Mission VS 2016 Chardonnay and 2015 Syrah, and 2015 Reserve Syrah and Cabernet

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

• Mission ‘Vineyard Selection’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2016
  Chardonnay from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 26-Oct-2016

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, light straw-yellow colour with slight green hues and some depth, lighter on the rim. The nose is fresh with softly packed and deep aromas of white stonefruits along with lifted citrus fruit element, entwined with flinty and mineral lees-like elements. The aromatics are clean and focussed, Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate has light, tightly bound flavours of white stonefruits and citrus fruit showing good juiciness and sweetness. The fruit is layered with nutty, flinty and mineral notes lending a dry tautness. The mouthfeel is refreshing with lacy acidity and the wine follows a fine guiding, textural line leading to a crisp, mouthwatering, dry finish of stonefruits, flint and minerals. This is a crisp, clean, white stonefruited Chardonnay with a layering of flinty, minerally lees notes. Match with seafood and poultry over the next 3 years. Mendoza and clone 15 fruit, tank-fermented with a small portion barrel-fermented to 12.7% alc., with no MLF. 16.5/20 Oct 2016 RRP $20.00
• Mission ‘Vineyard Selection’ Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2015
  Syrah from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 26-Oct-2016

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Dark, deep, black-hued ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues, a little lighter on the rim. The nose is softly full with rich fruit aromas of blackberries and raspberries intermixed with white and black pepper notes, a little complexing savoury meat and game detail, unfolding violet floral, spice and herbal elements. Medium-full bodied, the palate is juicy and luscious with fruit flavours of dark raspberries and dark herbs, along with white and black pepper, game elements, revealing spices and florals. The tannin extraction is moderate, lending a fine-textured structure with some savoury, lacy acidity enlivening the mouthfeel, providing energy and briskness. The acidity carries the flavours of raspberries, herbs and pepper to a moderately long finish. This is a sweet raspberry-fruited Syrah with herb, white and black pepper and spice notes, and some gaminess, on a grainy, brisk palate. Match with Middle Eastern and Asian fare over the next 3-4 years. Fruit from the Gimblett Gravels, the Triangle and Ohiti Road, fermented to 13.9% alc., with 50% of the wine aged 13 months in French oak barriques. 17.0+/20 Oct 2016 RRP $20.00
• Mission ‘Barrique Reserve’ Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2015
  Syrah from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 26-Oct-2016

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Very full, dark, deep, black-hued ruby-red colour with purple, youthful in appearance. The nose is firm, tight and deeply concentrated with packed aromas of ripe blackberry fruit along with black pepper, and iron-earth minerals, revealing some funky reductive nuance, subtle black florals, spice and meatiness. Medium-full bodied, the palate is firm and tightly bound with concentrated flavours of ripe blackberries entwined with black pepper, spices, and iron-earth minerals. The fruit is supported by a taut and concentrated core of fine-grained tannin extraction building in grip and presence, the textures quite powdery and fine. Underlying acidity provides freshness and tension, and the wine carries to a long, elegant finish with meaty, mineral and subtle reductive detail. This is a firm and tightly concentrated, finely extracted, black-fruited Syrah with earth and mineral notes, black pepper, spices and a hint of reductive complexities. Match with slow-cooked game meat dishes and hard cheeses over the next 6+ years. MS clone fruit from Mere Road and MS, 877, 174 and 470 clone fruit from the Gimblett Road vineyard, hand-picked and fermented to 13.9% alc. with 15 days post ferment maceration, the wine aged 12 months in 15% new French oak barrels. 18.0-/20 Oct 2016 RRP $29.00
• Mission ‘Barrique Reserve’ Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
  Cabernet Sauvignon from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 26-Oct-2016

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Full, very dark, black-hued ruby-red colour. This has an elegantly proportioned nose with fresh, bright, primary aromas of blackcurrant leaf, fresh piquant herbs, subtle stalk elements, cassis and mint. This shows some cooler spectrum nuances. Medium-full bodied, the palate is tightly bound, but unfolds sweet. lush and juicy flavours of blackcurrants and cassis liqueur, entwined with blackcurrant leaf, with mint and lifted herbs. The mouthfeel is elegant with a fine core featuring fine-grained, flowery tannin extraction lending refined structure and linearity. The acidity is fresh and vibrant, lending energy and drive. The wine carries to a finely proportioned, lingering, dry finish of blackcurrants, cassis and herbs. This is a sweet-fruited, tightly bound Cabernet Sauvignon with flavours of blackcurrant leaf, cassis and herbs, on a fine-grained, structured palate. Match with herb-marinated lamb and beef dishes over the next 5-6 years. 94% Cabernet Sauvignon from three sites, and 6% Merlot from the Mere Road block, all Gimblett Gravels fruit, fermented to 14.0% alc., the Cabernet Sauvignon with a cuvaison of 5 weeks, the Merlot with 3 weeks, the wine spending over 12 months in 23% new French oak. 17.5+/20 Oct 2016 RRP $29.00