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Puriri
Hills Independent Wine
Reviews
View
all Magazine Articles (Acrobat files) or read excerpts below.
Michael
Cooper's 2010 Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines
Read
Bob Campbell's Tasting Notes at www.bobswinereviews.com
(Keyword: Puriri Hills)
MindFood
Magazine October 2008
“Judy
Fowler makes some of the best merlot’s and cabernet’s in the country,
including this refreshingly good rose, at the tiny Puriri Hills vineyard
in Clevedon, south of Auckland. Made from merlot, it’s big on colour,
flavour and drinkability. It’s also bone dry which gives it an edge.” View
the entire article...
Gourmet
Traveller Wine Magazine August/September
2008
2004 Puriri Hills Reserve -
"Judy Fowler held back this 2004 vintage for release after the more forward 2005. Still tight and youthful, with restrained savoury, berry and wild herb flavours, this is a stylish wine with time ahead of it.
Classy wine from a great, and as yet largely undiscovered, producer."
Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine
April/May
2008
As reviewed by Bob Campbell
2007 Puriri
Hills Rosé - ( ) Pretty pink and dry with a lovely texture and ripe fruit flavours of plum,
cherry and raspberry. Very attractive rose with character and style. A
good food wine. Supports my view that the Bordeaux varieties make better
rose than pinot noir.
Michael
Cooper's 2008 Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines
In
Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines
2008, Puriri Hills was selected for the rare honour of
“Potential Classic” status this year. In addition, both Puriri
Hills Pope 2005 and Puriri Hills Reserve 2005 received a five star rating,
and Puriri Hills Estate 2005 received a four star rating. Read his
reviews from pg. 343 below:
Puriri
Hills "Pope" - "The very classy debut 2005 vintage ()
was named after Ivan Pope, who planted and tended the vines at this
Clevedon, South Auckland vineyard. Blended from Merlot (47 percent),
Carmenere (33 percent), Cabernet Franc (10 percent) and Malbec (10
percent), it has a dark colour and a brambly, slightly toasty bouquet.
Youthful, with obvious potential, it is rich, ripe and highly
concentrated, with hints of coffee and spices, and notable, complexity and
density."
Puriri
Hills 2005 Reserve - "Grown at Clevedon, in South Auckland, the
vert stylish 2005 () is a blend of
Merlot (40 percent), Carmenere (21 percent), Cabernet Franc (17 percent),
Cabernet Sauvignon (10 percent) and Malbec (12 percent). Very dark, with a
spicy, nutty fragrance, it is lush, plump and silky, with blackcurrant,
herb and spice flavours, deliciously soft and rich. Revealing great
concentration and complexity, it's a star vintage."
Puriri
Hills 2005 Estate - "The 2005 vintage ()
of this consistently impressive Clevedon, South Auckland red is the finest
yet. A blend of Merlot (63 percent), Cabernet Sauvignon (17
percent), and Cabernet Franc (11 percent), with smaller amounts of
Carmenere and Malbec, it has deep, youthful colour. The bouquet is
perfumed; the palate is rich and welcoming, with concentrated
blackcurrant, plum, herb and spice flavours, seasoned with quality French
oak, and silky tannins. It's a very refined, harmonious and supple wine,
offering delicious drinking from now onwards."
Wine
of the Year Award - December 2007
The
Kiwi Wine Fan Club has awarded 2005 Puriri Hills "Pope" Wine of
the Year. In the award write up
Craig Thomson wrote: “The texture, style, class and gentle layers of
flavour balance perfectly with the wines real concentration and restrained
power. Every sip is a fine painting of flavours, emotions and
craft.. The complexity and detail within each glass is endless. It
is one to slowly enjoy over an evening, the excitement continues till the
last drop. I dont think I ever have experienced a wider gap between
my expectation and reality than when tasting “Pope”. This wine
is a true discovery.” Read
entire article....
www.wineoftheweek.com
- 23 September 2007
"Puriri
Hills Clevedon Reserve 2004 is a vibrant
purple red colour, saturated right to the rims and the deep savoury aroma
is complex and intriguing - it's meaty and spicy with marmite, dried
herbs, rose petals and later even a hint of chocolate. Ripe, rich and
creamy to the taste, almost voluptuous, with a Bordeaux-like cedary,
savoury, leather, spice and tobacco backbone, it's young, it's tight but
it has so much potential with power, length, spiciness and
sweetness." Read
entire article...
Gourmet Traveller Wine
Magazine 2007
 Top
12 Tasted and Rated (Page 146)
New Zealand editor
Bob Campbell MW tastes and rates his favourite kiwi takes on wines based
on the famous Bordeaux varieties of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc,
merlot, malbec and carmenere. Puriri Hills Reserve 2005 was ranked first of the top 12 with 97 points and
Puriri Hills Estate 2005 was also ranked in the top 12 with 91 points.
