The vineyard is pristine, despite a very rainy December.  Flowering spread over a long period, with cabernet franc quite early and carmenere and cab sav quite late.  Fruit set was quite good.  The sheep have done the leaf plucking.  Fruit thinning is next, now that bunch closure is upon us.    It has been a cloudy wet La Nina year, and we are ready for some summer warmth and dry weather.  Netting will follow veraison…sometime in February.  Vintage is likely to spread over the whole of April since fruit set was so disparate.

 We hope to ship our 08′s to the US and Australia in the next few months, so that everyone can try this fabulous vintage.

These are the wines that Bob Campbell MW rated 95 to 98 points (www.bobswinereviews.com).

Michael Cooper describes Puriri Hills Estate 2008, in his Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wines 2012, as “[deep and youthful in colour, it is full-bodied, with a spicy bouquet and an array of blackcurrant, plum, herb, spice and nut flavours, showing excellent depth and complexity. Fresh, vibrant and firm, it should be long-lived… 4 1/2 stars“.  He describes the Puriri Hills  Reserve 2008:  “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…5 stars“.  As for our second Pope, Puriri Hills Pope 2008: “Deeply coloured, it is mouthfilling, 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 …5 stars.”

Jo Burzynska featured Puriri Hills Estate 2007 in the New Zealand Herald’s Viva magazine on 1 June, 2011.  She says, “Its svelte and juicy dark berry fruit is ripe yet restrained and infused with notes of roasted spice and freshly ground coffee…..”

Restaurateurs, shop owners and consumers have been returning to our table over and over again to have more of your wine!  You have made many new friends of the winery!  We all wish you were here!!!

It is so refreshing to see the look of pleasant surprise on the faces of wine lovers here after trying your wines for the first time!

Posted by Gray Mosby, Nice Legs

She declared her barrel tastings at PH the best of her long career.  She was recently asked,  in an article for thelistareyouonit.com, What is the best value wine? Her answer: “Without a doubt- Puriri Hills Estate “Meritage/Bordeaux Blend” Clevedon New Zealand 2005. Value because it is rare to find a beautiful Bordeaux blend under $100 dollars and in one taste lull you into a delirious state like Chagall’s blue man suspended weightless in the air after a delirious kiss.”

Fred and Judy at Puriri Hills

Frederic Ardouin, formerly winemaker at Chateau Latour and today manager and winemaker at Chateau Du Tertre and Chateau Giscours in Margaux and Caiarossa in Tuscany, stayed with us at Puriri Hills last week.  He was most impressed with barrel tastings of our cabernet sauvignon and merlot and suggested a Left Bank blend for Puriri Hills . . . interesting idea.  We will look at this!

View the full list of US restaurants and wine shops stocking Puriri Hills wines…