James Suckling (98)

Cloaked in freshly ground black pepper, plenty of meaty charcuterie complexity and loads of spice. Orange rind and graphite. Some musky lift. Blackberries and plums. Concentrated dark-plum and black-cherry flavours, with blackberry, dark chocolate and mocha. Best from 2019.

Bob Campbell MW (98)

Le Sol, one of the country's most respected syrah labels, cracked through the NZD $100 barrier with the 2013 vintage and has continued to adjust the price in a northerly direction. This is the first vintage that a small amount (20% ) of whole bunches has been used in the fermentation. Nicely perfumed and typically dense, rich syrah with a lovely texture and firm, rounded tannins. Powerful yet elegant wine with plum, berry and mixed spice flavours together with an interesting savoury edge

The Real Review (99)

Dense, intense and complex syrah that combines power and finesse. A deep, dark wine with a heady perfume and dark berry, plum, violet and pepper-spice flavours. Clearly a wine worth cellaring, although it is deliciously drinkable now.

The Real Review (97)

Deep, quite youthful red/purple colour. The bouquet is spotlessly clean, fresh and bright, showing classy oak and properly ripe fruit. The wine is concentrated, full-bodied and powerful, with density, great structure and superbly ripe fruit flavours. A majestic wine. It's a baby, and all it needs is a bit more time.

James Suckling (96)

Decadent and rich with mango, papaya, citrus, and mineral. Slate too. Full-bodied, dry and fruity. It really shows great length and complexity. First vintage of this single vineyard wine from the best parcel of the Schonenberg. Contrasty. Drink now.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2015 Grand Cru Schoenenbourg opens clear, intense, precise and floral on the nose, with concentrated lemon confit and smoky gypsum flavors. This 2015 is really concentrated on the nose and displays a gorgeously fresh and vegetal greeniness. Sweet, finessed and lush on the creamy textured palate, this is a very precise and concentrated Schonenbourg with a very long, intense and seductive finish. There is great elegance, finesse and complexity here. Very salty. This is a great long-distance runner.

Wine Orbit (96)

Revealing elegance and sophistication, the engaging bouquet shows Black Doris plum, dark cherry, warm spice and toasted nut characters with nuances of truffle and floral. The palate displays outstanding concentration and focus, while offering rich texture and expansive mouthfeel, superbly framed by loads of fine, polished tannins. Multi-layered and magnificently flowing to an impressively long silky finish. The wine is gloriously composed and expressed, promising to evolve gracefully. The wine exhibits classic Te Mata elegance, freshness and refinement within a perfectly formed structure.

Wine Front (94)

Violet, bay leaf, black fruit, almost liquorice, mocha, baking spices and cedar. Medium bodied, black fruit laced with liquorice and tobacco, a fleshy mass of tannin and dark chocolate, cool clean acidity, and very long fi nish, all black tea and perfume in the aftertaste. Chewy satisfaction and a little fl amboyance in every mouthful. Love this.

Vinous (95)

Initially tight as a monkey's nuts, the very young 2020 Awatea needs time to open up and reveal its creamy, seductive personality. Tasted alongside the already impressive 2019 Awatea, the 2020 goes a step further in its substance, depth and ripeness. It has a rich mid-palate of sweet black currant, black olives and mint, but it's all tremendously creamy. Underneath the lush exterior, an abundance of fine yet structured powdery tannins combine with fine acidity to provide the architecture for this intense wine. Offering excellent persistence, structure and scent, the 2020 has knocked it out of the park. Best Awatea ever? You might be looking at it.

Wine Orbit (97)

Offering harmony and structure within an opulent framed of rich fruit and silky tannins, this is a gratifying red offering awesome value. The enticing bouquet shows blackcurrant, mulberry, tobacco and cedary oak characters with a delicate floral overtone. The palate displays amazing depth and persistency, wonderfully complemented by delectable fruit flavours with spicy nuances. Tannins are fine, mouth-coating and just right, making it structured and seamless at the same time.

Huon Hooke (97)

Deep purple/red colour with complex spice aromas. The palate is powerful, deep and very long-lasting, with ample soft supple tannins which persist. Superb richness, flesh and fruit sweetness balanced by great structure. Very impressive.

Wine Orbit (98)

This is brimming with gorgeous aromas of Black Doris plum, violet, warm spice and toasted almond on the nose, leading to a concentrated palate offering a rich texture and plush mouthfeel. It’s powerful and imposing while remaining gracious and captivating, beautifully framed by fine grainy tannins, finishing persistent and immensely satisfying.

Bob Campbell MW (98)

Bright, youthful blended red of cabernet sauvignon (52%), merlot (33%) and cabernet franc (15%). This is classic Coleraine with cassis, cedar, floral, blueberry, a suggestion of wood-smoke, anise and spicy oak flavours. Terrific depth and an exquisite balance between fruit sweetness and acid/tannin structure. It will be a long-distance runner.

Wine Orbit (100)

Destined for a long life, this majestic offering shows cassis, dark plum, hint of tobacco, cedar and floral aromas on the nose. The palate is packed with rich fruit intensity combined with layers of silky texture and complex flavours, wonderfully supported by perfectly pitched chalky tannins, making it sturdy and structured with a seemingly endless finish. Flawless and spellbinding. A blend of 59 cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot & 4% cabernet franc. At its best: 2029 to 2049.

Wine Orbit (100)

This is solidly built yet fine and flawless with cassis, scented floral, olive, cake spice and stylish oak aromas on the nose. The powerfully concentrated palate offers dazzling clarity of fruit purity as well as astonishing complexity, brilliantly structured by perfectly pitched chalky tannins. Beautifully layered with formidable depth and seductive texture, making this rendition of Coleraine undeniably spellbinding.

Wine Orbit (100)

The 2021 Coleraine exhibits a commanding presence and majestic poise. The bouquet reveals classic aromas of cassis, dark plum and violet with whispering nuances of cedar and cigar. There are hints of warm spices, compounding the pleasure upon inhalation. The palate is bold and graceful at once, enhanced by plush texture and multi-layered mouthfeel, beautifully framed by refreshing acidity and fine chalky tannins. Robust and substantial with a great line and length, which seem to go on to infinity. This youthful wine is already impossible to resist, but time will reward those who can wait. In sports, they often talk about ‘The Greatest of All Time’, or 'The GOAT'. This 2021 Coleraine is undeniably THE GOAT of New Zealand wine.

Vinous (97+)

Bright golden-tinged straw-yellow. Enticing nose of yellow apple, mirabelle, crystallized ginger and white flowers, complicated by lemony minerality. Dense, fresh and juicy, displaying outstanding sugar-acid balance and an opulent mouthfeel that is nicely lifted by penetrating notes of mirabelle, lime, wet stones, lemon peel and almond. While this enters sweet, it finishes very clean and dry. Boasts one of the most fragrant, prettiest and most forward noses I recall in a young CSH.

Vinous (98+)

Luminous straw. Penetrating nuances of lime and guava join the lemon verbena, jasmine, mineral and white stone fruit aromas on the knockout, captivating nose. Then dense, complex and multilayered, offering profound flavors of fresh citrus fruit, sweet spices and talcum powder. Closes extremely long, clean and precise; this is a young white wine of utterly mesmerizing beauty. I find this to be one of the best young CSHs I have ever tasted; it is stylistically different but almost on the same quality level as the marvelous 2010 CSH. One sniff (never mind taste) and I was left almost speechless - and I’m not usually one who keeps his mouth shut when I recognize a truly great wine.

Sam Kim Wine Orbit (100)

No tasting note available.

