From one of the great, and sadly missed, labels of recent times – the Vidal Legacy series was a superb value and high quality range of wines that slipped away a few years ago as the Villa Maria group disintegrated.
From a legendary vintage in Hawke’s Bay, coming from the Keltern, Kokako and Lyons vineyards – sealed under cork and fresh as a daisy. A deep golden green colour in the glass – showing a darkening through age. The perfume is also quite golden – with peach, quince, apricot and kumquat, layered over crisp apple, lemon and bags of toasty spice. The signature flinty struck-match reductivity featured more in later vintages, but there is a hint of it here too – a smoky, nuttiness underneath the fruit. The palate is broad and buoyed by a zesty acidity. The oak frames the fruit well, and adds another layer of depth to what is a fairly wide-shouldered expression. A pithy, peppery edge to the finish, that is a mile long. 96pts
