Whitehaven’s single vineyard range of wines speak to the importance of terroir in creating unique, premium quality wines, and allow us to showcase outstanding, smaller parcels of fruit identified by our winemakers each vintage. Reflecting the exclusive nature of these wines, each bottle is individually numbered. ‘Fossil Block’ is the name of the vineyard block where fruit for this wine is sourced – named for the ancient Awatere river fossils found at the site.

We have used a lightweight bottle to lessen this wine’s impact on the environment.

Colour / Appearance: Pale-straw yellow.

Aroma / Bouquet: The wine possesses a unique aromatic profile, reflecting where it is grown – the essence of terroir. Lifted and refined, with floral characteristics, white stone fruit and subtle crystalline, flinty and earthy undertones.  

Palate: Concentrated yet delicate, a thread of mineral salinity, reminiscent of river stones, runs through the palate. The distinct mineral structure supports complex stone fruit and citrus flavours. Vibrant acidity carries the wine to a long, flinty finish.  

Cellaring:  Enjoy now for its freshness and purity, or cellar for 5-7 years to reveal richer, more complex flavours and a silky texture.

Food Match: The wine’s vibrant acidity and mineral backbone pair seamlessly with fresh seafood such as oysters, seared scallops or simply grilled fish. The textural depth of the palate would also compliment roasted chicken dishes, creamy risotto, or soft-ripened cheeses.

Whitehaven’s single vineyard range of wines speak to the importance of terroir in creating unique, premium quality wines, and allow us to showcase outstanding, smaller parcels of fruit identified by our winemakers each vintage. Reflecting the exclusive nature of these wines, each bottle is individually numbered.

We have used a lightweight bottle to lessen this wine’s impact on the environment.

Colour / Appearance: Mid straw yellow with bright clarity.

Aroma / Bouquet: Stonefruit, citrus, herbs, and florals with a background of oak and malolactic ferment derived creaminess. 

Palate: Medium bodied and textural with enticing flavours of peach, melon, lemon and dried herbs.  The oak influence envelopes the palate with pleasing mouthfeel and texture.  

Cellaring:  We expect the wine will drink at its optimum in the immediate 5-7 years following Spring 2024. However, the wine has the structure and closure to allow continued development with careful cellaring.

Food Match: Delicious with lemon and herb chicken, goats’ cheeses and smoked or grilled seafood dishes.

Serve: Lightly chilled.

Odyssey Wines is owned by winemaker Rebecca Salmond, who sources grapes from a number of different regions. She produces exceptionally good value wines, including this full bodied, creamy big Chardonnay from Gisborne; the fifth biggest wine region in New Zealand - and aptly named the country's Chardonnay Capital.

Texture is an edgeless velvet with a slow deep river flow that delivers complete and rounded flavours from the first sip.  A universe in your glass.

Those flavours may include nut or caramelised apricot.  Smokey, cherry, cinnamon, dried manuka and dark chocolate.  You'll know immediately that you are on - feel, flavour and length envelop the senses and linger, transporting you somewhere opulent.

The wine to accompany your dinner with Agent Smith as you decide to sell out your species and plug back in to the Matrix.

Unfined, unfiltered.   Hand-harvested.

Single-vineyard, premium Pinot Noir.

Subtlety, depth & gravity - reflecting the play of the season, the land & the people who worked it.

Dark cherry, vanilla & mushroom.  A sense of black liquorice strap & nutty/spices.    

Rain & sun were fickle.  But when we needed it ... "C'mon, gissa smile Sun", from Sun O by Hone Tuwhare.  And he did!

Unfiltered, unfined.  Hand-harvested.

Michael Cooper, Jul 2025  (★★★★★)

The delicious 2024 vintage is the middle-tier Pinot Noir (above Moss Oaks and below Premium Reserve) from this producer at Opaki, in the northern Wairarapa.  Deeply coloured, it is weighty and notably rich, with highly concentrated, well-ripened cherry, plum, spice and nut flavours, showing excellent complexity, finely balanced tannins, and a lasting finish.  Likely to be long-lived, it's well worth cellaring to 2029+

Perfectly sized for modern life - Radiates gold and tastes of flame-caramelised pineapple.  Flavours, tannins, and acidity have the balance and poise of a prima Ballerina.  Creamy texture with a full court-press presence and a long finish.  Dry. Beautiful.  

For the kitchen, table, deck, couch, or blanket.  Wherever you take your little luxury.

