We love our rating of number 1 and number 3 for 2010 Auckland Merlot Blends.

Have a look at what The Real Review is doing – they have some interesting articles on the Australian and New Zealand wine industry.

2010 Puriri Hills Pope 95 points.“Puriri Hills is truly different from other New Zealand producers. A Bordeaux blend specialist, it releases its wines five to eight years after the vintage, ensuring that the newly launched wines are ready to drink upon release. Flagship wine, Pope, is a blend of 54% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 17% Carmenere. It’s a ripe-fruited, dense expression from a dry and warm vintage, starting to show its middle age through its softening mid-palate and savoury development. There’s lots of fruit-filled concentration, with cocoa powder-like tannins that coat the mouth. Flavours of tobacco, black fruit and pencil lead linger on the long finish. Drinking Window 2018 – 2025.”

2009 Puriri Hills Reserve 93 points. “Puriri Hills is truly different from New Zealand producers, releasing its wines five to eight years after the vintage. The newly launched vintages are ready to drink upon release like this Reserve (renamed Harmonie du Soir from the 2012 vintage). It is savoury, with hints of tobacco, pencil lead and herbal tones and offers up an elegant and fresh expression with a dry, savoury conclusion; fine tea-leaf-like tannis coat the palate.”

The full article is in the link below including reviews of wines exclusively available to Pope Club members.

Well Kept Secret

SEEING RED – Michael Cooper LISTENER February 4 2017

5 Stars – Just released, this outstanding red is sturdy (14% alc/vol), with blackcurrant, plum, spice and nut flavours, dense and lush. Showing lovely richness and harmony, it’s still unfolding but already it’s hard to resist.

Michael Coopers Buyers Guide 2017

Michael Cooper’s Online Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines: 2015

Designated Classic.  “The 2010 (5*) is outstanding – richly fragrant, ripe, densely packed, supple and very ‘complete’.”

Bob Campbell Online Reviews 2010 – 5 stars

Merlot (61%), Cabernet Sauvignon (14%), Carmenere (14%), CAbernet Franc (7%) and Malbec (4%). More intense and richer than the Estate label – this is certainly a step up in quality from a very serious red. Seamless wine with a silken texture and extraordinary lengthy finish. Blackberry, plum, anise/spice and a hint of wild flowers are just a few of the more obvious flavours. Accessible now but will age well. Top wine from an outstanding vintage. 21/1/2015

Gourmet Traveller Wine (Apr/May) 2015

97 points. “This is a seamless wine with a silken extraordinary lengthy finish. Blackberry, plum, anise and a hint of wild flowers are the obvious flavours. Great now but will age well.

2009 Puriri Hills Reserve 

Decanter Magazine 2018 Reviews by Rebecca Gibb 93 points. “Puriri Hills is truly different from New Zealand producers, releasing its wines five to eight years after the vintage. The newly launched vintages are ready to drink upon release like this Reserve (renamed Harmonie du Soir from the 2012 vintage). It is savoury, with hints of tobacco, pencil lead and herbal tones and offers up an elegant and fresh expression with a dry, savoury conclusion; fine tea-leaf-like tannis coat the palate.”

SEEING RED – Michael Cooper LISTENER February 4 2017

4.5 Stars – Still fairly youthful, this deeply coloured, graceful red is fragrant and full-bodied (13.5% alc/vol), with blackcurrant, olive and herb flavours, smooth and generous. Drink now or cellar.

Bob Campbell Online Reviews 2009 5 stars

Merlot (46%), Cabernet Franc (27%), Carmenere (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (7%). A big jump in quality on the Estate label from this vintage with greater concentration, more pronounced fruit flavour and a richer texture. Stylish wine with berry, cherry, plum, spice and floral/violet flavours. Moderately complex wine that delivers power with consummate subtlety. 21/1/2015

2008 Puriri Hills Reserve

SEEING RED – Michael Cooper LISTENER February 4 2017

5 stars – At the peak of its powers, this beautifully perfumed, savoury, nutty red is weighty (14.1% alc/vol), concentrated and complex, with an enduring finish. Grab it while you can.

