc Chapel from Paul Jaboulet Aîné
Portfolio Sensorium 2023 (Christchurch)
The Dhall & Nash Portfolio Sensorium where every sensory receptor is engaged, illuminated, and enhanced!
Join Dhall & Nash this September 6th in Christchurch to taste, savour, and experience outstanding Fine Wines from 50 highly prestigious Dhall & Nash producers during an atmospheric walk-around tasting – this will be a super "Sensorium" extravaganza!
You’ll have a unique chance to talk with many of our esteemed international and national winemakers, proprietors, and representatives whilst tasting their exquisite fine wines in an incredible NOT-TO-BE-MISSED event.
For anyone who loves wine, wants to taste through the portfolio then this event is IT!
The session time is:
| Current Session Times* | |
| 12:00 - 4:00pm | Portfolio Tasting (Free for Trade)* |
| *Please note: that whilst this is a free event for hospo trade to attend, there will be no 'door sales' available and registration will be required for entry. We will not allow anyone who is unregistered into the tasting. | |
Registrations are closed due to capacity, but if you would like to be on a waiting list, please contact us.. Please note: that whilst this is a free event for hospo trade to attend, there will be no 'door sales' available and registration will be required for entry. We will not allow anyone who is unregistered into the tasting.
This is a TRADE ONLY event.
Portfolio Sensorium 2023 (Wellington)
The Dhall & Nash Portfolio Sensorium where every sensory receptor is engaged, illuminated, and enhanced!
Join Dhall & Nash this September 11th in Wellington to taste, savour, and experience outstanding Fine Wines from 50 highly prestigious Dhall & Nash producers during an atmospheric walk-around tasting – this will be a super "Sensorium" extravaganza!
You’ll have a unique chance to talk with many of our esteemed international and national winemakers, proprietors, and representatives whilst tasting their exquisite fine wines in an incredible NOT-TO-BE-MISSED event.
For anyone who loves wine, wants to taste through the portfolio then this event is IT!
| Current Session Times* | |
| 12:00 - 4:00pm | Portfolio Tasting (Free for Trade)* |
| 1:00 - 2:00pm | Masterclass: Bordeaux with Puneet Dhall [TICKETED EVENT] |
| 3:00 - 4:00pm | Masterclass: La Chapelle with Jean-Luc Chapel [TICKETED EVENT] |
| 5:00 - 7:00pm | Ticketed Portfolio Tasting - Open to the public [TICKETED EVENT] |
| *Please note: that whilst this is a free event for hospo trade to attend, there will be no 'door sales' available and registration will be required for entry. We will not allow anyone who is unregistered into the tasting. | |
Registration is open. Click Here to register.