Showing all 4 results
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£22.00Unison New Zealand Maestro Chardonnay Wine 2020
Hawke’s Bay was again blessed by wonderful grape growing conditions in 2020. Chardonnay is early ripening and can often fall foul of the first big rain event post summer so it was a relief to have good weather over period running up to harvest which ensured the crop was ripe with healthy bunches.
This wine is Maestro Jenny Dobson’s baby and is named after her. Jenny began learning her craft in Burgundy at Domaine Dujac (79-81) and then honed it further at Chateau Senejac (Bordeaux), Franklin Estate (Australia) and finally 10 years as winemaker at our neighbours Te Awa Farm before working at Unison. By combining all her skills and expertise she has a real passion for crafting a well balanced, elegant Chardonnay that will age gracefully. Unison Maestro Chardonnay is Reserved for good vintages and only 6 x 225L French Oak barriques are made one of which is new oak.
We sourced outstanding Chardonnay grapes grown in the neighbouring Bridge Pa triangle and picked under perfect conditions in mid March. After gentle pressing we fermented in French oak barrels using different yeast strains in each barrel to add to aromatic and textural complexity. The wine was aged on lees and some barrels went through malolactic fermentation in Spring. Lees were regularly stirred to enrich the texture and after 10 months the wine was taken out of barrel and bottling on site in February 2021. Bottle aged for further 2 years release March 2023.
Tasting Notes
Deep golden colour
Aromas and flavours of fresh ripe apricots, yellow peach, toasted almonds and hints of fresh cream, give complexity and intensity to the aromatics. The palate is rich with a velvety texture and packed with stonefruit, toasted nuts and a citrus finish. Enjoy this chardonnay in its youth, or cellar carefully for enjoyment over the next 3 years.
A “Goldilocks“ of chardonnays with a little of everything that is classic to the variety without any one note overpowering another. A perfect wine to drink and enjoy in many occasions and with a variety of fresh, medium textured and flavoured dishes.
Suggested dishes
Salad of fresh ripe Hawkes Bay nectarines, torn mozzarella, prosciutto, fresh basil, toasted hazelnuts, baby lettuce leaves sprinkled with a white wine vinaigrette.
Baked Citrus and Herb crusted monk fish with a hazelnut butter.
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£15.00Unison New Zealand Rocky Red Wine 2020
Grown, fermented, matured and bottled at Unison Vineyard
68% Merlot 32% Cabernet Sauvignon
Unison Vineyard is a small Family Estate in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District in Hawkes Bay. Established in 1993, with densely planted vines that are carefully managed for low yield, ripeness and intense flavour. Our red wines are made from 100% Gimblett Gravels fruit grown in our own vineyard.
Rocky Red is an easy drinking style red wine and is a testament to the Rocky soil which enables us to create these amazing red wines.
Vintage 2020
After average winter rainfall, the soils were carrying adequate moisture going into the growing season. Spring was mild and flowering early. By December rainfall was lower than average, a trend that would continue. Temperatures in December/January were warm without excessively hot days. Late Jan and through Feb day time temperatures consistently reach into 30⁰ C, with cool night temperatures. This diurnal swing gave perfect conditions for ripening. Dry conditions continued through autumn and our grapes were picked in optimal health and maturity.
Winemaking – hand crafted with attention to detail.After a carefully monitored fermentation with daily manual working of the small vats, the new wine spent 3 weeks macerating on skins while the tannins and fruit evolved and developed. When a balance point was reached we “devatted” and basket pressed the grape skins. The new wine spent 19 months maturing in oak and is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was bottled on the property in January 2022 with a further 7 months bottle aging on site before release
Tasting Note
The dense dark purple/red colour highlights the perfect ripeness of the 2020 vintage. Enticing complex aromas of dried dark plums with vanilla, red rose and freshly dried wild herbs.A round, silky entry leads into the flavour loaded palate where layers of
warm dark berry fruits, plums, spice and dried herb dance and mingle. The texture and concentration is maintained through the palate and fine tannins give structure and lingering moorish finish. Enjoy now or cellar through 2029. An amazing wine which is exceptional value for money.
