5 Stars - Michael Cooper (2016 Vintage)
"Retasted in mid-2020, the 2016 vintage has flourished with bottle-age. Hand-picked in the Waihopai Valley, it was fermented with indigenous yeasts in old French oak barriques. Pale gold, it is fleshy, with concentrated, ripe stone-fruit flavours, hints of pears and spices, a distinct touch of complexity, and an off-dry (14 grams/litre of residual sugar) finish. A powerful wine, it's drinking well now."

Winery note
"The fruit for this wine came from just one pick from the Barnsley Block in the Waihopai Valley. The winemaking here was minimalist. The grapes were hand-picked and gently pressed into old French oak barriques for a long and slow fermentation (over six months) with wild yeasts from the vineyard. Once we felt the wine had achieved the perfect balance of sweetness and adicity, the barrels were racked and the wine chilled, filtered and bottled. This single vineyard wine is mid-straw in colour with a slight copper tone. Off dry in style with lifted aromas of juicy pears, red apples and stone fruit. The palate is weighty and textural with flavours of pears, apple crumble and clover honey – a complex wine that is drinking perfectly after some years in bottle. A delicious pairing with flavoursome seafood, poultry, spicy foods"