Varieties

2009 Kidnapper Cliffs Hawkes Bay Malbec

Very few straight Malbec's are availble in NZ. This is a cracker. "A bold and decadent wine that will be a sure crowd-pleaser, this has an impenetrable, youthful, black-purple red colour and a sensational bouquet packed with boysenberry and ripe, spicy black fruits, along with black florals and perfumes. This has plump, dense, ripe black fruits that explode and fill the mouth. Boysenberries, spicy raspberries and dark plums with red liquorice are all present in a near accessible, relatively open and broad palate, compared to the Kidnapper Cliffs’ Bordeaux varietal wines. Yet fine tannins here provide great style and length of line. 100% Malbec from ‘Zone 2’ Kidnappers block in the Gimblett Gravels. Aged 12 months in 25% new French oak 300L hogsheads. 200 dozen made. Drink over the next 8-10+ years with venison and game meat. 19.0/20." Raymond Chan- senior wine judge. Also 94/100 from Wine Orbit Magazine

2010 Blackenbrook Nelson Sauvignon Blanc

"Blackenbrook is small ( 4 hectares ) and new ( first wine from 2004 ), so its hardly surprising it's little known outside Nelson. Swiss owners Daniel and Ursula Schwarzenbach have the meticulous approach to winemaking for which their countrymen are famous, while Daniel has some serious winemaking experience under his belt. He has worked for top producers in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France, and has judged wine at competitions in Switzerland, France, Germany and China. Its greatest strengths are pinot gris, gewurztraminer, riesling, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Quality has crept up in recent years and if it continues, Blackenbrook has a very bright future." Bob Campbell "The 2010 is a basically dry style. Mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, it is punchy, limey and slightly minerally, showing good freshness and liveliness and a crisp, long finish." M.Cooper

2010 Faiveley Echezeaux

en primeur price(all up final landed cost)arrives june/july “Noticeable if deft wood notes frame the very spicy dark berry fruit and warm earth suffused nose. There is beautiful concentration to the velvet-textured and mouth coating medium-bodied fl avors that are shaped by relatively fi ne but notably fi rm tannins, all wrapped in a moderately austere and strikingly long fi nish. This will also need plenty of cellar time to reach its full apogee.” 92-94/100 - Burghound “(25% vendange entier): Good full red. Pungent aromas of raspberry, crushed stone and white pepper. Enters with intense raspberry and spices, then turns fi rm and fl oral in the middle, showing superb energy and sappiness to the primary red fruit and mineral fl avors. With its saline impression of extract and strong tannic spine, this should evolve in bottle for couple of decades.” 92/100 - Stephen Tanzer

2009 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru

"Compelling aromas of extremely fresh and airy menthol-infused red berry fruit, soil and distinctly spiced tones plus an underlying hint of animale transfers over to the rich, full and serious broad-shouldered flavors brimming with dry extract and supported by impressively refined and ripe tannins that are almost completely buffered on the powerful and balanced finish by the buckets of mid-palate sap. Terrific." 93-96 Burghound

2011 Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Gris

One of Metro Magazine's 100 Wines for Summer "The spicy, perfumed nose is unusual, and attractive, while the mouthfeel is surprisingly well textured for the price, and the finish is good. A fresh, off-dry wine for everyday drinking". Also Gold at Air NZ and Trophy at NZ International Wine Show

2009 Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 'Les Cazetiers'

"A wonderfully complex and quite densely fruited nose features layered aromas of red, blue and black fruits that include ample amounts of stone, game and earth nuances, all of which can also be found on the supple but precise and very serious flavors blessed with an abundance of dry extract on the strikingly long finish. This is terrific and the complexity is outstanding but patience will be required." 92-94 Burghound

2010 Dr Loosen Erdner Treppchen Auslese

Long ago, stone steps were built into this vineyard's steep hillside to help workers reach the vines. The iron-infused, red slate soil produces wines that are muscular and complex, with an intense mineral finish. Wines from Erdener Treppchen are more like a powerful, hard-body rock climber than the graceful ballet dancer of Wehlener Sonnenuhr. They benefit greatly from a few years in the bottle to develop fully.

2008 Sandalford Estate Reserve Margaret River Cabernet Sauvi

2010 Pasquale Hakataramea Valley Pinot Grigio

Here's a real find. The first vineyard in the Hakataramea Valley in South Canterbury. Grown on limestone soils and cropped at extraordinary low levels. This cool climate produces very fine aromatics and flavours including apple and pear with a hint of spice. ."The 2010 Pinot Grigio is Pasquale’s riper, bolder expression of this grape with a pronounced nose of apricots, honeysuckle, coriander seed and mace plus a hint of musk. Dry, rich and silky in the mouth, it gives plenty of peachy fruit and a long layered finish. Drinking nicely now, it should age gracefully and cellar to 2015+. " 91+/100 from Parkers Wine Advocate.

2008 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay

"The 2008 Hunting Hill Chardonnay comes from a vineyard just across from the winery, also planted to Clone 5. It’s a slightly cooler site with an iron pan running beneath the vineyard. This is the third vintage of this label. Made in a similar fashion to the Coddington Chardonnay, this wine gives powerful lime/lemon aromas with some grapefruit zest and orange blossom plus a whiff of chalk. Very crisp, intense and silky, this is a more restrained, tight-knit expression leaving a very long mineral and citrus zest finish. Built for the cellar, this wine should be best 2014 to 2019+. Around 1000 cases were made." 93+/100 Robert Parkers Wine Advocate