Hand-harvested.  13.5% alc/bv

Perfectly sized for modern life - Brilliant ruby colour.  Juicy, savoury deliciousness. Ripe cherry and plum with twings of spice, nut and dark chocolate.  Black tea tannins.  Premium Pinot Noir. Made for contemplation and unwinding.

Unfined.  Unfiltered. Hand harvested.    13% alc/bV

A finely composed yet generous Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2025 displaying aromas of citrus blossom and grapefruit, seamlessly interwoven with subtle French oak spice.  Weighty palate and beautifully textured, layered flavours of ripe lemon curd, ginger and fresh nectarine.  Delicious!

An excellent bouquet of purity and finesse, with aromas of white peach and nectarine layered alongside lemon curd, subtle brioche, and a whisper of toasted hazelnut. A gentle thread of flinty minerality and saline freshness weaves through the nose, complemented by delicate floral notes and a touch of spice from well-integrated oak. On the palate, a dry wine with medium+ intensity, showcasing stone fruit and citrus flavours framed by fine acidity and a creamy, poised texture. The oak is understated yet supportive, adding complexity without overshadowing the fruit, while a mineral backbone and hints of struck stone speak clearly of site and season. Harmonious and precise, with a long, refined finish and excellent structure for ageing. Best drinking from late 2026 through 2035.

A blend of Dijon clones 115 and 777 and the Abel clone.
A savoury, smoky blend.

93 Points — Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion
“A little bronze and ruddy in the glass. Maturity showing its hand in charcuterie, autumn leaves, mushroom and truffle characters with dried cranberry, cinnamon-stewed plums and dark chocolate. Soft texture, a swishy and pleasingly relaxed feel to taste, a long finish with licks of truffle, sweet earthiness and some dried fruit and nut characters. In a good place, but best drunk about now.”

A pinot noir that undergoes carbonic maceration and is designed to be enjoyed chilled.

A dry style, great to refresh the palate when scoffing nosh.

95 points — Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion
“This has some mettle and thrust. Lemon-lime sorbet with a touch of green almond, some gingery notes, a savoury edge generally, which feels very appealing and delivers additional complexity. Excellent extension of flavour, great perfume. Fantastic drinking.”

“That Grava Riesling is damn tasty.” — Pete Connell, By The Bottle

The Project wines unite Mission's sustainability initiatives, showcasing their enduring commitment to environmental management. 

VITICULTURE
The fruit for this wine was sustainably grown on our Gimblett Road vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels appellation of Hawke’s Bay. The low water holding capacity of the soils on the Gravels allowed the fruit to hang through early-season rain and ripen to full maturity. 

WINEMAKING

Machine-harvested and fully destemmed fruit was crushed into stainlesssteel fermenters. Fermentations were managed with daily air rummaging. The wines were tasted daily during long post-ferment macerations and pressed once optimal tannin extraction was achieved. Hard pressings were excluded. After malolactic fermentation, the wines were racked into French oak barriques and matured for nine months. 

TASTING NOTES

This wine is rich and generous with silky black berryfruits, spices and elevated floral notes with soft, approachable tannins. 

CELLAR POTENTIAL

Enjoy now, or cellar carefully for up to five years.

Aromas of rich Black Doris plum, fresh blackberry and Xmas spices, with a hint of sweet French oak. Powerful yet elegant and precise in the mouth showing perfume, spice and dark ripe fruit. The tannins are ripe and chalky and balance beautifully with the intense fruit and spicy seam that runs through the wine. It is vibrant and youthful with an elegant acid backbone that lends itself to wonderful aging potential.

Our grapes were grown on a hillside vineyard with views over the Tukituki river, and old riverbed vineyards, inland of Has-tings. In 2020, we had a very warm, dry and settled season. A warm summer and a dry Autumn produced some stunning Hawke’s Bay wines. The yields were kept low to maximise colour and intensity and come from MS, 470 and Limmer clones of Syrah that each offer a unique expression.

Most of the fruit was completely destemmed into open top tanks and left to sit for up to seven days until it began to fer-ment. We have included a small portion of whole bunch to offer greater structure and increased floral aromatics. We initially pumped over or plunged gently and then with gusto as it fermented. Primary ferment lasted for around eleven days, then the wine was held on skins for up to a total of 25 days. It was pressed and run to the cellar to be aged in French oak barriques through winter before it went through malolactic fermentation in spring. The wine was then rested until blending on the 3rd June 2022, before bottling unfined.