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1999 Vintage:
"Notable depth and complexity...full of personality...a memorable debut".
Five Stars. (Michael Cooper - 2001 Buyers Guide.)
"A fine, elegant red with impressive density". |
Five Stars. (Bob Campbell MW - 2001 Cuisine Wine Annual.)
"Excellent concentration.... complex, long and fine". |
Five Stars. (Winestate Magazine - November 2000.)
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2000 Vintage:
"This wine is all about sweet fruit, smoky oak and lush berryfruit flavours .... it's impressive stuff...".
Five Stars. (Vic Williams - 2001/2002 Penguin New Zealand Wine Guide.)
"Totally satisfying... distinctly Bordeaux-like with an array of cassis, spice, herb & nut flavours and savoury characters". |
Five Stars. (Michael Cooper - 2004 Buyers Guide.)
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2002 Vintage:
"Plummy, spicy, earthy & savoury, with sweet,, ripe-fruit characters, ripe tannins & notable complexity... it scores with silky elegance rather than sheer power".
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Five Stars. (Michael Cooper - 2005 Buyers Guide.)
"96/100 - Intense, dark spicy nose with a sikly blackcurrant and liquorice palate and a smoky finish with firm tannins. Drink 2004-2010".
(Kitty Johnson - Wine International 2004.)
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2003 Vintage:
Merlot 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon 27%, Cabernet Franc 18%, Malbec 5%.
The fruit was hand harvested with heavy vineyard selection (approximately 50% fruit drop in the Cabernet Sauvignon) in mid-March to mid April 2003 and processed by gravity-feed at the estate winery.
A three to four day cold soak was carried out pre-fermentation, then inoculation with yeast. For the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, fermentation was in small stainless steel open fermenters with each varietal being fermented separately, averaging 27 -32 degrees Celsius, with cap plunging by hand. Post fermentation maceration was for five to seven days before pressing in a small basket press. For the Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, fermentation was in open oak fermenters, hand plunged.
Elevage was for 16 months in a range
of top-quality Centre of France oak from sixteen leading coopers,
in a 25:40:35 new:one year:two year old wood ratio. Malolactic fermentation during its first winter, but there were no other manipulations, acid adjustments or chemical additions and no egg-white or other fining agents. The finished wine was bottled at Goldwaters in August 2004, with only a polishing filter. Alcohol 13.5% by volume. 460 cases made plus 4 Imperials, 12 double magnums and 28 magnums.
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2004 Vintage:
Cabernet Sauvignon 49%, Merlot 33%, Cabernet Franc 10%, Malbec 8%.
Beautiful spring conditions ensured even budburst, followed by excellent weather during flowering and fruit set. December and, particularly, January were lovely warm months with low rainfall, but February was cold and wet. However, summer returned in March and April, with virtually no rain, warmth and minimal disease pressure. Hand harvesting and hand sorting at the crush took place between mid-March and mid-April 2004. Very healthy fruit, average yield.
A four to five day cold soak was carried out pre-fermentation, then inoculation with yeast. For the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, fermentation was in small stainless steel open fermenters with each varietal being fermented separately, averaging 27 - 29 degrees Celsius, with cap plunging by hand. Post fermentation maceration was for seven to nine days before pressing in a small basket press. For the Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, fermentation was in open oak fermenters, hand plunged.
Elevage was for 18 months in a range
of top-quality Centre of France oak from fourteen leading coopers,
in a 30:35:35 new:one year:two year old wood ratio. Malolactic fermentation during its first winter, but there were no other manipulations, acid adjustments or chemical additions and no egg-white or other fining agents were used. The finished wine was bottled at Te Whau Winery in November 2005, with only a polishing filter. Alcohol 13.5% by volume, Titratable Acidity is 5.2 grams per litre. 520 cases made plus 3 Imperials, 9 double magnums and 48 magnums.
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2005 Vintage:
Merlot 43%, Cabernet Sauvignon 42%, Cabernet Franc 10%, Malbec 5%.
What a summer! Our vines celebrated their tenth year in the ground by combining with a generous mother nature to give us our best fruit ever. Yes, it was a cold spring, which reduced the fruit set, and yes, it did hail at the end of December, but from January through to harvest it was simply glorious. Our viticultural team did a superlative job in the field, fine-tuning crop yield and balancing the vines right up to vintage. Low disease pressure allowed minimal spraying and we had very clean fruit coming into the winery at picking time. Our very steep north-facing slope, abundant sunshine and the virtual absence of rainfall translated into small, thick-skinned berries, picked between 28 March and 15 April. The 2005 Vintage was our lowest crop on record, with an even yield of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, supported by small amounts of cabernet franc and malbec.
Winemaking - A four to five day cold soak was carried out pre-fermentation, then the must was allowed to warm, and wild yeast fermentation established spontaniously. For the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, fermentation was in small stainless steel open fermenters with each varietal being fermented separately, averaging 27C to 29˚C, with cap plunging by hand. For the Cabernet Franc and Malbec, fermentation was in open oak fermenters, hand plunged. Post-fermentation maceration was for seven to nine days before pressing in a small basket press.
Elevage was for 18 months in a range of top-quality Centre of France oak from fourteen leading coopers, in a 40:30:30 new:one-year:two-year old wood ratio. Malolactic fermentation during its first winter, but there were no other manipulations, acid adjustments or chemical additions and no egg-white or other fining agents were used.
The finished wine was bottled at Te Whau Winery in December 2006 with only a polishing filter. Alcohol 13.5% by volume, Titratable Acidity is 5.2 grams per litre. 440 cases made plus 4 imperials, 12 double magnums and 60 magnums.
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