Community Tasting Notes 10

• F1NUT Likes this wine: 96 points

  February 14, 2019 - A follow up tasting to decide on more, if I have a chance to buy another couple of bottles. The bouquet seems to have settled to a rather subtle deep sniff of mulberry blackberry vanilla liquorice and cedar, so less overt than last year. However the palate is much the same with rich dark fruits which are quite concentrated with balancing acidity and it impressed me for the ripeness of the fruit for a NZ wine without getting jammy. Maybe good sorting technique here. I think it was treated with the right amount of high quality oak and its all coming together slowly now. Should be exceptional in another 2-3 years then drink well for a decade. I also think its a bargain for the typical price and I'll try to get some more. '14 and '15 good years too.

  1 person found this helpful Comment

• chatters wrote:

  October 24, 2018 - Church Road - a journey of masterful craftmanship (Bel & Brio, Barangaroo): Open and poured from under screwcap. Thoroughly resisted my attempts to get it to show anything on the nose despite aggressive agitation. After about ten minutes, and through it's reductive state, it started to show red currant, baked spice, cedar…On the palate that red fruit note continues but it also feels a little baked. Tannins are tight and grippy. I'm sure a proper decant and a couple of hours of breathing time would help enormously but on this showing it's a 'Nah' for me.

  Comment

• Jon and Bek Likes this wine: 89 points

  July 15, 2018 - The stunning 2013 Hawke's Bay vintage is evident here; deeply concentrated, luscious, ripe yet not jammy. A wonderfully floral nose with violets and lavender, mint and rosemary. Palate rich with complex layers of dark fleshy plums, berries and blackcurrant, solid tannin structure, with a long finish of coffee and chocolate. Still young, tannins still tight, even the next day; little tertiary character yet. Revisit 2020+

  Comments (2)

• F1NUT Likes this wine: 96 points

  April 19, 2018 - Screwcap Trophy and Gold medals.
  
  Opened and poured into a generous sized glass. First try of this for me. Looks dark and a gentle swirl shows some staining on the glass - good sign. A full swirl results in plenty of bouquet of very dark fruits, cedar, vanilla and a touch of clean earth.
  
  Now sipping and enjoying this full-bodied complex wine which easily coats the taste buds and builds to an impressive mid-palate and then goes consistently on to give very good length. Plenty of tannin structure, good acid in check and a nice amount of fruit sweetness but the main impression for me is lots and lots of very dark ripe rich fruit (no raspberry here) and smooth dark chocolate. The finish reflects the palate and lasts a minute or more. Big dense colour and big dark fruit. What a beauty, so enjoyable but with structure to last.
  
  After a couple of hours it is even better. A fantastic food wine with a long life ahead of it. I'm off to buy as much as I can find. I love the density with the touch of fruit sweetness to enjoy now but still have enough to cellar for a decade or two.

  1 person found this helpful Comment

• evanqian wrote: 93 points

  October 24, 2017 - Dense, almost chewy tannins, concentrated dark fruits and cedar. A little sweet. Long finish.
  
  Ap 5/5, Ar 13/15, Palate 17/20, Overall 4+4/10
  Total 93+/100

  1 person found this helpful Comment

Pro Reviews 2

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2013
• Type Red
• Producer Church Road
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve
• Vineyard n/a
• Country New Zealand
• Region North Island
• SubRegion Hawke's Bay
• Appellation Hawke's Bay

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 133 (58%)
• Consumed 95 (42%)

Food Pairing

Who Likes This Wine

More About This Wine