Raymond Chan (20)

Dark, deep, black-hued ruby-red colour, a little lighter on the rim. The nose is softly fulland voluminous with a very deep and finely with concentrated core with an array of aromatics, showing beautifully ripened blackberry fruit entwined with dark raspberries, harmoniously layered with an array of dark-red and violet florals, together with exotic Asian spice elements, nuances of dark herbs, and a suggestion of black pepper. This has an amazing range of fragrances and aromatics that are expressed without showiness, but plenty of style and harmony. Medium-bodied, the palate is mouthfilling with refined, plush and sweetly rich, ripe and succulent fruit flavours of blackberries and dark raspberries, hints of plums and liquorice, unfolding layers of dark-red and violet florals with exotic spices. This is multi-dimensional and multi faceted in expression. Te fruit is supported by the very finest powdery tannins, but with considerable extract, structure and presence, but is is no way overbearing. The acidity is harmoniously integrated, and the wine carries to a sustained finish of richness. This is a beautifully harmonious and multi-dimensional and complex detailed Syrah of great beauty, finesse and fragrance. Match with the best lamb, beef and venison dishes over the next 10-15 years. 100% Syrah, predominantly MS clone from 20 y.o. vines in the Gimblett Gravels with the inclusion of a small amount of new clone material from hillside plantings behind the winery on Roys Hill (officially not part of the Gimblett Gravels). Fruit all hand-picked, foot-stomped and fermented with 30% whole bunches on average (some lots 100%), adding Viognier skins to 13.0% alc., the wine spending on average 30 days on skins, and aged 15 months in predominantly new French oak barriques and a portion in 5,000 L oak ovals.

Matthew Jukes (19)

The 2017 Homage is a sensational wine, garnering a mighty 19/20 score in my notes and it arrives in the UK this week. No other wine came close to this mark and yet who’d have thought this possible if you digest this wine’s vital statistics? This is a 96% syrah, 4% viognier skins, partial whole bunch, 100% new oak, 12.5% alcohol conundrum and it is bafflingly sublime. Winemakers Warren Gibson and Damian Fischer have turned what could have been a disaster into a work of sheer beauty. “Homage” pays tribute to the late Gérard Jaboulet, who passed away at only 55 years of age back in 1997. I am sure that the man behind the iconic Syrah Hermitage La Chapelle would be bowled over by this extraordinary Trinity Hill creation and would be honoured by the tribute

Andrew Caillard MW (98)

Medium deep crimson. Beautiful pure raspberry strawberry red cherry aromas with espresso/ sage/ white pepper notes. Inky textured wine with dense concentrated raspberry pastille, strawberry fruits, fine silky tannins and roasted chestnut espresso oak. Finishes chalky al dente firm with lovely mineral length and feathery tannin plume.

James Suckling (97)

Breathtaking nose of tropical flowers and foliage after rain, with a whiff of smoke in the air. This has spectacular elegance and minerality for a wine of this stature (14.5% alcohol). I love the fresh-ginger note that already suggests the kind of dishes that would pair beautifully with this masterpiece of restrained extravagance. Only a hint of sweetness at the ravishing finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (97)

If you’ve never tasted a great Alsace pinot gris, here is the place to start! All the richness and creaminess we expect from this category, but married to lively acidity and pristine clarity. We love the super ripe pear bouquet with hints of exotic fruit and flowers. No perceptible tannins and still dry enough at the delicately spicy and mineral finish to be food-flexible. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (95)

This self-confidently atypical pinot gris has astonishing acidity that’s got the intensity of a lightning strike. Tons of pineapple and toast character, but also gigantic, lemony freshness at the exceptionally bright finish. May be too extreme for some, but we find this amazing. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

Vinous (96)

One of the standouts in this range, the 2018 Riesling Clos Windsbuhl is incredibly vivid in the glass. Time in the glass brings out myriad layers of flavor and dimension. Orange confit, crushed rocks, mint and more exotic notes all meld together in an airy, weightless wine that has so much to offer. The 2018 is at once intense but also carries itself with a real sense of grace.

James Suckling (97)

A unique dry riesling with an astonishing combination of mini banana, mirabelle, baking spice and sea salt. Super concentrated and super elegant, this has a level of poise that’s very rare in the 2018 vintage. I love the way the silky finish caresses the palate. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (99)

So smoky, with intense gunpowder character, but also notes of forest mushrooms and jack fruit. This is not only very concentrated, but also has an amazingly sensual mouth-feel that sets out in the wide field of exciting dry Alsace rieslings from the 2020 vintage. Expands and expands as it flows over your palate until it blows your mind at the unbelievably long, smoky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.