-
95
/ 100
Bob Campbell MW -
93
/ 100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW -
19
/ 20
Raymond Chan Wine Reviews
Red
Classification
Merlot Blend
Variety
2011
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
New Zealand
Country
Hawkes Bay, Gimblett Gravels
Region
13.0%
Alcohol %
15 Plus Years
Cellaring
Scores
95 / 100"Bright, zesty berry and spice flavours with a subtle herb influence. Mouth-watering red in a slightly more restrained style than the 2010 reflecting, perhaps, a moderately challenging vintage. One of the best blended Hawke’s Bay reds I’ve tasted from this vintage. Finely textured and with a lengthy finish. It should cellar well"
- Bob Campbell MW
93 / 100
"A blended of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2011 Sophia is medium to deep garnet-purple color and presents a nose of warm cassis, preserved plums and blackberry compote with hints of pencil shavings, cinnamon toast, plus a touch of Mediterranean herbs. Medium-bodied and tightly knit in the mouth, it has a medium to firm level of chewy tannins and balanced acid framing the conservative fruit cone through a finish with good persistence."
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
19 / 20
"Very dark, deep, black-hued purple red. This has a full and powerfully expressed bouquet with black and blue berry fruits along with subtly complex spice, dark red floral and savoury secondary fruit and earthy layers. Medium-full bodied, sweetly rich and lush dark red berry and black plum fruit flavours form a concentrated, but elegantly proportioned core. The tannins are very fine-grained, and show some softening for accessibility. The mouthfeel is poised between sweetness, acid freshness and tannin extract refinement. Nuances of spices, florals and earth unfold, and the palate carries the fruit and detail smoothly to a velvety, lingering finish. This is a very fine-grained and concentrated Merlot-blend beginning to show some elegance and accessibility. It has a decade-plus of development ahead. A blend of 60% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, fermented to 13.3% alc., the wine aged 19 months in 37% new French oak barriques"
- Raymond Chan Wine Reviews
Tasting Notes
A refined and elegant hand-crafted Merlot dominant blend that represents both the vigneron’s art and an inherent understanding of the land, ensuring ‘Sophia’ is the finest expression of the terroir and the people. ‘Sophia’, meaning ‘wisdom’ in Greek mythology, pays tribute to the goddess of knowledge and experience, information and understanding - a philosophy adopted by our winemakers and viticulturists when crafting this wine.
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity