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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2014 and 2019 (based on 4 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 87.5 pts. and median of 86 pts. in 7 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by trepak on 4/13/2020 & rated 87 points: Lockdown had led to drinking some of my "better" bottles and also a few I forgot I had. This was sort of a former, but more a latter. The label said good for 10 year post vintage - while storage conditions certainly for the last year or so hadn't been great, this initally looked completely over the hill - flat, and dull. However, once it opened up a bit with some air, it did improve. Fairly muted nose, a little dark fruit, prune and plum with some subtle oak in the background. Very smooth initially on the palate, some tertiary flavours and the oak again just showing itself at the end. A little hollow on the mid palate. The finish is very long, with some good acidity. A few funky notes come into play that aren't exactly bad or faults, but not all that pleasent. Probably past its best, but not completely dead. (581 views) | | | Tasted by wineian on 4/26/2014 & rated 86 points: I agree with Blauweiss.
Dark berries and moderate fruit, but no brightness or lush. Balanced tannins and reasonable acid, but not exciting. A little bit of heat comes through. The 2008 Blue Poles Merlot from WA was showing much classier. (1714 views) | | | Tasted by Blauweiss on 3/13/2013 & rated 86 points: Dark berrie-fruit, a bit muted. Taste is a touch warm, but ok fruit and acid, with balancing tannin, ok but not good. (2133 views) | | | Tasted by WineChief on 11/19/2012 & rated 90 points: Medium bodied. Great fruit, good oak. Some grainy tannins. Will look forward to the other 2 to see how it develops. (2255 views) | | | Tasted by Nick Gonnella on 10/19/2012 & rated 90 points: Lovely toasted leather and tabacco on the nose, a pleasant rounded mouthfeel with notes of chocolate and dark fruit. Very moreish. (2343 views) | | | Tasted by MRichman on 3/3/2012: Lots of French oak, toasty, firm, lather, earth, tobacco. Needs some age. Restrained.
B/B- (2214 views) |
| Craggy Range Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
THE STORY OF CRAGGY RANGE BEGAN WITH THE DESIRE TO CREATE A LEGACY...WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, SURPASSED EVEN THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE FAMILY WHO STARTED IT.
When Australian businessman Terry Peabody visited New Zealand in 1997, he was introduced to noted kiwi viticulturalist and Master of Wine, Steve Smith. That’s when the promise he’d made to his wife and daughter – to create an enduring family wine legacy – took a different turn. They may have expected Old World France. What they got was something altogether more interesting…
Terry sensed a new and exciting possibility in New Zealand, a potential he hadn’t seen elsewhere. The exceptional climate and the spirit of the people aligned with his own philosophy and desire to cut a new path. His ambition was not merely to emulate the greatest examples of wine styles in the world - it was bolder. He wanted to create new benchmarks with wines that would become internationally regarded as World classics - wines that would be listed in the world’s greatest restaurants and sold by fine wine merchants.
The two men made an important decision from the beginning - to pursue the Single Vineyard Philosophy of winemaking - to select and source the best land and vineyards in the country, and to plant the vines perfectly suited to that terroir. Craggy Range was the first in the Southern Hemisphere to adopt such an approach from multiple regions of the country.
The winery - one of the most technically advanced ever built in New Zealand - is known for uncompromising standards and meticulous craftsmanship.
The wines, at first somewhat scene stealing, have refined over the years, developing a certain reserve, depth and maturity. Their ability to intrigue remains. These award winning wines now grace the tables of the finest homes and restaurants internationally. The interest they exert lies in the restless nature of their makers and the qualities of the land itself.
Creating New World Classics
When Terry Peabody arrived home from a four-week business trip in the fall of 1986 his wife Mary, and daughter Mary-Jeanne, cooked him dinner. The meal was long and leisurely, but not without purpose. Terry wasn't allowed to leave until he had agreed to go into the wine business. The specification was that the business must never be sold. It was to be a family business, an enduring heritage legacy.
That night, Terry made a commitment to the most important people in his life, and he intended to honour it. The search for a winery began traditionally enough - in France and America, spreading then to Australia. Other business brought him to the edge of the world, to New Zealand: a land of mountains, fire and ice - geographically the youngest country in the world – situated in the sweet latitudes for winegrowing.
'When I pictured a life among the vines, I didn't immediately think of New Zealand, but New Zealand was wonderful, because we were interested in clean air, green fields and a culture of care for the land. We didn't want to inherit or extend other people's mistakes.'
