Wine vintage charts never tell the full story, but those on my New Zealand wine buyer’s guide website award 7/7 ratings for the 2019 and 2020 red wine vintages in Hawke’s Bay and Auckland. Five means above average, six excellent and seven is outstanding.
Vintage reports from wineries and industry bodies must always be treated with caution; after all, they are keen to sell the wine. But after a notably warm, dry summer and autumn, Auckland’s winegrowers described the 2019 vintage as exceptional. In Hawke’s Bay, they got even more excited, praising 2019 as “sublime”.
In 2020, droughts in most of the North Island created conditions reported by industry body NZ Winegrowers as “tailor-made for producing great wine”. Premium red wine producers, such as Puriri Hills in South Auckland and Paritua in Hawke’s Bay, are now releasing some of their top reds from these celebrated vintages.
Paritua Hawke’s Bay Red 2019
★★★★★
Sturdy and deeply coloured, this generous red is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. It has delicious blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, impressive ripeness and complexity, and a finely textured, resounding finish. Already approachable, it’s well worth cellaring to 2026 onwards. (14% alc/vol) $45
Puriri Hills Clevedon Pope 2020
★★★★★
This arresting red is a blend of merlot (57%), with smaller portions of cabernet franc, carménère and cabernet sauvignon, aged for nearly two years in French oak casks (mostly new). It has bold, purple-flushed colour. Powerful and lush, it has notably concentrated flavours, the density and structure to mature well for decades, and a real wow factor. Best drinking 2027-plus. (Due for release November 2023.) (14% alc/vol) $240
Puriri Hills Clevedon Estate 2019
★★★★★
Estate-grown and aged in French oak casks, this classy, complex red is merlot-based. Full-coloured, it is a fragrant, mouthfilling wine with concentrated, well-ripened red-berry, plum and spice flavours, a subtle seasoning of oak, refined tannins and a silky-textured, lingering finish. Best drinking 2025-plus. (12.8% alc/vol) $60
Mokoroa 2019
★★★★½
From Puriri Hills, this merlot-based red is crafted for relatively early consumption and is highly enjoyable. Full-coloured, mouthfilling, savoury and supple, it has ripe fruit flavours, earthy and nutty notes adding complexity, gentle tannins and a very harmonious finish. Drink now or cellar. (13.5% alc/vol) $40
Wine of the week
Paritua Stone Paddock Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2020
★★★★½
Offering top value, this attractive, youthful red was estate-grown in the Bridge Pā Triangle and barrel-aged for a year. Full-coloured and fragrant, it is mouthfilling and smooth, with concentrated, ripe berry, plum and spice flavours, showing considerable complexity, and excellent richness and harmony. Best drinking 2025-plus. (14% alc/vol) $24