Bob Campbell Online Reviews 2008 5 stars

ntense and still locked in but with great potential. Ripe berry with spice and savory characters. Firm, fine tannins restraining flavor but it’s still possible to see impressive laying and the lengthy finish is easy to appreciate. 5/12/2010

Weinwasser Magazine, 25 June 2012 – Translation of article by Stephan Reinhardt 

Distinctively fruit intense, mature and sweet in the nose, nevertheless lucid and fresh, with peppery notes, ripe cherries, roast-juice, Cassis.  Tender on the palate, supple, distinctively full-bodied and powerfull, but with velvety texture, terrific freshness and liquorish spice (seasoning).  Appears easier and smoother, through it’s generous fruity dominance (black cherries, mulberries, Cassis), also less distinguished and with less finesse than the Pope, is more clearly defined in the tannins. Peppery seasoning, Liquorice and clove aromas, dark berries, fine slightly dry tannin, fresh from the backdrop here also, despite it’s intensity, no fat. Distinct Cassis character. Round. Intense reverberation. Very fruit dominant.  17/20, drink  -2020

Gourmet Traveller Wine (Aug/Sept 2012)

95 points. “Intense and still locked in but with great potential. Ripe berry, with spice and savoury characters. Firm, fine tannins restraining flavour but it’s still possible to see layering of fruit and savoury flavours while the lengthy finish is easy to appreciate.” Drink now – 2021

Falstaff  September 2012 – 94 points

Merlot dominated blend of the classic Bordeaux varieties. Medium ruby with violet reflections, bright color. Fine nuances of cherries, backed by dark berry confit, mineral nuances. Juicy, elegant texture, extract, fine supporting tannins, great finesse and length. (Falstaff Favorite)

Michael Cooper – Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wines 2012

 5 stars “Invitingly fragrant, with strong, beautifully ripe blackcurrant, plum, herb and spice flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, it is a complex, very fresh and youthful wine with a seductively silky texture. It should flourish with bottle-age; open 2013+.”

“Pomerols of the Pacific” – The Denizen 2012

”The 2008 Puriri Hills Reserve is impressively fragrant showing the ripe berry and spice of Merlot and floral high notes of the Malbec with a graphite like austerity of Cabernet Franc.  There is a solid base of sweet succulent fruit showcasing Merlot at its best with a beautiful freshness coming from both the Carmenere and the Cabernet Franc which, along with a dose of ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, contribute to a concentrated core of ripe tannin which is deceptively fine. Overall a stunning wine of concentration and elegance with a finely honed structure leaving the palate fresh and thirsting for more.”

2006 Puriri Hills Reserve

Bob Campbell Online Reviews 2006

More intense than the regular label with impressive richness and savory characters. Weightier and quite complex with a great texture. Good length. Lovely floral character on the finish plus hints of spice and chocolate. 5/12/2010

Gourmet Traveller Wine (Apr/May 2011)

96 Points This is more intense than the regular label with impressive richness and savory characters. It is also weightier and quite complex with a great texture. It has good length, a lovely floral character on the finish, plus hints of spice and chocolate.

Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2010

5 Stars “Dark, rich and supple, it is lush and finely textured, with blackcurrant, spice, herb and plum flavours, showing lovely richness and roundness.”

2005 Puriri Hills Reserve

Bob Campbell Online Reviews 2005 – 5 Stars

An unusual blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carmenere that might have existed in Bordeaux toward the end of the nineteenth century before phylloxera signaled the decline of Carmenere. This is a classy and exciting red from Clevedon’s top producer. It’s an intense wine with powerful berry and oak flavours together with subtle spice/anise and and wild herb influences. A wine of great elegance and potential 5/6/2007

Michael Cooper’s Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wines 2008 

“Grown at Clevedon, in South Auckland, the very stylish 2005 (5 Star) is a blend of Merlot (40 percent), Carmenere (21 percent), Cabernet Franc (17 percent), Cabernet Sauvignon (10 percent) and Malbec (12 percent). Very dark, with a spicy, nutty fragrance, it is lush, plump and silky, with blackcurrant, herb and spice flavours, deliciously soft and rich. Revealing great concentration and complexity, it’s a star vintage.”

2004 Puriri Hills Reserve

Bob Campbell Online Reviews 2004 – 5 Stars

Owner/winemaker Judy Fowler held back the 2004 vintage for release after the more forward (and in my view slightly better) 2005 vintage. Still tight and youthful with restrained savoury, berry and wild herb flavours, this is a very stylish wine with much time ahead of it. Classy wine from a great, and as yet largely undiscovered, producer 11/6/2008

Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine – (Aug/Sept 2008) 

5 Stars – 2004 Puriri Hills Reserve – “Judy Fowler held back this 2004 vintage for release after the more forward 2005. Still tight and youthful, with restrained savoury, berry and wild herb flavours, this is a stylish wine with time ahead of it. Classy wine from a great, and as yet largely undiscovered, producer.”

