"A stylish rendition of the variety; the beautifully lifted bouquet shows blackcurrant, spiced plum, vanilla, cake spice and toasted almond notes. The palate is juicy and elegantly weighted, delivering bright fruit intensity and fine texture, well framed by chalky tannins. The wine is complex and harmonious with a lingering refined finish" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Apr 2018

"Full, even, near impenetrable black-hued purple-red colour, very youthful in appearance. The nose is refined and near-ethereal in expression, building in volume to show very ripe blackberry and black plum fruit along with spices, and iron-earth minerals, and subtle game elements. The aromatics are complex in detail with fragrance. Medium-full bodied, the palate is refined with softly mouthfilling flavours of ripe blackberries and black plums, with spices and pencilly oak, along with iron-earth detail and suggestions of game. The fruit is sweetly rich and vibrant, with growing concentration forming a tight, textured palate with fine tannin extraction and balanced acidity. The flavours carry to a concentrated and sustained finish. This is a finely concentrated Malbec with ripe black fruits complexed by fine oak and mineral detail on a firmly structured palate. Match with roasted red meats and semi-hard cheeses over the next 7-9 years. 100% Malbec from the Gimblett Gravels, fermented to 13.0% alc., the wine spending 19 days on skins and aged 10 months in a new 500 L French oak puncheon and two 3 y.o. French oak barriques" Raymond Chan, Apr 2018

"Floral, peppery and fine, with loads of black cherry and cassis fruit, the 2016 Testify Malbec is a solid effort. It’s medium to full-bodied but tight and focused, showing excellent length, while the tannins are finegrained and streamlined, framing the fruit and pushing it forward to extend the finish. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this reach the 10-year mark in good shape" Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate

"Minty, chocolatey, roast-beef nose. So peppery! It practically punches its way out the glass and then pops and crackles all over the place. Snappy dry tannins, rustling-taffeta texture, and savoury red fruit. What a great expression of Malbec! This would be perfect with rare roast beef or coal-grilled entrecôte" Tamlyn Currin, Jancis Robinson

Fleshy plum, five spice and rich tamarillo on the first breath. The nose evolves into savoury notes with a light cassis aroma. The palate is structured straight through with dusty, drying tannins and lengthy dried tea notes. After first taste, the wine evolves into a fuller, rounder palate with distinctly Gimblett Gravels angular tannin structure built to last for many, many years.

Hawke’s Bay lies on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The region enjoys dry summers with moderate, cool nights. This wine reflects a single vineyard Malbec which was grown on the famous Gimblett Gravels appellation. The Gimblett Gravels is demarked by specific soils laid bare from the constantly shifting Ngaruroro River over millions of years. The river’s last shift in 1867 left these amazing rocky soils, which combined with the slightly inland Heretaunga Plains’ weather, and classic viticulture techniques created a uniquely expressive Malbec.

Hand-picked in late April and transported in whole bunches from the vineyard to the close-by winery in small baskets. The fruit was then destemmed and only lightly crushed to allow the skins to slowly breakdown during the fermentation. The fruit was then cold macerated for 5 days on skins before slowly warming each of the 2 tonne fermenters and allowing a wild fermentation to kick in. Fermentation lasted 18 days before the wine was then macerated on skins again for an additional 19 days. The wine was then pressed to tank before it was put to a new 500 litre French Puncheon and two three-year old French barrques. It was decided shortly before bottling to make a 100%Malbec wine for the Testify range as the 2016 vintage along with the winemaking and oak regime gave a very pure and elegant expression of the varietal.