Red Wine Craggy Range Martinborough Pinot Noir 2019. It can benefit from decanting. Based in Hawke’s Bay, Craggy Range is a family owned winery and one of New Zealand’s true pioneers and most prestigious producers. It was founded in 1999 by businessman Terry Peabody and winemaker Steve Smith MW. The company owns two high-tech cellars: the Giants, at the foot of Te Mata Peak (aka The Sleeping Giant), that serves as its headquarters, and another large facility in the Gimblett Gravels. With vineyards both in the famous floodplains in the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay and in the Martinborough region, where Pinot Noir is grown, Craggy Range produces a wide range of high-quality wines from various grape varieties. Their Martinborough Pinot Noir, grown on the bottom of the North Island, releases aromas of cinnamon, cloves, and complex notes of undergrowth and mushrooms, accompanied by ripe cranberry, redcurrant fruit, and a hint of violet. The medium-structured body intertwines with the muscular and savory tannins typical of Martinborough. In the finish, it reveals woody notes but overall the fruit wins. Overall it is a very elegant and expressive wine, with good aging potential. The ideal combination is with duck, truffle, or mushrooms.
2019
Red Wine Craggy Range Martinborough Pinot Noir 2019
Red Wine Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019. This silky and seductive Martinborough Pinot provides a great introduction to Craggy Range who are today regarded as one of New Zealand’s top boutique family-run wineries. Founded in 1997 by Australian businessman Terry Peabody and Master of Wine Steve Smith, the estate is dramatically set right under the rugged Te Mata mountain in Hawkes Bay. Here conditions are ideal for premium winemaking. To maintain their high quality standards, Craggy Range only creates single vineyard wines from low yielding plots which are all vinified separately. This stunning Pinot is crafted with fruit sourced from the higher terrace at their Te Muna Road vineyard in Martinborough. Here the cool climate and old stony clay soils offer the ideal growing environment for Pinot Noir, capturing the elegance of the variety as well as the complexity of the local terroir. Once in the winery the grapes are fermented in a combination of stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels using wild yeasts found naturally in the environment. The result is a vibrant and energetic Pinot which is bursting with red cherry, dark rose, and plum notes along with deeper hints of woodsmoke, spice and tree bark. The red fruit, bright acidity and smooth tannins make this a great match for duck dishes like Peking duck.
2019
Red Wine Flam Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Inspired by a trip to Tuscany, the Flam family founded their winery in 1998 in the up-and-coming Judean Hills region close to Jerusalem. Today their boutique winery has a reputation for producing some of Israel’s finest kosher wines which frequently achieve 90-point plus scores from top international wine critics like Robert Parker. This magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon begins life in the Flam family’s top vineyards in the Dishon and Ben Zimra vineyards in Upper Galilee and in the Judean Hills. Winemaker Golam Flam adds small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc to the Cabernet to add extra complexity and a soft, smooth texture. Each of these varieties is aged separately in French oak barrels for sixteen months before the composition of the blend is decided. The wine is then bottled and matured in the winery’s cellar for a further 10 months before release. Wild blackberries, blackcurrants, and hints of fresh mint define the nose while the first sip reveals a powerful full body, firm structure, and ripe dark fruit flavours which linger long on the tongue. The balance of fine tannins, rich fruit character, and a bright streak of freshness means that this is an idea wine to tuck away in your cellar where it will continue to mature over the next decade or so.
2019