• French oak
• Blackcurrant
• Vanilla & spice
• Robust finish

"It's gorgeously ripe and lifted on the nose, showing blackcurrant, tobacco, cedary oak, tar and mixed spice aromas, leading to a wonderfully flavoursome palate delivering excellent weight and plump mouthfeel. Well structured by beautifully infused tannins, it's bold yet stylish with a persistent robust finish" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jun 2023

"Complex and concentrated bouquet of plums and vanilla, blackberry fruits and clove, fresh leather, smoky oak and violets. There’s compote quality, a freshness and power. The softer merlot textures touch the palate first with cacao and chocolate, plums and spices that follow. The cabernet delivers power and back bone, , blackberry and baked bell-pepper, some tobacco and more violets. Delicious and new, complex and dry, lengthy and well made. Best drinking from 2025 through 2034+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Jun 2023

"I really like the flower and red fruits here that flow across the palate. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a reserved finish. Very classy. Drink or hold" James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com, Mar 2023

"From estate-grown vines over 30 years old, the 2020 vintage of this Waipara Valley, North Canterbury red is a Merlot-based blend, with smaller portions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It was matured for 18 months in French oak barriques (15 per cent new). Deeply coloured, it is full-bodied and rich, with generous, vibrant plum, blackcurrant and spice flavours, supple tannins and a wellrounded finish" Michael Cooper, Sep 2023

On release it has a deep crimson tint. A sensuous amalgam of dark fruit, wood smoke and spice rise temptingly from the glass. Impressions of bramble, cherry and plum first on attack, followed by a flotilla of roasted red pepper, aniseed, tobacco leaf, leather, and mint. The mouthfeel is impressively concentrated, with confident tannins and radiant acidity weaving across a wide, succulent palate. Brawny and classically structured, the voyage ends with a sustained and spice laden finish. While ready to drink now, this wine will reward careful cellaring for many years to come.

The vineyard is located within the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, on free draining, north facing terraces. It benefits from being in the lee of the Teviotdale Range, giving maximum protection from the Pacific’s easterly breezes and thus creating a unique mesoclimate. The vines are over 30 years old, with a large proportion planted on their own roots. They are located on the “Glasnevin Gravels” where greywacke stones, silt and loam have been washed down from the mountains over the millennia. The soil is of low fertility, resulting in naturally reduced vine vigour. This produces low yields of optimally ripened, high quality, flavourful grapes, which fully express the qualities of this unique terroir. The vineyard has warm days, but the nights are amongst the coolest in the Waipara Valley, drawing out the ripening period of the grapes, while still retaining good natural acidity.

Settled weather over flowering provided a healthy fruit set, which was then thinned back to desired levels. The ensuing summer was dry with very little rain, resulting in perfectly ripened small berries full of intense flavour and concentration. Thankfully, our harvest was able to proceed during the C-19 lockdown, and an unbroken autumn full of warm days meant the fruit was picked at its optimum ripeness.

This wine is made in the same style as the celebrated Claret from Bordeaux, using traditional methods. After being picked during mid-April, the grapes began fermentation naturally in stainless steel tanks. During this process the juice was regularly pumped over the cap of floating grape skins (rather than plunging), to ensure a perfect tannin balance was extracted from the fruit. The wine was then gently pressed off and put into French oak barriques (15% new). The following summer, when the weather warmed, it underwent a natural malo-lactic (secondary) fermentation. After maturing in oak for 18mths, the various batches were then carefully blended in varying portions to produce the most complex and balanced wine possible. The finished product is predominately Merlot, with the remainder comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a small amount of Cabernet Franc.