Écluse

Price: $105 per bottle

Fermented in stainless steel open-top fermenters, with indigenous and selected yeasts. Extended maceration for extraction. Punched down up to 4 times per day. Gentle basket pressing and transferred into mostly new French oak for 12 months months maturation. 4 rackings duringélevage. No fining.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder with fresh mint topping, Flank steak and tamarind stir-fry, Porcini mushroom risotto, Old fashioned beef stew, Grilled rib steak on vine shoots barbecue

Warm and dry conditions in early spring gave a healthy fruit-set. Late December rains replenished much needed moisture and were followed by a period of sunny dry weather. The 2014 growing season delivered 19% below average rainfall, allowing selective harvests at optimum ripeness and delivering wines with complexity and depth of flavour.

Price: $145 per bottle

Fermented in stainless steel open-top fermenters, with indigenous and selected yeasts. Ex-tended maceration for extraction. Punched down up to 4 times per day. Gentle basket pressing and transferred into mostly new French oak for 12 months months maturation. 4 rackings duringélevage. No fining.

This wine pairs beautifully with New Zealand Lamb, Porcini Mushroom Risotto, Aged New Zealand Cheeses or a Decadent Chocolate Dessert.

A wet winter gave way to a calm, dry spring resulting in great fruit-set. The year started cool, but by December were well above average. January was one of the hottest and driest on record with 25 days above 30C. February was cooler, but remained warm and dry delivering. Overall conditions were ideal for the production of small and highly concentrated berries capable of producing powerful and full bodied red-wines.

Price: $290 per bottle

Fermented in stainless steel open-top fermenters, with indigenous and selected yeasts. Ex-tended maceration for extraction. Punched down up to 4 times per day. Gentle basket pressing and transferred into mostly new French oak for 12 months months maturation. 4 rackings duringélevage. No fining.

This wine pairs beautifully with New Zealand Lamb, Porcini Mushroom Risotto, Aged New Zealand Cheeses or a Decadent Chocolate Dessert.

A wet winter gave way to a calm, dry spring resulting in great fruit-set. The year started cool, but by December were well above average. January was one of the hottest and driest on record with 25 days above 30C. February was cooler, but remained warm and dry delivering. Overall conditions were ideal for the production of small and highly concentrated berries capable of producing powerful and full bodied red-wines.

Price: $110 per bottle

Fermented in stainless steel open-top fermenters, with indigenous and selected yeasts. Extended maceration for extraction. Punched down up to 4 times per day. Air pulses. Gentle basket pressing and transferred into mostly new French oak for 12 months months maturation. 4 rackings during élevage. No fining.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder with fresh mint topping, Flank steak and tamarind stir-fry, Porcini mushroom risotto, Old fashioned beef stew, Grilled rib steak on vine shoots barbecue

A dry winter made pruning enjoyable and as such we were finished in record time. Late August brought with it a wet spell which replenished ground moisture prior to the season. Budburst was nearly 2 weeks ahead of normal.

A settled spring brought with it a good fruit set, the odd Southwesterly kept the crop loads in check. Dry warm weather through to mid January set us up with some very healthy fruit. The season did a bit of an about face in February and turned wetter and cooler than we are used to.

The majority of the work had already been done as we guided the crop to harvest by strategically hanging out individual parcels to gain optimum ripeness. The resultant wines are rich and plush with great presence and length.

Price: $110 per bottle

Fermented in stainless steel open-top fermenters with indigenous and selected yeasts. Punched down and air-pulsed up to four times per day, followed by an extended maceration. Gently basket pressed and transferred into mostly new French oak for twelve months maturation. Three rackings during élevage. No fining.

Barbecue smoked brisket, baba ghanoush with grilled pita bread, dry-aged beef with port wine and mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

An early spring with warmer than average temperatures brought us a very even bud burst and good fruit set. A series of northerly storms brought above average rainfall and high humidity, creating plenty of challenges in the vineyards, however the overall heat summation was well above our yearly average providing ripe and concentrated fruit.

Price: $110 per bottle

The berries were gently split to increase the surface of the skins in contact with the juice. Fermented in small stainless vessels and concrete eggs, with indigenous and selected yeasts and bacteria, to carefully control temperature and bouquet development. The wine was then macerated until an equilibrium was achieved and then gently pressed. The élevage was brilliant in special French oak barrels for eighteen months. The finished wine was bottled under premium cork with minimal filtration to preserve all that purity while promising ageing potential.

Dry-aged venison tenderloin with blackberry sauce, Slow-braised beef cheeks with Parmesan polenta, Creamy Gorgonzola and portobello mushroom risotto, Roasted balsamic radicchio, Swiss Gruyère and Taleggio cheeses.

A warm settled spring provided the backdrop for a very hot and dry summer, setting us up for another promising vintage. Twenty-four days over 30 degrees celsius during the growing season, and a maximum average temperature of 28.6 through December and January gave us the heat summation to advance ripening nicely. Veraison was very compressed, and passed through in around two weeks instead of the usual four. February brought rain, but due to the constant and meticulous work of our vineyard team the fruit was in great shape. Continuous rounds of canopy detailing kept the fruit hanging freely and quick drying. All of this work paid off as March brought drier conditions and harvest approached. Selectively picking when the fruit reached optimum condition and many small batch ferments allowed individual attention and precision in the winery. The resultant wines, like the vintage, are filled with tension and poise. Supple and long, they will age well and deliver an ever-evolving experience over many years.