Vegan Friendly -
£35.00Unison New Zealand Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Wine 2016
Grown, fermented, matured and bottled at Unison Vineyard
62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot.
Unison Vineyard is a small Family Estate in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District in Hawkes Bay. Established in 1993, with densely planted vines that are carefully managed for low yield, ripeness and intense flavour. Our red wines are made from 100% Gimblett Gravels fruit grown in our own vineyard
Unison Selection is our Icon wine and from 2009 is always Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with Merlot. It is made from grapes selected from the best parts of the vineyard and crop thinned to a maximum of 12 bunches per vine. It is only made in vintages that are good.
Vintage 2016Vintage 2016 growing season can be summed up as good, but challengingly erratic. We experienced a cool start to the growing season with the growing degree running below average until mid-January. February was a scorcher, and permitted the ripening of all our grapes to move into the “normal window”. March and April had threats of rain, but on the whole, were fine and warm allowing us to pick healthy grapes in good conditions.
Winemaking
Gentle handling and attention to detail are the hallmarks of our winemaking. We handpick our grapes, then de-stem and lightly crush to just break their skins before they go into small, open topped fermenting vats.
The ferments are worked by hand plunging along with drain and returns to maximise gentle tannin extraction, and extended post ferment maceration allows us to achieve a balance between fruit intensity and tannin structure. After basket pressing the individual component varieties of the 2016 Selection went into barrel. The blend was put together in Spring 2017 and continued to matured in French oak barrels.Tasting Note
Bold, fragrant aromatics of sweet blackcurrants, crushed dried herbs layered with vanilla, cedar and cinnamon bark.
Bold and precise on the entry to the palate with sustained flavours of cassis, cocoa and graphite. Well knit, lacy tannins dance on the finish.
Elegant and fine, this wine will continue to develop complexity with careful cellaring. This wine will benefit from decanting while still young.
Review: Michael Cooper 5*
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£22.00Unison New Zealand Syrah Rocks Wine 2019
Grown, fermented, matured and bottled at Unison Vineyard
Unison Vineyard is a small Family Estate in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District in Hawkes Bay. Established in 1993, with densely planted vines that are carefully managed for low yield, ripeness and intense flavour. Our red wines are made from 100% Gimblett Gravels fruit grown in our own vineyard
Vintage 2019The start of the 2019 growing season was wet and cool, but this season will be remembered for the glorious last 3 months of fine warm dry weather allowing grapes to be picked in ideal conditions. Disease pressure was low; grapes were ripe with good flavour concentration and excellent sugar and acid balance.
Winemaking – hand crafted with attention to detail.
Fermented in small open topped vats, with daily manual working our ferments are carefully monitored to express the best of our vineyard. Our new wines macerate with their skins for up to three weeks after fermentation while we map the development and evolution of the fruit and tannin. When a balance point is reached we “devat” and basket pressed the grape skins. Syrah Rocks spent 20 months maturing in oak and was bottled on the property in Feb 2021.
Further maturation in bottle for a further 18 months before release Sept 2022
Tasting Note
Each swirl of the glass brings another layer of aromatics to add to the distinctive varietal Syrah aromas. Dark berry fruits, purple flowers and warm baking spices mingle with dried herbs and warm rocky earth notes.Juicy and fleshy, with a silky texture and layers of flavour that develop as the wine dances boldly across the palate. Refreshing blueberries and black berry fruit flavours along with violets,
lavender and old rose give depth and complexity to the flavour profile.Balanced, approachable and distinctive. Enjoy Rocks Syrah 2019 today, or cellar with care and enjoy over the next 5 years. The wine is very food friendly and will pair well with many cuisines, try with Asian and Indian food too! Vegan Friendly.