This Top 10 Tasting at WineFolio was the first time I’ve introduced a feature that I’ve talked about several times in the past. I asked producers who were happy to supply samples for the tasting whether they would be supportive of having a separate but related tasting – of wines with a minimum of ten years age in bottle. A Top 10 “over 10” as it were. We got enough interest to go ahead with this, and it is cool to have a look down both lists and recognise a few bottles on each.
Not every label can provide wines for this idea. The diversity and change is one of the factors that makes our wine scene so interesting. People like Ollie Powrie at Chateau Garage, or Kate Radburnd of Radburnd Cellars, simply haven’t been making wines under their labels for ten years.
One notable difference to this part of the Syrah tasting was the number of wines sealed under cork. In our Top 10 there were two wines that had corks – in the “over 10” sessions it was half of them. The top three wines here were very, very close in scores – I would be happy to declare any of them as winners. At this level it is such small details that make a difference, and this was simply ‘Captain’s Call’ on who got which spot on the podium.
The wines that make up the top five here – and six of the top seven wines, all also have ‘a version’ in the current release Top 10 Tasting. Some aren’t direct reflections of what might be ‘current vintage’ – a change of vineyard is a key example, or even a style evolution (amphora, whole bunch, use of oak, concrete eggs…) but I reckon there’s enough in this idea that a reader will get some sense of how a label’s respective wine might age.
And please, go out and buy the current vintage. Buy all the Top 10. You will not be disappointed.
Lorraine Leheny and Warren Gibson of Bilancia, who produced the wine at the top of our list, had this to say about it…
“Following on from “2013 – vintage of the decade”, 2014 seemed to fall into the shadows but it has always been another great Hawke’s Bay vintage, particularly for Syrah. Possibly more finely balanced and structured than the previous vintage but a great example of the many faces of Hawke’s Bay Syrah. It has always been one of our favourites. It’s good to see others are enjoying it as well!”
1. Bilancia La Collina 2014
Perfumed with raspberry, yellow plum, rosehip and redcurrant and has a distinctive floral lift of violet and rose petal. The lightness of touch – the colour and the nose – disguises a wine of intensity and subtle power. Tannins and acidity are poised and balanced. It’s a simple wine, but one a confidence and fluidity. It eshews the requirement for any tighter structure or extraction. Deeper into the palate, savoury notes frolic alongside sweeter ones. Black olives, nutmeg, crab apple jelly, bitter chocolate. The finish swoops through – dry, lengthy and pure.
2. Trinity Hill Homage 2013
Sealed under cork. From the mythically-good ’13 vintage. The bouquet is particularly floral, but this alluring quality also delves deep into the palate. Vibrant and packed with the ripest fruit – plum, blueberry and bramble plus orange peel and campari-like bitters. Spiced with pepper and cloves, cinnamon, sumac. Slightly herbal and distinctly stony minerality. Tannins are now fully integrated – silken, fine and seamless. Incredible depth – deep, long, smooth. Generous, with a mile-long finish.
3. Easthope Mere Road 2015
Sealed under cork. A spicy and floral tone to the scent, with ripe cherry, bramble and blackberry coming through. Plenty of structure here – it almost seems like a youngster rather than a ten-year old. Firm, with black tea tannin notes and also a gravelly minerality. The palate is focussed and quite detailed palate with lots to see and layers to unfurl. Expanding as you go, there is mocha, tapenade and a certain toasty, smoky, earthy quality. Like the current release wine that topped our Top 10 Tasting, this has a particular gravitas to the back of the palate that I find appealing.
4. Schubert 2013
Sealed under cork. The first of a couple of wines from outside the Hawke’s Bay stronghold. A lighter touch to the inviting bouquet. Aromas and flavours much more in the red fruits spectrum – raspberry, cherry, rosehip and plum. A tight, coiled energy on the palate – quite firm at first – elegant and restrained, but with a good swirl it really opened up, and by the end of the session was getting some admiring glances. Well-made, with a seamless structure where acidity, oak and tannin play equal parts, and all supporting the fruit.
5. Paritua 2013
A dark and appetisingly aroma leading with damson, blueberry, cassis, blood orange and liquorice. The nose also shows violet, lavender and lilac florals. Medium to full-bodied and with a piquant acidity taking the lead. Fine, pliant tannins take centre stage; and whilst there is the spice of toasty oak, it lends just a gentle seasoning. Another expression with good complexity. Spiced with black pepper, star anise and cardamom, there’s also layers of Campari, wet stone, tar and graphite towards the back of the palate.
6. Stonecroft Reserve 2015
Sealed under cork. Dense purple-black aromas of bottled plum, tapenade, orange rind, cracked pepper, boysenberry and a high note of lavender and violets. Inkily concentrated, the main is the lovely grippy tannins, served with a side of warm, toasted oak notes. Earthy layers of mineral, resin, and smoky peat balance the ripe fruit. The finish is textural, with a glossy, harmony that coats the tongue.
7. The Landing 2014
Blackcurrant, raspberry and doris plum in a bouquet that also has peppercorn, star anise, liquorice and blueberry muffin. A medium-bodied style, where the spine of svelte tannin is in unison with the refreshing acidity and a sprinkling of oak. Refined and well-balanced, without depending too much on concentration – it leaves enough space to flow and have interplay between the elements through the palate.
8. Mills Reef Elspeth 2013
Our last three are all from the great 2013 vintage, and this one – using Gimblett Gravels fruit – this is blockbuster style, with bags of peppery spice, vanilla-toasted barrel notes to bolster those ripe, plum and bramble flavours. A ripe and succulent palate of spiced black fruits is full-bodied and plush. Fine tannin sits behind, adding just a bit of spine and there is a some of that signature Gravels iron earth minerality to uncover once past the juicy fruit, adding some finesse.
9. Askerne 2013
Sealed under cork. Cranberry, plum, raspberry and bramble on the nose, with a delicate floral edge to the perfume. A lighter, medium-weight expression carried by bright acidity – this older bottle is still very fresh and juicy. Showing some oak, with a depth of toasted almond and spices, there is a drag of tannin across the palate too. For an entry-level bottle, this has held up very well indeed.
10. Mudbrick Reserve 2013
A rich and ripe bouquet of boysenberry, cherry, plum and cassis with black pepper and toasted spices. Quite full-bodied, that lush fruit contrasting with layers of peppery spice and smoky barrel notes. The tannins are fine and chalky, mixing into a texture that is rounded and glossy with a sense of crème fraiche to it. A broad expression, with an abundant finish with good staying power.
