A slight departure from the regular reviews I’ve done for this excellent Hawke’s Bay producer. I’ll let them explain: “The Penelope Radburnd range was founded with one clear purpose, to push the boundaries of our traditional Radburnd wines. We still aim to celebrate New Zealand’s cool climate viticulture while bringing a second generation’s perspective to varieties and styles”. So, it falls under the family umbrella – but this wine isn’t made by Kate… rather it is daughter Penelope. Here’s what I thought:
A pale green-gold in the glass. The bouquet is elegant, with high notes of lemon blossom, and bright citrus-led aromatics plus some white peach, tarragon and crisp apple. There is a tight energy at first, but this is definitely drinking well now on release. But the structure of zesty acid and spicy barrel flavours should develop well over time in the bottle (and your cellar). Texture plays a part, with the time that the wine spent on lees giving an ‘al dente’ quality that adds extra interest and character to the palate. 93pts