~ Mary Peabody
LAND IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IF YOU'RE GOING TO START A WINERY
Terry had always been impressed with the quality of New Zealand wines and he sensed a new and exciting possibility. In New Zealand he saw potential he hadn't seen elsewhere. The country's exceptional climate, the youth of the wine industry and the pioneering spirit of the people aligned with his own philosophy and desire to cut a different path. His ambition was not merely to buy into an existing vineyard or to emulate the greatest examples of wine styles in the world - it was bolder. He wanted to create new benchmarks with wines that would become internationally known as the New World classics.
WE DIDN'T WANT TO INHERIT OR EXTEND OTHER PEOPLE'S MISTAKES.
~ Mary Peabody
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BEST OF THE BEST
Fate played its part. An acquaintance introduced Terry to noted Kiwi viticulturist Steve Smith, who had been named by Decanter magazine as 'one of the 50 most influential people in the world of wine going into the next millennium.' He was in good company alongside Chateau Margaux's Paul Pontallier, Pierre Henry Gagey of Louis Jadot, and Jancis Robinson MW. He'd just become a Master of Wine - the only specialist viticulturist in the world to have the distinction.
YOU WALK INTO A PLACE AND KNOW WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT VINEYARD.
As some collect antiquities or vintage cars, Steve collected land for vintages. A consultant with a rare instinct, and experience in South Africa and Bordeaux, he received more than 350 parcels of wine annually from all over New Zealand. He saw that some pieces of land came through with distinction every time and he'd pinpointed some special places. Gimblett Gravels in the Hawke's Bay on the east coast of New Zealand was an area with the perfect growing conditions for his favourite wines – the Bordeaux reds and particularly Syrah. The spectacularly beautiful Tuki Tuki valley had the soil for Chardonnay and would be the ideal home base from which to build a new kind of winery.
PIONEERS BY NATURE.
Steve, who always wanted to stretch the boundaries and to whom 'it's nice' would be the ultimate insult about a wine, joined Terry. They made an important decision from the beginning to exclusively pursue the Single Vineyard Philosophy of winemaking – fresh thinking back in 1997. Craggy Range was the first in the Southern Hemisphere to adopt making single vineyard wines from multiple regions of the country. Grape was matched to place.
The family business has grown up. Bolstered over the years by input from other singularly talented individuals, the winery – the most technically advanced ever built in New Zealand - is known for uncompromising standards and meticulous craftsmanship.
'This business is a legacy for the family still to come. We have ambitions to grow it further as every business has to grow to be successful. However the mandate for the future will always continue to focus on producing quality wines.'
~ Terry Peabody
MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.Single VineyardThe wine takes its name from a single vineyard owned by the Scholz family, in the northern area of the Barossa Valley. This single vineyard Shiraz is a great example of vibrant Barossa fruit. Dense dark fruits and a hint of chocolate. An exercise in opulence.
Elegance and fineness wines, sourced from a single vineyard, planted to develop a specific variety.
The vineyard surrounding the 1905 built Ebenezer church in Barossa's north are defined by a distinct bright red clay soil. The Scholz vineyard has a remarkable lack of variation across this block. This area of the Barossa is renowned for its richly flavoured Shiraz with intense and luscious middle palate flavours. The wine from the Scholz Estate vineyard is an excellent example of this.New Zealand New Zealand Wine (New Zealand Winegrowers)North IslandHaving a cool factor is a great start.
When they were creating climate classifications for wine regions around the world, we weren’t exactly complaining that New Zealand’s was called ‘cool.’ Step out in the middle of the day on a classic Marlborough or Hawke’s Bay’s summer, and you may wonder if they got it right. The brightness is beautifully intense, and sunshine plentiful.
But stay about a little. Until nightfall. The shift from day to night isn’t just defined by light, but temperature too. It chills quickly. The South Pacific Ocean taking its deep breath over our two islands. For the grapes, this makes for more than a chilly night. Ripening is gradual, almost methodical. As each day edges the grape towards ripeness, each night captures its flavour.
This pattern creates one of the longest grape growing seasons on earth – and those unmistakable, remarkable zesty flavours, and fragrance that are the hallmark of our wines.

Sometimes the world really is your oyster.
Hawke's BayThe philosophy of Oyster Bay is to produce fine, distinctively regional wines that are elegant and assertive with glorious fruit flavours.
The Hawke’s Bay wine region is arguably the most exciting find in recent times for the cultivation of Merlot in New Zealand. Ancient alluvial river terraces provide for a superb mix of soils over gravelly, free draining subsoils, with an abundance of pure river water or irrigation.
With a temperate maritime climate, the vines are warmed by strong clear sunlight during the day and cooled at night by the sea breezes of the Pacific Ocean.
This is the unique environment in which Merlot produces its vibrant, fully-ripened varietal flavours.
Essentially, Oyster Bay Hawke’s Bay Merlot is about elegance and intensity of fruit. The hero is always freshness of ripe fruit, spice and soft tannins on the palate. |
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