Merlot

2009 Alluviale Gimblett Gravels Merlot/ Cabernet

One of Metro Magazine's 100 Wines for Summer. " The 2009 just scored a massive 93+/100 from Parkers Wine Advocate. We have had customers now drinking their 2004 vintage and raving about the quality. "A blend of 63% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2009 Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 16 months in French oak, 40% new. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gives moderate to intense aromas of ripe plums and mulberries, dark chocolate, spice cake and licorice, with hints of dried leaves and menthol. Medium to full bodied, it has a good backbone of high acid and firm, fine-grained tannins fleshed out by mouth-filling rich fruit. The finish is long and spicy. Approachable now, it should drink best 2012 to 2021+." 93+/100.

2009 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard Merlot

Normally $31. Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2009 was one of only 3 to be given a 5 star / top 5 rating in the Cuisine Tasting - with the top wine retailing at $70 . 4½ Stars Michael Cooper, Best Buy – 100 Must try NZ Wines – Michael Cooper and 18½ + Points, 5 Stars Raymond Chan ( senior wine judge ) who writes "A thoroughly modern, top quality, classy expression of the Right Bank Bordeaux style, this has a purple hued, ruby-red colour and a finely expressed, intense and tightly bound nose of pure black plum and dark red berry fruits. The medium-full bodied palate shows beautifully pure, succulently sweet plum and blackberry fruit flavours nuanced with elements of tobacco and cedar. The depth of fruit combined with elegant style is the feature of the wine. Very fine-grained tannin extraction underpins the fruit and provides a supple frame. The finish is rich and long. Drink this with roasted red meat dishes over the next 6-8+years. 80% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2%Malbec from the ‘Gimblett Gravels' vineyard, fermented to 13.8% alc. and matured 14 months in 35% new French oak barriques." Classy Merlot

2006 Unison Selection Merlot/Cabernet/Syrah

2006 Ausone

SOLD ONLY AS A 3 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WOOD CASE "One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier has at his beloved Ausone? Boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, precise bouquet of minerals, flowers, blueberry liqueur, and black currants, this wine possesses fabulous fruit and great intensity, but what makes it so special is its precision, focus, and almost ethereal lightness despite substantial flavor intensity and depth. It is a ballerina with density and power. The abundant noticeable tannin is sweet and, not surprisingly, very finely grained. It should be cellared for a decade, and consumed over the following half century." - 98/100 Robert Parker

2009 Clos Fourtet

"This is a perennial superstar thanks to the efforts of proprietor Philippe Cuvelier and the estate's manager, Tony Ballu. This beautifully-situated, nearly 48-acre vineyard, high on the clay and deep limestone plateau just adjacent to the town walls of St.-Emilion, was harvested between September 28 and October 13, with yields of 34 hectoliters per hectare. The natural alcohol turned out to be 14%. A magical wine, it may have a hard time eclipsing the 2005, but it is another prodigious effort in its own right. The dense purple color offers up notes of white chocolate, blueberry, blackberry, crushed rock, and white flowers. Textured, full-bodied, enormously pure, and voluptuously textured, it is nearly too easy to drink because of the exquisite balance and seamless integration of all its component parts. This is a killer Clos Fourtet that should drink well young yet evolve for 20+ years. (Tasted five times.) Drink 2010-2030." Score: 95-98 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188) "Offers blueberry, currant, mineral and violet. Full-bodied, with big, juicy tannins and loads of fruit. Very concentrated and velvety, with a lovely texture." Score: 94-97 James Suckling, WineSpectator.com "Very dark purple. Meaty, interesting nose with hints of treacle and liquorice. Thick and sweet at the start and then some real texture kicks in but it doesn't seem overdone - just ambitious. The alcohol is, just, kept in check. If purple had a taste, this would be it. Quite racy and sinewy. Though you need to wait quite a while for this one... Sweet and juicy and round. Lots of body and fat here. Long. Pretty impressive. Very suave. Lots of glamour. Date tasted 30th March 2010. Drink 2015-2030."Score: 17.5 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com

2006 Esk Valley The Terraces

Without doubt one of NZ finest Bordeaux blends with a track record to prove it. 96/100 from Bob Campbell "Legendary wine made from grapes grown on a tiny terraced hillside vineyard. Super-dense red that's like liquid fruitcake. An almost chewy and incredibly complex wine with very ripe dark fruit and spice flavours."

2009 Beach House Reserve Merlot Gimblett Gravels

Its not often we find $20 NZ red we can hang our hat on but this is an incredibly good value merlot. This vineyard is surrounded by such stella vineyards as Craggy Range and Stonecroft. Close planted, leaf plucked, hand plunged and oak aging. Incredible merlot value for this intense hands on wine. "Intense aromas of plum, forrest berries and cedar. On the palate dark chocolate, fruit cake and leather with strong silky tannins lingering and lasting."

2006 Gazin

"This is a very strong effort from this estate, which sits just adjacent to Petrus. In fact, they sold part of their vineyard to Petrus in the early 1970s. This is a full-bodied, powerful 2006 with the oak more restrained than it normally is in a young Gazin. Copious quantities of sweet plum, fig, and black cherry fruit are intermixed with cedar and dried herbs in a medium to full-bodied, rich, long, impressively endowed style. This is an outstanding wine, with enough stuffing, structure, and density to age beautifully over a 20- to 25-year period."92 Parker

2006 Chateau Larcis Ducasse- St Emilion

'Since 2002, this great terroir has been fully exploited by the dynamic duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt. Following the monumental 2005,a legend in the making, it is hard to get excited about the 2006, even though it is an outstanding effort. While more austere and not as concentrated as its predecessor, it is an impressive blend of 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc displaying a deep, dark ruby color as well as a striking bouquet of powdered rocks/minerals, sweet cherry and plum-like fruit, and hints of Christmas fruitcake and spice box. It is an elegant, medium-bodied, moderately tannic, pure effort possessing outstanding density. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 15-20 years.'91 PARKER

2010 Feytit Clinet

PRICE IS ALL UP FINAL LANDED COST INCLUDING GST.
"From an up and coming estate, this 2010 was made from yields of 33 hectoliters per hectare. It achieved 14.5% natural alcohol. A blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, it boasts an opaque purple color along with sweet blueberry and raspberry fruit intermixed with hints of truffles, charcoal and background oak. Dense, unctuously textured and full-bodied with super concentration and purity, this beauty is well-worth buying given the upward qualitative trend exhibited by Feytit-Clinet. It should drink well for 15-20 years." Score: 92-94 Robert Parker. "Tasted at the Syndicat de Pomerol. The Feytit-Clinet 2010 has a lovely bouquet with raspberry, wild strawberry, cedar and crushed stone all with fine delineation and lift. The palate is full-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins, good acidity cutting through those layers of ripe black fruit but never over-bearing or over-ambitious. It displays impressive persistency on the weighty finish: a long-term Pomerol for one of its most under-rated exponents. Drink 2015- Tasted April 2011." Score: 92-94 Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com. "This is classy, with a palate that opens on the finish to flowers, fine tannins and delicate fruit. Beautiful." Score: 93-94 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com.