2005/2004 Wine Ranges

Puriri Hills aspires to produce wines that stand well beside the greats of the "right bank".  Our blends are proprietary and reflect the percentages of Merlot, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec in our five acre vineyard. Our low-yielding vines are manicured by hand. The wine is handmade, barrel aged, bottled and stored on the estate.

The following wines are currently available for sale. They can be purchased online,  from our Cellar Door, Wine Merchants and selected retail outlets. Most reviews below are courtesy of Kiwi Wine Fan Club.
    

Vintage	Price (NZ$)
2006 Puriri Hills Rose A rosé made from our best merlot fruit by the saigné method. We remove a small amount of juice from the crush 2 days after harvest to concentrate the remaining must for our reserve wine. The juice removed is a lovely apricot pink colour that is then fermented as a white wine. It is zingy, fresh and full of tart raspberries…a perfect summer wine for picnics and the beach. It should be served lightly chilled and drunk young.	$25 per bottle ORDER
2005 Puriri Hills “Pope” To compare the quality of this wine we have to look towards the great wines of St Emilion and Pomerol. Dark ruby red in colour. Compact and haunting aromas of super quality dark Swiss chocolate, Christmas cake, bran and dark fruits – very deep set aromas. The palate displays pristine and deep fresh blackberry and black plum underpinned by almost invisible coating tannins. It is slightly more backward, and slightly darker than the reserve. Again the palate shows an extra touch of weight but never is the wine forced or over extracted. The fruit is allowed to speak here, the structure is very finely boned, elegant, gentle fresh (perfect ripeness) and long. This is benchmark red wine of the absolute highest quality. This wine will not be cheap, but be assured it delivers at its price tag. I would expect this wine, if looked after, to age gracefully for more than a decade. Perhaps let it sleep for a year, but after that it will also be hard to resist young. Special occasion ‘claret’. Immaculate.	$120 per bottle ORDER
2005 Puriri Hills Reserve At this level I really start to look to compare to some of NZ’s greatest ever Bordeaux style reds. We have reached yet another level of astonishing quality. Very dark ruby in the glass. The nose is quite restrained but does give up the sought after red currant and fruitcake notes. The palate is sensational with added power on the palate and super complexity. Blackberry and red currant palate, with underlying layers of mint at just the faintest volume, gives this jaw dropping quality. The texture is all velvet and the structure so finely boned and controlled. This wine is sensual and intellectual, extremely refined and graceful. Worth every cent. This wine will cellar for a decade or more but is so interesting now, it will be hard to resist. Read Bob Campbell MW review...	$65 per bottle ORDER
2005 Puriri Hills Estate An amazingly complex nose with red currants, fruitcake and fresh spearmint undertones. Palate is yet again another step up from earlier vintages. Extremely stylish, nice level of fruit density which adds perhaps something missing from older vintages. This gives it gorgeous weight without being heavy. No issues with value for money with this wine. Super complexity, drinking well now. It really delivers and competes. Read Bob Campbell MW review...	$33 per bottle ORDER
2004 Puriri Hills Reserve This is a dark juicy style of red which in many ways has some similarities to a good vintage of Arahura’s Malbec. It is almost inky in colour. Nose is a little backward with dark boysenberry and blackberry type fruit. Very pristine. The structure is again finely boned, and elegant, warm coating ultra sleek tannins. Not an intense wine, idling and refined. Perhaps not quite the complexity of the 2005 but still extremely good. This is probably even better than the 2002 reserve. A wine to hold a while I think.	$60 per bottle ORDER
2004 Puriri Hills Estate A continuation on in the ascent of quality at this winery. The 2004 is dark ruby red, displaying a complex and forward nose of fruitcake and red currant. The palate is soft and inviting with good length. Again I am thinking ‘formal dinner claret’. Lovely intellectual style. You can see the style here – the warm fine tannins. Seems slightly more fruit forward than I remember previous vintages which may just be a reflection of the age that I am tasting it at compared with last weeks wines. Perhaps hang on to for a year.	$35 per bottle ORDER
2003 Puriri Hills Estate "This is a fine effort for the difficult season, fleshy and rich. Full but not dense in colour, with a spicy bouquet, it is supple, with very satisfying depth of cassis, plum and spice flavours, slightly leathery, savoury and nutty."	$35 per bottle ORDER

To purchase wines from our earlier vintages, please visit the Wine Archive...

Should you wish to purchase any of these wines, please contact us by post, phone, fax or email (details at the bottom of this page) or fill in our Enquiry Form. We accept cheques or credit cards (Visa, Master Card and AMEX). You can also order directly using our secure online ordering facility.

Delivery Information and Pricing...

Puriri Hills, 398 North Road, Clevedon, R.D. 2, Papakura, New Zealand  Ph: 64-9-292-9264     Fax: 64-9-292-9265  Email Us