• American & French oak
• Dark berries
• Subtle vanilla
• Rich & ful-bodied

"Pristine and beautifully lifted, the bouquet shows dark plum, mulberry, roasted nut, thyme and rich floral aromas, leading to a beautifully weighted palate offering juicy fruit intensity with supple tannins. Generous and fabulously appealing. At its best: now to 2029" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2022

"Varietal with a concentrated dark fruited boquuet, layers of spice and distinctive individuality. Fleshy textures and flavours of black berries and dark spices. Sweet plum and dusty tannin textures, a mix of blue and blac fruit flavours, plenty of acidity and a youthfully firm texture with plenty of length and power. This is a great food wine, but it’s also very youthful still so best to cellar till late 2023 or even better mid 2024 then drink through 2030+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Jul 2022

This is rich and robust wine. It pours a deep dense red, showcasing dark berry aromas, with a hint of vanilla from the inclusion of a new USA oak barriques, in the style of Rioja. Flavours of liqourice and black fruits, compliment the rich and full bodied palate. An exciting addition to our Artisanal collection of wines.

This wine is sourced from a single 0.6 hectare block of Tempranillo in the Te Awa Vineyard, planted in 2008. This is a rare variety in New Zealand but seems well suited to the the stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels. It is an early ripening thick skinned variety which produces wine of rich colour and abundant tannins. Intensive viticultural practices including hand leaf plucking and fruit thinning are employed in the pursuit of quality.

This fruit was harvested at a ripe 23.9 brix on the 29th March. Upon arrival at the winery the fruit was de-stemmed and transferred to a single open topped vessel for fermentation. Post ferment and a period of maceration to soften the tannins, the wine was run to barrel for maturation. A mix of French and USA oak barriques were utilised to replicate the style of Rioja. The wine was aged12 months in barrel, before being blended, lightly fined with egg whites and bottled June 2022.