Blaufränkisch 2019

It is quite difficult to find the right site for Blaufränkisch because it is late ripening, so needs somewhere fairly warm, yet to keep its trademark freshness, you need some cooling influence too and Marlborough with its long sunny days but cool nights offers the perfect match. From budburst to vintage, a warm summer and long autumn allowed for perfect ripeness of the grapes picked mid-April from a tiny yield, ensuring excellent sugar levels, concentration and polyphenolic maturity. 

'Perfectly healthy, destemmed grapes allowed for a long cold soak to extract the superb flavours, beneficial antioxidants and nutrients from the skins to be available for the yeast to use. The period of cold soaking also allows indigenous yeast to grow and start the fermentation without a lot of temperature. A long cool wild yeast fermentation was followed by a post maceration period with emphasis to preserving aromas, extracting colour and encouraging desirable tannins that are supple and elegant. After gentle pressing the young wines were transferred into French Barriques for a natural malolactic fermentation, accentuating aromatic finesse and complexity. The minimal oxygen exchange over the 18 months of maturation on the fine lees softened and smoothed tannin and acidity without too much wood tannin extraction. The wines and wood married together to form a richer, more complex and textured wine, able to age for many years in the bottle. No cost spared, the blend underwent an additional 18 month of bottle ageing. No fining. No filtration. Minimum effective SO2.'

Heavenly blueberries, black cherries mingle with baking spices, pepper and dark chocolate with chilli. Elegant and ethereal with smooth, soft tannings and savoury acidity. Highly refined and beautifully balanced. Our low yield philosophy makes for a deep intensity which reflects the earthy minerality of our gravelly soils. A hand-crafted wine made very much in the mould of fine red Burgundy with an impressive and persistence finish.

Blaufränkisch are often paired with lamb dishes and grilled meats.

The Real Review - 95 points

'New Zealand's first release of this prestige Austrian grape variety. Only 500 bottles made. Dense, intense red wine with cassis, black tree fruits, mixed spices, fresh herbs, baked earth, brambles and spicy oak. A rich, complex wine, with a backbone of ripe tannins and vibrant acidity. Should age well.' Bob Campbell

Cameron Douglas - 95 points

'Fabulous bouquet of complexity and mystery, aromas of dark red berries, tilled earth and five spice with anise, sweet toasty wood scents and dusty clove. Equally delicious on the palate with flavours that not only mirror the bouquet but expand into a story of place and time. Excellent concentration and length, an abundance of fine tannins and acidity for mouthfeel and longevity. Delicious, new and intriguing. Great drinking from 2023 through 2029+.'

James Suckling - 94 points

'Crushed blackberry and black cherry with orange peel. Lavender and violets, too. Full-bodied with orange peel in the center-palate. Graphite. Wild fruit. No real tannin presence. Bright acidity. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.'