The Herzogs, whose wines are estate-grown and certified organic, are celebrating their 30th anniversary in Marlborough. Photo / Getty Images
The Herzogs, whose wines are estate-grown and certified organic, are celebrating their 30th anniversary in Marlborough. Photo / Getty Images
Hans and Therese Herzog once owned a top pinot noir vineyard in Switzerland. Looking for a new challenge, recalls Hans, “we looked at California, but land prices were too high. Australia is too hot, so we came to Marlborough.”
That was in 1994. Since then, their riverside vineyard at Rapaura,in the Wairau Valley, has been planted in many grape varieties. A warm site with gravelly and sandy soils, it is ideal for coaxing late-ripening grapes, like cabernet sauvignon, to optimal ripeness, provided the vines’ crops are kept extremely low, which demands a hands-on approach.
The Herzogs, whose wines are estate-grown and certified organic, are currently celebrating their 30th anniversary in Marlborough.
Hans Herzog Marlborough Chardonnay 2020
★★★★★
Already delicious but still developing, this light gold wine was fermented and matured for 18 months in French oak puncheons. Mouthfilling, it has generous, well-ripened stonefruit flavours, complex and savoury, finely balanced acidity and a long finish. Best drinking 2026+. (13.5% alc/vol) $44
This pale gold wine is weighty and savoury, with concentrated peachy, slightly spicy flavours, gently enriched by biscuity oak, and a long, dry, well-rounded finish. Fermented and aged for 18 months in French oak puncheons, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition. (14% alc/vol) $65
Hans Herzog Spirit of Marlborough Merlot/Cabernet 2017
★★★★½
This label has long ranked among the finest claret-style reds grown in the South Island. Barrel-matured for 30 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it has a full, moderately youthful colour and a fragrant, savoury, complex bouquet. Mouthfilling and refined, with strong, vigorous, berryish, spicy, nutty flavours and finely balanced tannins, it is currently very open and expressive. (14.5% alc/vol) $72
Hans Herzog Marlborough Montepulciano 2019
★★★★★
This highly refined, dark, still purple-flushed red was aged for two and a half years in French oak barriques (30% new), and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Sturdy and full of youthful vigour, it has rich, vibrant plum, red berry and spice flavours, oak complexity, and good tannin backbone. Likely to be long-lived, it’s well worth cellaring to 2027+. (14% alc/vol) $79
Currently highly expressive, this distinctive wine is a Rhone Valley-style blend of marsanne (60%), viognier (30%) and roussanne (10%). Fermented and aged for 18 months in a single French oak puncheon, it was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Bright, light gold, it is weighty, sweet-fruited and dry, with notably concentrated stonefruit and spice flavours, complex, vigorous and lush. (14% alc/vol) $64
