Vineyard Sites - Cornerstone Vineyard lies at the heart of the renowned Gimblett Gravels viticultural region, strategically positioned at the junction of Gimblett Road and State Highway 50 in Hawke’s Bay. This area is celebrated as New Zealand’s premier Bordeaux red grape-growing region, and it’s easy to see why. The vineyard’s unique terroir, composed of riverbed stones and gravels, challenges the vines, leading them to produce a limited yield of small, intensely coloured, and flavourful berries. The resulting grapes give rise to wines with rich, mouth-filling tannins and a depth of character that speaks to the harsh yet rewarding growing conditions. 

Vinification - The grapes were carefully handpicked, then crushed and fermented in small 3-tonne open fermenters. Each batch was hand-plunged and allowed varying periods of post-ferment skin contact to enhance complexity and structure. After pressing off, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged in a mix of French (90%) and American (10%) oak barriques, adding subtle layers of flavour and depth. 

Tasting Notes - Enticing aromas of freshly sanded wood, new leather, anise, and spice draw you in. On the palate, sweet dark red fruits, plums, and berry pie flavours shine through. Grippy, robust, dry tannins balance a smooth, sweet, slightly charry oak profile. This wine is drinking well now but will develop even more complexity with ageing.

The Blanc is pale yellow in colour, with green highlights. The bouquet is strong and characterful, with aromas of broom flower, citrus fruit, peaches, and apricots. The wine is elegant, delicate and quite vivacious on the palate.

Grape 80% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc

Food match oysters, mussels, fish

Pirramimma is a family run winery with a history dating back to1892 and today comprises over 100 hectares of prime McLaren Vale fruit.

The 2019 Cabernet Merlot displays a bouquet of red cherry, blackberry and violets with hints of spicy oak. On the palate there are ripe blackcurrant, plum, quince and chocolate notes which are complemented by hints of pomegranate and subtle toasty oak. 

Drink now and over the next three years with rich meaty fare, stews and hard cheeses.

58% Cabernet Sauvignon,  29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc

Savoury and spicy, good complexity, with ripe blackcurrant and plum flavours. Good tannin support.

The long awaited vintage 2022 Coleraine harnesses the energy and complexity of Te Mata Cabernet Sauvignon, on show at its highest level since the first Coleraine in 1982.

Beautiful floral aromas of lavender, violet, plum and blackcurrant, are all in orbit around the wine’s dark savoury core of tightly wound graphite, nori, coffee grounds, vanilla and tobacco.  The palate is intensely concentrated, with a superbright tension building freshness and precision as layer upon layer of fine polished tannins give pinpoint detail alongside signature, exacting, levels of finesse.

Coleraine '22 is a modern reprise of what makes Coleraine iconic, a wine balancing past and future, heritage and innovation. This is a statement wine, one that lingers both on the palate and in the mind.

 

From the winery...

Our 2021 Miss Bronte Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is created to be an easily approachable yet variety-defining style, for lovers of cabernet.

Upon release, thanks to favourable seasonal conditions, our Cabernet shows off all the beautiful leafy aromas that we found in the vineyard during ripening, along with gentle mint and sage notes.

Unmistakable ripe blackberry, rich black currant and cassis flavours dance across the palate, with herbal lacework woven in.

Spectacular open-grained tannin, as expected, is defined by chocolate and soft cocoa to balance the flawless finish.

Vintage: 2021

Region: Eden Valley

Winemaker: Jo Irvine

Alcohol/Vol: 14.5%

Ideal serving: at around 17 – 19ºc

Fabulous example of structured black fruited Bordeaux offering superb value for money with dark summer berry flavours, notes of dried thyme and black olives combining in a wine of complexity. Smooth and long. 

Winemaker's note:

"2015 was an exceptional vintage and the weather was consistent which allowed us to grow and ripen grapes to optimum quality. This blend is made of 72% Merlot, 20% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon from grapes hand-picked off our Gimblett Vineyard (58%) and Triangle Vineyard (42%). 

After fermentation the wine was aged for 24 months in French oak (42% new), then blended and had a further 3 months on lees in tank. There was no racking which allow the wine to have great volume and weight.

This is a concentrated, medium to full bodied blend. With ripe blackberry and plum characters, fine grained tannins and a fresh acidity all giving the wine a wonderful balance. It will age well and improve for 10 years from vintage."

In exceptional vintages we occasionally find special pockets of grapes destined for the Basket Press. The resultant wine is the pinnacle of our wine making. Intense purple, red rimmed with a palate of multi -layered fruit, a heady mix of leather, tar, mint cassis and plum held together with fine grained tannins and spicy oak.

Comes in wooden gift box.

Chateau Belgrave is a large estate in the Medoc, on the left bank of Bordeaux, a region well known as Cabernet Sauvignon's stronghold. It makes up 46% of this bold, full bodied red, with the balance being 50% Merlot which adds flesh and roundness to the impressive structure of this wine. The inclusion of 4% Petit Verdot adds further complexity, intense colour and supports the tannin structure of this impressive wine. 

Chateau Belgrave is produced by Dourthe Estate, a family owned winery founded in 1840. The family now owns nine estates and 500 hectares of vineyards in Bordeaux.

An excellent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Gimblett Gravels, made in Ollie's Garage an elegant Cabernet Sauvignon from a very difficult vintage & a testament to Ollie Powrie's Winemaking.

Harvested on the 10th of April and destemmed to 500 L Amphora.  Light punch downs using hands and once fermented sealed up on skins for 150 days / 5 months and then pressed to a single seasoned French oak barrel. 5 months in barrel before being bottled under cork in the driveway.

The result is a wine that has very well integrated soft tannin, cherry & raspberry fruit up front into dark chocolate nutmeg & capsicum like herbaceous notes on the finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon has great cellaring potential & this wine while drinking well now, has all the components to develop in bottle between 3-15 years.

Hieronymus is a blend of grapes and of vineyards and is composed of 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 12% Malbec and 8% Tempranillo with 58% from the Gimblett Gimblett and 42% from the Bridge Pa Triangle.

Grapes were harvested in three separate hand picked lots and fermented separately in oak cuves, then drained to barrel without pressing. The wine was aged for 26 months in 50% new French oak.

The wine's name pays homage to an ancestor of the winery's owners, the Weiss family.

The second wine of Domaine de Chevalier, L'Esprit de Chevalier shows complexity, depth and power expected from the deep gravel soils of the Graves. In the vineyard and winery innovation is constant, Olivier Bernard and his team are always pushing to improve the wines while showcasing each vintage as it comes. L'Esprit can be enjoyed now or in the next six years where it will age gracefully in the cellar.

Grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc