Puriri Hills Wine Reviews

Latest Reviews on wines from Puriri Hills in Clevedon, New Zealand

Puriri Hills 2008′s Released in New Zealand

The big day is finally here!  We are releasing our long awaited 2008′s in New Zealand.  Email Judy for international or domestic price and ordering information.

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.”

 

Latest Ratings and Press

Puriri Hills Reserve 2006 was rated 96 points in Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine in the April May 2011 edition.  In the same magazine Puriri Hills 2007 Estate received 95 points.

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…..”

Malia Milstead of Zola in D.C. visits

Malia, who is Wine and Spirits Director for Zola, a Washington DC hotspot for wine and dining, spent last week at Puriri Hills, tasting and getting the feel for how we grow grapes and make wine here.

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.”

Bob Campbell MW Reviews – Dec 2010

Puriri Hills Pope scores 98 out of 100 in the latest from Bob Campbell, Master of Wine. View all scores and reviews on BobsWineReviews.com…


Puriri Hills Pope Clevedon NZ 2008

5 stars
98/100
Predominantly Cabernet Franc with wonderful perfume and spicy complexity. Dense but not heavy. It defines subtle power. Very seductive red indeed. Should cellar well. Layers of fruit, spice and hints of floral.

Puriri Hills Reserve Clevedon NZ 2008

5 stars
95/100
Intense 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.

Puriri Hills Clevedon NZ 2008

5 stars
95/100
Strong sweet berry fruit provide the core with subtle spice and hints of savory characters. Has the classic texture of this producer with an appealing maraschino cherry character on the finish.

Puriri Hills Clevedon NZ 2007

5 stars
93/100
Lifted nose with delicate wild herb, floral, red berry and spice flavors. Supple with a great texture – typical of Puriri Hills. Layered and long. Fine, firm tannins give a pleasantly drying finish and will no doubt promote longevity.

Puriri Hills Reserve Clevedon NZ 2006

5 stars
94/100
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.

Puriri Hills Clevedon NZ 2006

4 stars
90/100
Elegant, developed wine that’s rather like old burgundy than Bordeaux. Subtle, toasty, long, and savory with some herb and bubble gum/confected character. Surprisingly long. Impressive and unusual wine. Good food wine. Supple, subtle and enchanting.

NZ Cults and Classics – 08 Pope Tasting

Here are some of the taster’s opinions of 08 Pope from the Kiwi Wine Fan Club’s “NZ Cults and Classics” tasting last Friday…

“The Puriri Hills was a real treat, with the very final sip showing for me that there is indeed some real structure underneath all that glorious fruit.”

“This was the Wine of the night. One sip and I found myself sitting there grinning like a fool, not sure quite what to say or write down. I think this is the best NZ wine I have ever tasted – it’s certainly up there. Took a while to get much aroma; this is a young wine of course and will provide a bigger nose in years to come, I’m sure. But the palate… chocolaty, beautiful, opulent, super, super smooth, no angles, perfect balance, perfect ripeness. If I was to draw a comparison, I’d say it drank like a top right bank Bordeaux, perhaps a Pomerol.”

Wine Tasting Against Top Bordeaux Wines

We started with a feast featuring Puriri Hills wine and several right bank Bordeaux wines. We had a simple meal of roast beef and chateau potatoes featuring your Puriri Hills Reserve 2005 and also your Puriri Hills Pope 2008. Accompanying these were also a 1966 Ausone, a 1966 Cheval Blanc, a 1981 Clos Fourtet, and a 2001 Cheval Blanc. All the wines showed brilliantly, except the 01 Cheval Blanc was still a bit young. We all agreed that it will be majestic when it reaches maturity.

The second evening we also had a simple meal to highlight the wines: braised leg of lamb with rice and gravy. This time,  left bank wines were compared to your Puriri Hills Reserve 2008. Alongside your wine, we had a Lafite, a Latour, an Haut Brion, and a Pape Clement, all from the 1999 vintage. Here again, all the wines showed well, except the Latour, which begs for another 10 years to reach maturity.

The opinions of all the guests were surprisingly unanimous, with some indicating slight preferences for one or another producer, but all agreeing that all of the wines were indeed world class. This of course includes your wines. I think we agree that while Puriri Hills showed more affinity for the right bank wines, it has its own unique style, but one that can hold its own with any in the world. I have been drinking fine wines for more than fifty years, and I can honestly say that in terms of complexity and profundity of flavor, the Puriri Hills rivals the very best wines of Bordeaux. Redolent of exotic fruit and spices, your wine manifests richness and intensity without sacrificing elegance or grace. You have certainly accomplished your goal of making world class wines in New Zealand, and I am sure you are justifiably proud.

I guess I should also mention that we finished both meals with Rockbridge Vineyards V d’Or,  an ice wine produced right here in our county. Long a favorite of mine, this wine demonstrates a lusciousness that proves that one need not venture to the Rhine or Sauterne for a dessert wine.

By Craig Crockard, Virginia, USA

2008 Vintage Release Dates

The 2008 wines – Pope, Reserve and Estate, were bottled in March.  We are now tasting every few weeks to assess their bottle development.  These are going to be exquisite wines, so release will not come until the bottle shock has settled – probably late 2010.  Stay tuned.

Five Stars for 2006 Reserve

In Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2010, Puriri Hills Reserve 2006 received a 5 star review.

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

Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine – 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.”

Aug/Sept 2008

2007 Puriri Hills Rose Review

The following article appeared in MindFood magazine this month.

By Joelle Thomson

“Judy Fowler makes some of the best merlot’s and cabernet’s in the country, including this refreshingly good rose, at the tiny Puriri Hills vineyard in Clevedon, south of Auckland. Made from merlot, it’s big on colour, flavour and drinkability. It’s also bone dry which gives it an edge.”

View the entire article (Acrobat file)

You can also read about 2004 Puriri Hills Reserve on the MindFood website’s Wines of the Week.