This is an outstanding new addition to the much loved Esk Valley stable and it successfully straddles the big buttery Chardonnay style with all the subtleties that wine fans adore about the Chardonnay grape too - namely, its crisp, freshness. 

It is part of the new Esk Valley Artisanal Collection wines, which were launched this year and this one is made from clone 95 vines in Hawke’s Bay. The grapes were fermented in French oak with wild yeasts, which gives this wine its rich and nutty flavours, its seductive savoury notes and its full body.

The finished wine went through 50% malolactic fermentation with lees stirring to accentuate and lift the big flavours in this big wine.

An absolute show stopper dry white wine made from the great Albarino grape - this wine has succulence, body and intense lemon, hazelnut and oatmeal flavours, all of which add to its full bodied appeal.
Thick skinned grapes in loose bunches with tiny berries are the story of the great white Albarino grape. These factors make it ideally suited to New Zealand’s maritime climate, which is similar to that of its homelands in north west Portugal and Spain. This grape’s intense acidity and later ripening combine to make a full bodied, dry, intensely deliciously succulent, refreshing white.
Winemaker Gordon Russell softens the high acidity by ageing the wine for one year in bottle in the cellar, pre release. He's also learning about optimum picking times, since it's still pretty early days for Albarino in New Zealand.

The jewel in the Esk Valley crown, made from one of this country's most distinctive plots of land at Bayview, north of Napier, at the original Esk Valley Winery.

The Terraces has long been associated with excellence and the best wines from Esk Valley Estate's iconic sun drenched hillside terrace vineyard - the first place that Malbec was ever grown in New Zealand.

The philosophy behind this wine is to express the single vineyard Since its inaugural 1991 vintage, only 13 vintages have been produced and, for the first time in its history, this is the winery's third consecutive vintage. Which is testament to winemaker Gordon Russell's quest to make the best and to the winery's ongoing conversion to organic production. 

The wine is a blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. All grapes were dry farmed, hand harvested and co fermented in one concrete fermenter with wild yeasts. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration. 

This wine represents the pinnacle of Esk Valley wines and is considered the jewel in the winery's crown. It is a keeper for the wine cellar and also makes a special gift. 

Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon combine in this outstanding full bodied dry and powerful blend, which is made from hand picked grapes grown in the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District’s Cornerstone and Ngakirikiri vineyards. 

The grapes were fermented with wild yeasts, which provides diverse depth and flavours to the wine, which has flavour notes of black olives, dried herbs and black currant notes. The wine was aged in French oak for 20 months and bottled unfiltered, which accentuates its gritty, smooth, powerful cedar notes.

Here is a wine for the long term cellar... Or decant and enjoy now.