"Many moons ago I had dinner with a few high-level wine wizards in London - Jeff Grosset (Clare Valley Riesling fame), John Forrest (read on), Tyson Stelzer (who later became my co-author in Australia) and others. We debated long and hard over many delightful glasses of wine. I challenged John, "Why are there no truly great New Zealand white wines, like those incredible blended wines from Northern Italy?" We scratched our heads - everything NZ made was single variety and very few aged for more than 12 months. A year later John came over to London with loads of fresh made (un-bottled and un-blended) '05 vintage wines from every one of his white varieties (riesling, sauvignon, chardonnay, gewürz, chenin blanc, pinot gris) and he challenged me, "Blend the best white you can!" A few hours later I had done just that. John returned home and put it together and we came up with the name 'The White'. The 2005 is still ageing gracefully and, even though I say it myself, it is one of the most alluring Kiwi whites I have ever tasted. I had no hand in this 2006, but it is incredible, and the 2007 which follows is perhaps the best ever." Review by Matthew Jukes - Wine of The Week, Money Week, 23rd January 2009

£16.99