Normally $45 but now on special price at $29 up until Christmas deliveries starting in October!

5 – 8 years

VINTAGE

2009 was a very good vintage years on Waiheke with good flowering, excellent fruit set, long dry periods, cool marine winds and insignificant rain events leading up to harvest in April allowing fruit to reach optimal phenolic maturity.

VITICULTURE

The seven-year old vines were intensively canopy managed with bud rubbing, shoot thinning, shoot positioning and green harvest.

VINIFICATION

The grapes were hand-picked in the cool of the morning, sorted in the field, destemmed and lightly crushed within 20-30 minutes of harvesting.Fermentation was in small (900 and 1500L) batches in open-top fermenters, with hand-plunging and pump overs, followed by a 17 day maceration before the wine (mainly free-run) was run to barrel for MLF. Elevage was carried out on a low sulphur regime at 14-15 degrees using 30% new oak (50-50 French and American medium toast)for 12 months. After four rackings the wine was bottled without fining. No animal products. Cellar aged.First release Island of Wine Expo, Viaduct Harbour, Auckland, September 2012.

TECHNICAL DATA

PACKAGING

Premium Bordeaux Antique Green glass; 12x750ml (6×2 layflat carton +moulded liners); Stelvin closure

CERTIFICATIONS:

WWA Certified 100% Sustainable Waiheke Grown Grape; Export Certified; Vegetarian and Vegan suitable;
Available to Trade

A big, soft, full-bodied and spicy Syrah from the ‘hundred year event’ on the island, with the classic character and personality of a Syrah from the Northern Rhone (ie Cote Rotie in style). However, this one is SIGNIFICANTLY BOLDER and more concentrated than our Gold Medal Syrah 2008 and is now available on general release (online shop and Cellar Door sales) as well as being available for Cellar Club discounts. After 9 years of cellar-ageing it is drinking very well now in that ‘intermediate stage’, but clearly has much longer cellaring potential. Will be at its peak  for at least another 10 years.

Food match: Any fine cuisine and that special occasion – venison casserole by the fire?

VARIETY AND STYLE

From grapes hand-harvested from our own established and family-owned vineyard high in the sub-alpine Waihopai Valley.

Single vineyard, 100% pure Sauvignon Blanc, low cropped, hand-picked, and lees-aged, grown on the 300,000 year old uplifted river terraces of our Jurassic Terrace vineyard in the Waihopai Valley, part of the so-called ‘exciting new Southern Valleys’ sub-region of Marlborough.

Fresh and zingy with intense complex tropical fruit (guava, passionfruit and stonefruit), plus a creamy rich mouthfeel, long palate and lingering grapefruit finish. Many years of cellaring potential to go if it gets a chance. As fresh and fruity as the day it was made!

Match with crunchy calamari, grilled snapper or eggplant parmigano.

Although still youthfull it is now drinking well with its voluptuous, mouth-filling fine-grained velvety tannins and lingering, complex  ‘plum pudding’ fruit flavours.

Bottle-aged to an early intermediate stage. Released in Cellar Door due to heavy demand. This wine can be cellared for at least another 10 years. But enjoy its vibrancy meantime!

In the style of the great Abruzzi’s, this is a 100% Montepulciano rose. A dry, refreshing and vibrant wine, characterised by its fruitness, balanced acidity florality, and spice. There is a surprising complexity of its fruit flavours (different from those in the big red wine from the same grape) which resulted in the tasters on our panel finding a wide range of flavours, varying with each sip and including cherries, grapefruit, quince, ripe citrus, nectarine and guava.   Great chilled with seafood dishes, prosciutto, mozzarella, dips and insalata!

Suitable for all including vegans and vegetarians.

Single vineyard, unblended, unfined, unfiltered, 100% pure Cabernet Franc, grown and produced on our home estate vineyard of Jurassic Ridge, at Church Bay (Hangaura) on the Western Approaches  of Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf. After elevage, it has been cellar-aged and released in the winery Cellar Door in April 2019, after seven years of cellar-ageing in bottle to achieve what we think is a near-perfect balance. Still vibrantly youthful in that intermediate stage, but in our opinion it is now drinking at its best and, at least, for the next 5 -8 years.

BEAUTIFUL BALANCE WITH ABSOLUTELY TYPICAL VARIETAL PERSONALITY! This wine from one of the cooler and wetter vintages on the island has surprised us by the development in the bottle. As for the Montepulciano from the same year it caused us to rethink this vintage by demonstrating the ability of our vineyard and bottle-ageing in cellar to achieve wonderful wines in almost any year! This wine really started to impress us six years from harvest.Time for development in bottle is critical.

While clearly a lighter style than we generally produce – ie compared with the 2008, 2009 and 2010 ‘bigger’ vintages in particular,  the elegance of the balance twixt tannins and fruit is just perfect – at least for our palates, and indeed so far for those visitors who have tasted it.

This wine was withdrawn for further cellaring, but is now re-released and is available from the Cellar Door, Online and for the Cellar Club Members.

VARIETY AND STYLE

Single vineyard, unblended, 100% pure Cabernet Franc, grown and produced at the home estate vineyard of Jurassic Ridge, at Church Bay (Hangaura) on the West end of Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf, cellar-aged and released September 23rd 2014 at the Waiheke Island of Wine Expo, Auckland city, withdrawn subsequently for further cellaring and re-released 2018 after cellar-ageing for 9 years. Still youthful but close to ist best now and for the next 10 years.

EXTRAORDINARY CONCENTRATION! This wine gives the lie to the old adage that Cabernet Franc is medium bodied! Well on the evidence of this wine, this might just depend instead on the weather and the terroir that it is grown in (eg Loire Valley, Medoc right bank, the Finger Lakes, Virginia etc etc), rather than the grape itself!

Try this one – its not medium-bodied but huge, concentrated and delicious!

Only sad thing is that there is not much left – so be quick as it will not last very long in the Cellar Door!