Stonecroft Wines 2012 Buyer's Buide
Michael Cooper
Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2012
Stonecroft Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay ****1/2
The 2010 vintage was grown in the company’s Mere Road and Roy’s Hill vineyards, hand-picked and matured for nine months in seasoned French oak casks. A wine with a strong presence, it is full-bodied, with ripe stone-fruit flavours, hints of toast and butterscotch, and excellent texture and depth. Weighty, concentrated and complex, with a long, dry finish, it’s a good buy.
Stonecroft Old Vine Chardonnay *****
The very refined, harmonious 2009 (5*) was estate-grown in the Gimblett Gravels and fermented and matured for a year in French oak casks (partly new). It is weighty, concentrated and rounded, in a rich, complex style with sweet-fruit delights, generous, peachy, mealy flavours, a hint of butterscotch, and a long, seamless finish. The 2010 vintage (5*) is also a classic regional style – powerful, fleshy, rich and rounded, with gentle acidity and concentrated, peachy flavours, slightly spicy, buttery and toasty.
Stonecroft Hawke’s Bay Gewürztraminer ****
The 2010 vintage (4.5*) was partly barrel-fermented (unusual for this wine). Full-bodied, well-spiced and rich, it shows excellent weight and concentration, with deep, ripe, peachy, slightly gingery flavours, an oily texture and impressive complexity.
Stonecroft Old Vine Gewürztraminer *****
The Gewürztraminers from this tiny Hawke’s Bay winery are striking and among the finest in the country. This ‘Old Vine’ wine, introduced from the 2004 vintage, is made entirely from grapes hand-picked from the original Mere Road plantings in 1983. The 2009 (5*), handled entirely in tanks, makes a powerful statement. An authoritative wine with a voluminous, spicy, gingery, slightly honeyed fragrance, it is weighty and complex, with superbly rich, peachy and spicy flavours, fresh and lasting. The 2010 vintage (4.5*) is viewed as a slightly ‘lighter’ style, so priced lower than the usual $45. Still very youthful, it is full-bodied and gently sweet (10 grams/litre of residual sugar), with concentrated, ripe stone-fruit and spice flavours, finely balanced, rounded and rich.
Stonecroft Late Harvest Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer ****
Estate-grown in Hawke’s Bay and handled entirely in tanks, the 2011 vintage (4*) is full-bodied, with a spicy, perfumed bouquet. Concentrated, citrusy, gingery and well-spiced, with a hint of oranges, it’s a sweet (100 grams/litre of residual sugar), intensely varietal wine with excellent ripeness and richness.
Stonecroft Sauvignon Blanc ***
This Hawke’s Bay winery sources grapes from Te Mata Estate’s Woodthorpe vineyard, in the Dartmoor Valley. The 2010 vintage (3*) is an easy-drinking wine, with tropical-fruit flavours, ripe and rounded.
Stonecroft Hawke’s Bay Rosé ***1/2
The debut 2010 vintage (3.5*) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Bright pink, it’s a good food wine, fully dry, with ripe red-berry and spice flavours, a hint of peaches, and good freshness and vivacity.
Stonecroft Ruhanui ****
Grown in the Gimblett Gravels, the 2008 vintage (4*) is a blend of Merlot (74 per cent) and Cabernet Sauvignon (26 per cent), matured for over 18 months in French oak casks. Full but not dense in colour, with a fragrant, spicy bouquet, it has plummy, spicy flavours, showing good complexity. A savoury, firmly structured red, it should be at its best 2012+.
Stonecroft Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon ****
The 2009 vintage (4*) of this Hawke’s Bay red includes a minor portion of Merlot (12.5 per cent) and was matured for 18 months in seasoned French oak casks. Deeply coloured, with a spicy bouquet, it is mouthfilling and supple, with generous, youthful blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, ripe and savoury, and gentle tannins.
Stonecroft Gimblett Gravels Serine Syrah ****
Estate-grown and barrel-aged for 18 months, the 2009 vintage (4*) of this Hawke’s Bay red is unusually savoury. It’s not boldly fruity but finely textured, with a floral bouquet and spicy, nutty flavours. Still youthful, with underlying tannins, it’s enjoyable young, but well worth cellaring.
Stonecroft Gimblett Gravels Reserve Syrah *****
The 2009 vintage (5*) was estate-grown in Mere Road and at Roy’s Hill and matured for 18 months in French oak casks (30 per cent new). Deeply coloured, it is finely fragrant, with plum, pepper and floral notes. A very graceful and supple wine, it is lithe, finely poised and youthful, with pure plum, black-pepper and liquorice flavours that build to a tight-knit, lasting finish. Best drinking 2013+.
Stonecroft Gimblett Gravels The Original Syrah *****
The rare – only 210 bottles were produced – 2009 vintage (5*) was made from the two surviving rows of original Syrah vines planted at Stonecroft in 1984. A lovely, generous wine, it is deeply coloured and highly fragrant, with concentrated, plummy, spicy flavours, very vibrant, supple and sustained. One for the cellar.
Stonecroft Zinfandel ***1/2
The 2008 vintage (***1/2) was estate-grown in the Gimblett Gravels of Hawke’s Bay and matured for over 18 months in American oak casks. Ruby hued, it’s a fresh, lively, medium bodied red with spicy, slightly peppery aromas and flavours and a firm finish, but lacks real richness.