March 1, 2024 - Ivy Sommelier tasting (Mumu, George Street): After the Pax this was superb; all fresh black and blue fruits, peppery underpin with a little charcuterie. Lovely finish to the evening
January 13, 2024 - Ready to drink
October 23, 2023 - Great balanced NZ Syrah. Just started to open after 1.5 hours. Nice red fruit, however still needs time
September 24, 2023 - Thought this was great. Open elegant and balanced. Complex red fruits and well integrated. Does need more time though. Haven’t had a Bull nose for a while. Beautiful bottle.
August 22, 2023 - Deep red. Little sediment.
Sweet developed shiraz nose. On the lighter side.
Round, soft, light weight. Clean, developed, mature. Lacks power and length, and doesn’t substitute elegance for the lack of richness and power. Which leaves it kinda nowhere. Well made. But… Not a trough I will return to.
January 13, 2023 - Double decant for a couple of hours then drunk over 2 - 3 hours. Improved over that time. See Evanqian or Chateau du Fey notes from 2016. Deep violet hue. Great nose with perfume and some spice. Dark fruits and spice, only a touch of pepper. Smooth texture - tannins present but smooth, long finish.
December 2, 2022 - JS 96 Dec 94 Het wijngoed Te Mata Estate fascineert door zijn doorlopende hoge kwaliteit van het hele assortiment. Iedere wijn die de schitterende kelder verlaat is een juweeltje uit de beroemde Hawke's Bay Region in Nieuw-Zeeland. Dit geldt natuurlijk vooral voor de JS: "Spice lots and lots of spice here. There's loads of white pepper as well that's dusted across raspberries and plums. The oak is played just right, really letting the fruit take center stage. The palate has plenty of textural interest, ripe plums and
January 2, 2022 - Medium garnet colour. Medium (+) intensity pure fruit aromas - bramble, plum, prune, black pepper, herbs, vanilla, smoke, chocolate. Developing. Dry, high acidity, medium ripe and fine tannins, medium (+) alcohol, full body, pronounced pure fruit, very spicy - liquorice, black pepper. Long finish. Can be drunk now but suitable for further ageing. Outstanding.
June 27, 2021 - First of 3 bottles. The back label says the wine will develop for 8 years - which I interpret as peaking next year. Its certainly drinking well now. Caramel and dark fruits on the nose. The palate is full of fruit and soft tannins and well balanced. I can't help thinking that Guigals Crozes-Hermitage at nearly half the price is as good. Still this is a lovely and moreish wine.
May 22, 2021 - Beautiful nose of toffee initially and it needed a bit of time to settle down. Surprisingly syrupy, thick and glossy.
Big improvement on day 2. Much more integrated, peppery and somewhat Northern Rhone like. Beautiful long, elegant finish. As others have noted, this needs a long decant before touching.