From Wednesday February 8th through Monday 20th I joined Masters of Wine Jancis Robinson, Andrea Pritzker on the inaugural Fine Wines of New Zealand tour. Nick Ryan joined us from the Wellington leg onwards. The journey began with a day and evening at Man O’ War on Auckland’s Waiheke Island. Our trip then took us to The Landing in the Bay of Islands then down to Hawkes Bay, the Wairarapa, Marlborough, North Canterbury and Central Otago.

The weather was on our side, little did we know we would be one step ahead of Cyclone Gabrielle - though we did have a few earlier mornings than scheduled and several flights were rebooked just in case.

A big thank you must go to Steve Smith MW for this idea, organisation skills, humor along the way, a pretty good taste in music, and the belief that New Zealand can produce world class wines, fine wines. He is right, we do.

A huge thank you and mana not only to Steve, but the many people working hard in the back ground - before, during and after the events, who made this all come together so seamlessly. Dave Nash - Thank you for all the hard work and bringing your professional flair to all that you did in organising many of the minor details; Ralph Ventura as well. Atelier Nash imports those amazing glasses we used throughout the trip https://ateliernash.co.nz/.

Thank you to Rodd and Gunn and the Lodge Bar at Commercial Bay Auckland for hosting the gathering of Masters of Wine from around New Zealand and the excellent food from Chef Matt Lambert’s team.

Kulta Chardonnay Mathilda 2021. New, flinty, reductive yet pure fruited and focused as well. Flavours of lemon and other citrus, white peach and greenish apple. There's also a saline quality. Acidity and oak for foundation are VG. Oak has spice and power, new, toasty, and complex. Youthful, taut, and new. Well-made and lengthy, Best from 2024 through 2030.

94 Points

Excellent

RRP from $120.00

Kulta Chardonnay Mathilda 2020. Noticeable colour with golden hues, very bright. More mature on the bouquet than the 2021, a toasty scent of barrel with baked stone fruits and dried grapefruit peel. There's spice, complexity, and enticement in all of these scents. Nut, toast, baked fruits and vanilla spices, lots of acidity and freshness, power and impact. Weighty, fresh, and dry, flavorful and complex. Not a subtle wine and nor should it be. Best from 2023 through 2029.

93 Points

Excellent

RRP from $120.00

Valhalla Chardonnay 2021. There's a slight reductive quality, I like this - opens the bouquet up and is intriguing. Aromas of gun flint and wet pebbles, there's a saline quality with a seashell sea shore suggestion. Youthful, fresh, and equally distinctive on the palate, flavours of white fleshed fruits and citrus, Brazil nut and oak spices. Nice weight and impact, well made and lengthy. Best from late 2023 through 2027+.

95 Points

Excellent

RRP from $44.90

Valhalla Chardonnay 2020. Some secondary aromas unfolding with toasty, nut and burnt butter qualities. Aromas and flavours of roasted nectarine and peach, grapefruit twists and barrel spice qualities. There's also a clay, ironstone quality then a saline note on the finish. Balanced and well made with great drinking now and through 2025.

93 Points

Excellent

RRP from $44.90

Kulta Totto Syrah 2020. Lovely fruit, power and richness in the bouquet, the variety speaks nice and loud with dark raspberry and plums scents, a mix of spice and barrel toast, a whisper of reduction and flintiness, but with a core concentration of fruit, this is a lovely bouquet overall. Dry, textured, youthful, taut, core fruit flavours repeat, more saline and backbone of acidity. Tannins are firm, ripe and abundant. Lovely wine, needs time. Well made. Best from 2024 through 2030+.

95 Points

Outstanding

RRP from $150.00

Kulta Totto Syrah 2019. The vintage for this wine speaks loud with a concentrated fruit bouquet, black currant and roasted plums, dark spices and stone clay soil calls. Settled on the palate with a more harmonious link between textures and flavours. Dark currants and baked raspberry, violet and spices, perhaps a touch of pepper. Well made. Best from 2024 through 2030

94 Points

Excellent

RRP from $150.00

Dreadnaught Syrah 2020. Harmonious, almost soft bouquet with round edged aromas of blackberry, black currant and Doris plums. There's a fine leather and dark soil base with toasty vanilla and clove spice oak quality. Fine tannins with a cocoa powder texture, in abundance with plenty of acidity. Well-made and ready to drink from 2023 through 2027.

93 Points

Excellent

RRP from $54.90

Dreadnaught Syrah 2019. On the ever so slightly greener spectrum of fruits in the bouquet, then barrel spices, quite dark and broody, toasty. Firm and dry on the palate with core fruit flavours of bark berries and black currant. Overall, well made and ready from 2022 through 2026.

93 Points

Excellent

RRP form $54.90

Ironclad Mer, CF, PV, CS 2020. Vibrant, youthful, varietal and complex. Aromas of dark berries and barrel spices, layers of complexity from these attributes plus a stone clay combination. Firm tannins, taut texture, high acidity, a flinty saline note and lengthy finish. Lovely wine, ready for drinking from 2026 through 2034+.

95 Points

Outstanding

RRP from $49.90

Ironclad Mer, CF, CS, PV 2019. Graphite and iron sand, dark clay then ripe, fresh and harmonious, dark fruits of blackberries and dark olive, some dark chocolate and violets, sweet tobacco and barrel spices. Harmonious, dry, fleshy and complete on the palate. Flavours mirror the bouquet. Tannins are firm, rounded, softening; acidity abundant and refreshing. flavours repeat, a lovely balance and length with plenty of development still ahead. Best from 2024 through 2030+.

94 Points

Excellent

RRP from $49.90

Kulta Tytti CS, CF, Mer 2020. Complex, taut and new with a bouquet of fresh black currant leaf and dark plums, violets, and sweet tobacco leaf. Fantastic on the palate, firm and dry, salivating from tannins and acidity, VG concentration of fruit, some fine textured graphite tastes, and a firm lengthy finish. Will become an even better wine in time. Best from 2028 through 2038+.

96 Points

Outstanding

RRP from $150.00

Kulta Tytti CF, Mer, PV, CS 2019. Complex and new, a bouquet of dark berries and barrel spices, clove and vanilla then tobacco and graphite. Warm and generous, a core of red berry fruits and plums, barrel smoke. Firm tannins and medium++ acidity. Coming into balance soon, lovely length and complexity. Best from 2026 through 2035.

94 Points

Excellent

RRP form $150.00

Man O' War Tastings and Photo Essay