2002 Puriri Hills Reserve

Michael Cooper’s 2007 Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines

Grown at Clevedon, in South Auckland, the very stylish 2002 vintage () is a blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (42%) and Malbec (8%), matured for 21 months in French oak barriques (75 percent new). Densley coloured and highly fragrant, it has a lovely mouthfeel and texture, with an array of plum, spce, herb, leather and chocolate flavours, good supporting tannins and excellent harmony. It’s a sensuous red, savoury and silky.

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Decanter Magazine 2018 Reviews by Rebecca Gibb 95 points.“Puriri Hills is truly different from other New Zealand producers. A Bordeaux blend specialist, it releases its wines five to eight years after the vintage, ensuring that the newly launched wines are ready to drink upon release. Flagship wine, Pope, is a blend of 54% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 17% Carmenere. It’s a ripe-fruited, dense expression from a dry and warm vintage, starting to show its middle age through its softening mid-palate and savoury development. There’s lots of fruit-filled concentration, with cocoa powder-like tannins that coat the mouth. Flavours of tobacco, black fruit and pencil lead linger on the long finish. Drinking Window 2018 – 2025.

Michael Cooper’s Online Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines: 2015: “Deeply coloured, it is mouth filling and supple, with substantial body and deep, lush blackcurrant, herb, spice and nut flavours, framed by fine, silky tannins. Showing lovely richness and texture, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition.  Outstandingly lush and complex, with ripe, supple tannins and very deep plum, spice, herb and slight liquorice flavours, it shows great potential. 5 stars – a potential classic”

Gourmet Traveller Wine (Feb/Mar) 2015 –  98 points. “Dense yet elegant red with an intriguing mix of savoury and berry fruit flavours together with a suggestion of floral and anise . Beautifully structured with obvious cellaring potential, although the wine can still be appreciated now. Drink now – 2025

Bob Campbells Online Wine Reviews Oct 2014 – 97 Points. Puriri Hill’s top wine in an outstanding vintage. Dense yet elegant red with an intriguing mix of savoury and berry fruit flavours together with a suggestion of floral (violet?) and spice/anise. Beautifully structured to give obvious cellaring potential although the wine can still be appreciated now. I opened a bottle of the 2008 Pope for comparison. It’s a magnificent wine and all the better for a little bottle age. Is the 2010 a better wine? Potentially yes but the 2008 is hard to beat right now.

Puriri Hills Pope 2008

Gourmet Traveller Wine (Aug/Sept) 2012 –  98 points. “Dense but not heavy. It defines subtle power. A very seductive red indeed, with wonderful perfume and spicy complexity. Layers of fruit, spice and hints of flowers. Best of all is the wine’s rich and seductively smooth texture.” Drink now – 2022

Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines: 2012: “Deeply coloured, it is mouth filling, fresh and supple, with substantial body and deep, lush blackcurrant, herb, spice and nut flavours, framed by fine, silky tannins. Showing lovely richness and texture, it’s already approachable”; drink now or cellar. 5 stars 

What magnificent, elegant, full-bodied, intensive, silky-fine and fresh Claret. Initially calls to mind the red wine from Saumur (because of the Cabernet Franc), but then one moves away from the Loire and is approaching the Gironde, but to place oneself on the right bank, rather in Saint Emilion than in Pomerol. Splendidly clear and precise, sweet bouquet of ripe black berries, liquorice, cherries and graphite.  On the palate, dense, meaty-intensive, perfectly ripe, with dark cherry and berry aroma, silky tannins.  Perfectly ripe material, but the wine is fresh and rich in finesse, silky like a Pinot, peppery and tangy like a Cabernet-Franc, juicy (lush) like a Carmenėre. Perfectly balanced. Animated and long-lasting Cassis–finale with chilly tanginess. A great concentrated wine of remarkable finesse and elegance, but also a remarkably deep fun-wine of the very highest level.  One should put it to the test among the finest St. Emilion wines, amongst which one wine should not be missing: ‘Cheval Blanc’.  Unfortunately the challenger does not come cheap, but is worth the money: Translation of article by Stephan Reinhardt that appeared in Weinwisser magazine, 25th June 2012

Bob Campbell MW Reviews – Dec 2010: 98/100: Predominantly Cabernet Franc with a wonderful perfume and spicy complexity. Dense but not heavy. It define subtle power. Very seductive red indeed. Should clear well. Layers of fruit, spice and hints of floral.

