Trail Rider wines are hand made from fruit grown in some of Alexandra's best vineyards, most of which overlook the Central Otago Rail Trail. These are serious wines made with no corners cut, designed to be enjoyed and shared now, although these wines will develop with time.

Tasting
It's gorgeously ripe and perfumed on the nose showing dark cherry, sweet plum, roasted hazelnut, mushroom and rich floral aromas. The wonderfully weighted palate delivers excellent fruit purity together with stylish complexity, finishing wonderfully long and velvety

Winemaking
All the fruit was hand harvested before being 100% destemmed before a long, slow maceration. The fruit was fermented slowly then gently pressed before spending

This beautifully crafted, Single Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from our 3 hectare Tussock Ridge Vineyard. Situated on the edge ofa high terrace in the middle of the Alexandra Basin, amidst spectacular mountains in the Central Otago region of New
Zealand. The vineyard overlooks the Clutha River between Alexandra
and Clyde and is located just above the Central Otago Rail Trail.

Tasting
It's fabulously perfumed and enticing on the nose, showing dark berry, smoked game, dried mushroom and hazelnut aromas, leading to a concentrated palate that's opulent and beautifully flowing. Splendidly framed by finely infused tannins, finishing wonderfully long and velvety.

Winemaking
All the fruit was hand harvested before being 100% destemmed before a long, slow maceration. The fruit was fermented slowly then gently pressed before spending
10months in French oak barriques. The wine is a selection of our best barrels of the season before bottling. The wine is filtered and un-fined.

#N/A

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.

WINEMAKING NOTES
The fruit for this wine is grown on the stony sandy soil of our lower terrace. It was harvested on 4 April 2019. The fruit was cold soaked for around 6 days prior to fermentation. The wine was then aged in French oak barrels for 10 months, 33 % new.

ANALAYSIS
pH 3.68
TA 4.37 g/l
Alcohol 13.0%

TASTING NOTES
Dark red, purple hues. Amazing dark berry fruit in the raspberry black currant spectrum.  The spice notes of Syrah are to the fore in this wine with a white pepper and Chinese five spice.  As is our style, the fruit was aged in oak to accentuate the savoury notes and introduce aromas of vanilla and toast.
The palate is especially vibrant with a line of acidity knitting the fleshiness and structural components together.  Excellent concentration and vibrancy with a long finish.

AWARDS
5 Stars Wine Orbit
93 Points Cameron Douglas

WINEMAKING NOTES

This wine was made from grapes grown on the sandy silty top terrace of the Askerne vineyard. The grapes were fermented in open top tanks with inoculated yeast to bring out the best of the Barbera aromatics.  Gentle hand plunging was used for extraction, and the wine was then held on skins for an extended period of 3 weeks of post ferment maceration for tannin development. The wine was then pressed and racked to French oak barriques where it was aged for 9 months. The final blend has a 25% new oak component.

ANALYSIS

pH 3.87

TA 5.6 g/l

Alcohol 13.5 %

TASTING NOTES

Fragrant with aromas of sweet plum spice, tart blackberry, cherry, and subtle notes of star anise. Delicious with juicy acidity and fine tannins, on a palate full of concentrated tart berry fruit flavours.

WINE MAKING

Fruit was sourced from three sites in the Wairau Valley.  60% of Clones 95 and 40% of Mendoza were used.  No sulphur was added to the juices at the point of extraction which then were fermented spontaneously in a combination of seasoned French oak (90%) and stainless steel (10%).  

TASTE

Aromatics of ripe yellow citrus, nectarine and brioche.  A finely textured palate with an array of flavours from Meyer lemon to stone fruits with a lively acid to savour.

FOOD MATCH

All kinds of soft cheeses, white meats and rich seafood such as koura (crayfish) and smoked warehou.  

ACID: 6.5 g/l
pH: 3.48
ALC: 13.0%

A lovely ripeness and aromatic impact, scents of fresh quince and pear then apple and fruit spices. Youthful, vibrant and enticing. On the palate a dry wine with flavours of pomaceous fruits framed by lees and mineral qualities, there’s youthful tautness that gives a palate squeeze and crunch. Salivating, lengthy and well made, a reflection of vintage and excellent wine making. Best drinking from day of purchase through 2028.

93 Points Excellent
Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Aromatic Pinot Gris is a real treat when it’s as dry and fresh as this vibrant, young white from Blue Earth Estate in Te Muna Valley. All grapes were hand picked and the wine was fermented to less than 1 gram of residual sugar, which makes it absolutely bone dry in taste and style. Flavours of white pears, fresh crisp red apples and a little citrus all run through each sip. Drinks well now and can hold for a further three to four years, evolving in that time but it’s made to enjoy now, so why wait? Joelle Thomson

Vinification

Our Estate grown grapes are hand harvested, then whole bunch pressed gently over several hours. The must settled overnight before being racked off gross solids taking only fluffy lees. Fermentation is allowed to proceed slowly at low temperature and stopped when the sugar, acid, alcohol and phenolics are in balance. We hold the wine at a cool temp for the remainder of it’s time in the cellar to retain its natural co2 spritz from primary ferment. The wine is racked and spends 6 months on fine lees before bottling.

Wine

Pale green gold and silver streaks. Delicate notes of apple blossom, honeysuckle, mandarin zest with mineral undertones.On the palate - lime oil, fleshy stone fruits, ripe red delicious and tangerine peel. Bright acidity gives the palate freshness and is balanced with generous fruit sweetness. These aspects are accentuated by the natural spritz retained from fermentation which give a lift in the midpalate. The reprise is long and lingering with a satisfyingly crisp clensing texture.

Tech

Parcel 1: Picked 31/03/23 pH: 2.96 TA: 9.20 Brix: 20.5

Parcel 1: Picked 04/04/23 pH: 2.92 TA: 9.20 Brix: 21.7

Final Wine: Bottled 28/03/24 pH: 2.86 TA: 8.17 Alc: 10.3% RS 27.8g/L

Clevedon Vineyard on Munros Road is nestled in the hills of Clevedon, southwest of Auckland.

This family owned estate and vineyard sprawls some 50 acres of stunning bush-lined valley and is centred around an authentic Italian Villa - Il Monticello ('The Hill'). 

The northerly aspect captures all day sunshine giving this boutique vineyard a higher than regional average climate.  Coupled with clay based soil it is as unique as it is remarkable.

Planted over 2 decades ago, this single-vineyard estate produces Pinot Noir, Syrah, Rosé and the northern Italian varietal Arneis.

The Syrah is full bodied, velvet smooth and packed with wild bramble fruits, savoury hints and pepper spice.

Meticulously crafted in exceptionally limited quantities, this is the second release of Whitehaven's 'Samantha' Cuvée, a wine which celebrates Greg and Sue’s daughter Samantha, as she continues the legacy that her parents created together.

This elegant Méthode Traditionnelle is sustainably produced, from 100% Marlborough Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit (Chardonnay dominant) and is produced in accordance with Méthode Traditionnelle practices. Enjoy crisp, dry, delicate flavours balanced with lees age derived complexity, finishing fine, clean and long.

Produced in very limited quantities, this is the perfect bubbles to share with friends or to celebrate a special occasion. 

Hot, dry, long and reliable. And that's just the vintage conditions in Hawke's Bay in 2020. This wine is a beautiful expression of a warm vintage with a long summer. Flavours here include blackberry, spice and liquorice which combine to produce a fruit dominant but complex wine. A small inclusion of the white variety Viognier gives the wine beautiful perfume and allows the wine more accessibility while young.