Download
article...
"2005
Puriri Hills Reserve () An
unusual blend of merlot, carmenere, cabernet franc, malbec and cabernet
sauvignon that might have existed in Bordeaux toward the end of the 19th
century, before phylloxera signalled the decline of carmenere. This is an
exciting and classy red from Clevedon's top producer..." Read
more...
"2005
Puriri Hills Estate () ...This
exuberant, merlot-dominant red has masses of ripe berry and plum flavours
that leap from the glass. It is a deliciously drinkable wine with enough
acidity to make it refreshing, and good, ripe tannins." Read
more...
Taste
Magazine - August 2007
 Red Hot
(Page 136)
Bob Campbell MW article in which 199 New Zealand red wines were tasted blind and ranked.
Puriri Hills Reserve 2005 was ranked first of the top 12 with 97 points and
Puriri Hills Estate 2005 was also ranked in the top 12 with 91 points.
Article includes Red Wine Shopping List - Bob's Top Picks.
Download
article...
Dish
Magazine - Aug/Sept 2007
Matthew Deller listed Puriri Hills Pope 2005 as one of his top 4 New Zealand blended reds in Dish magazine Aug/Sept 2007, pp 49-50. He says, “New Zealand’s best wines are made by artisans who own their own vineyards, giving them control over yield, wine balance and harvesting decisions.”
Michael
Coopers 2007 Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wines
(Page 331)
"Puriri Hills - Worth discovering, the 2002 vintage ()
is a Clevedon, South Auckland blend of Merlot (66%), Cabernet Franc (18%),
Cabernet Sauvignon (13%) and Malbec (3%). Full-coloured, it is fragrant
and generous, with plummy, spicy, slightly earthy flavours showing good
harmony, warmth, roundness, and a strong, toasty oak influence (from 21
months in 60 percent new French oak barriques). Lovely now, the 2003
vintage ()
is a fine effort for the difficult season, fleshy and rich. Full but not
dense in colour, with a spicy bouquet, it is supple, with very satisfying
depth of cassis, plum and spice flavours, slightly leathery, savoury and
nutty."
"Puriri Hills Reserve - Grown at Clevedon, in South Auckland, the
very stylish 2002 vintage ( )
is a blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (42%) and Malbec (8%), matured
for 21 months in French oak barriques (75 percent new). Densley coloured
and highly fragrant, it has a lovely mouthfeel and texture, with an array
of plum, spce, herb, leather and chocolate flavours, good supporting
tannins and excellent harmony. It's a sensuous red, savoury and silky.
(There is no 2003, but the outstanding 2004 ()
will be released in 2008.)"
Kiwi
Wine Fan Club
www.kiwiwinefanclub.co.nz
"Kiwi Wine Fan Club has issued a "Go Buy Notice" for Clevedon's
2005 Puriri Hills Reserve Merlot Cabernet Franc We have been informed that
it is scheduled to be released at the cellar door on March 10th. This is
one of the greatest NZ bordeaux reds I have ever tried - perhaps even the
greatest. Divert a little (or a lot) of your wine spending in this
direction very quickly, and you will forever thank us. Otherwise you could
always skip this wine, making the biggest mistake since Dick Rowe refused
to sign 'The Beatles' for Decca Records in 1962." Click
here for our review
Read
Kiwi Wine Fan Club reviews of all Puriri Hills wines...
Gourmet Traveller Wine
Magazine - August 2006
 "Small
Wonder"
"Puriri Hills
has consistently made Clevedon's best red wine since its first vintage in
1999. Owner/winemaker Judy Fowler is a perfectionist. Her attention to
detail is evident in the immaculate vineyard, website and winery as well
as very stylish wines. " ...
Puriri Hills Luxury Lodge - ..."I enjoyed the sumptious decor of
the tasteful suite even more than what London's Ritz Hotel has to offer -
and Puriri Hills is cheaper." Download
Full Article
Viva
Magazine - May 2006
"Puriri
Hills named one of the top 5 new New Zealand wineries" - Joelle
Thomson
"I'm using the wines
of Pomerol and St Emilion as my inspiration to make a top-quality New
Zealand red from merlot and cabernet franc." Download
Full Article
 "Rising
Stars" - Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine
- 2005
"I've
tasted several vintages of Puriri Hills' merlot-dominated blends and
they're all beautifully and elegant wines with an impressive
harmony of texture and flavour. The progression in quality and style in
just 4 years is even more impressive. ..."
Download Full
Article
"Road
to Success" - Air New Zealand Magazine -
January 2005
"I've been a big fan of
Puriri Hills wines since sampling their first vintage some time ago. The
samples of 2004 merlot and cabernet reviewed on this visit were
sensational. If anyone doubts the potential to make great red wine in
Clevedon they haven't tried Puriri Hills." Download
Full Article
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