Michael Cooper has just published the first comprehensive vertical review of Puriri Hills Reserve. We are very pleased to see that he has named our current release, 2010 Puriri Hills Reserve, as his Wine of the Week describing it as “Pure Class”.

SEEING RED – Michael Cooper

Puriri Hills Reserve wines rank among our most delicious and ageworthy reds.

In a country where most wines are consumed within a couple of years of the harvest, few of us share the view of Oliver Goldsmith, the Irish novelist, poet and playwright, who declared in 1773: “I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.”

Our taste for young wine is no surprise, given that most Marlborough sauvignon blancs are at their best in their aromatic, garden-fresh and zesty youth. But many of our top reds flourish for a decade, even longer, gaining in fragrance, complexity and downright drinkability.

Inspired by the softly mouthfilling, typically merlot-based reds of Pomerol and St Emilion, in Bordeaux, expat American Judy Fowler began planting her 2ha Clevedon vineyard on clay slopes in South Auckland in 1997, Puriri Hills Reserve now ranks among our most delicious and ageworthy reds, as underlined by a memorable tasting of the 2008 to 2014 vintages (there is no 2011). The 2010 vintage on sale ($85 at the cellar door) is just starting to break into full stride.

Puriri Hills Reserve 2008     *****

At the peak of its powers, this beautifully perfumed, savoury, nutty red is weighty (14.1% alc/vol), concentrated and complex, with an enduring finish. Grab it while you can.

Puriri Hills Reserve 2009     ****½

Still fairly youthful, this deeply coloured, graceful red is fragrant and full-bodied (13.5% alc/vol), with blackcurrant, olive and herb flavours, smooth and generous. Drink now or cellar.

Puriri Hills Reserve 2010     *****

Just released, this outstanding red is sturdy (14% alc/vol), with blackcurrant, plum, spice and nut flavours, dense and lush. Showing lovely richness and harmony, it’s still unfolding but already it’s hard to resist.

Puriri Hills Reserve 2012     ****½

Fragrant and finely textured, this is a relatively “forward” year, mouthfilling (13.5% alc/vol), savoury and supple, with plum, spice and herb flavours, showing excellent depth and harmony.

Puriri Hills Reserve 2013     *****

Still a baby, this is a highly refined, dark and powerful red (14% alc/vol), with notable depth of blackcurrant and plum flavours, hints of cherries and dark chocolate, and obvious potential. Grace in a glass it should be very long-lived.

Puriri Hills Reserve 2014     *****

A classic claret style, this invitingly fragrant red is already quite “open” and expressive, with substantial body (13.5% alc/vol), smooth, ripe tannins, and delicious depth of youthful blackcurrant, herb and spice flavours.

LISTENER February 4 2017

Puriri Hills Library Wines

The artwork on the label is by Celia Allison, a Lyttleton based artist who is better known as the creator and force behind the Cecily cartoon range . The label is designed by Judy’s daughter Cynthia Mosby.

Mokoroa 2011

Puriri Hills Estate 2010: Deeply coloured, it is full-bodied, with a spicy bouquet and an array of blackcurrant, plum, herb, spice and nut flavours, showing excellent depth and complexity. Retasted in 2014, it is maturing very gracefully.  …the 2010 is a beauty – dark, fleshy and silky, with lovely ripeness and mouthfeel. 5 stars”

Puriri Hills Reserve 2010:  Designated Classic.  “The 2010 (5*) is outstanding – richly fragrant, ripe, densely packed, supple and very ‘complete’.”

Puriri Hills Pope 2010: “Deeply coloured, it is mouthfilling and supple, with substantial body and deep, lush blackcurrant, herb, spice and nut flavours, framed by fine, silky tannins. Showing lovely richness and texture, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition.  Outstandingly lush and complex, with ripe, supple tannins and very deep plum, spice, herb and slight liquorice flavours, it shows great potential. 5 stars – a potential classic”

Puriri Hills Rosé 2014: “… is bright, pale red, fresh and lively, with very youthful, berryish, slightly spicy flavours, showing good vigour and depth. 4 stars”

Mokoroa from Puriri Hills:  The 2011 vintage 3.5 stars was matured for three years in French oak barrels. Fullish and slightly developed in colour, it is mouthfilling, fleshy and ripe, with moderately concentrated plum, spice and herb flavours, savoury and supple. Drink now onwards.