VINTAGE AND CELLARING GUIDE

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Nora Walker
6 years ago
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VINTAGE AND CELLARING GUIDE R.I.P. DRINK NOW DRINK SOON DRINK OR HOLD HOLD NOT YET RELEASED Wine is past its best drinking (although if well stored, it may surprise).

1 VINTAGE AND CELLARING GUIDE R.I.P. DRINK NOW DRINK SOON DRINK OR HOLD HOLD NOT YET RELEASED Wine is past its best drinking (although if well stored, it may surprise). Fully mature and nothing to be gained by aging for longer. Likely to reduce in quality if cellared further. Probably at or near peak drinking, but no hurry within the next year. Will provide satisfying drinking now, but should also continue to age positively. Wine will benefit greatly from further bottle age. Not yet released. Please note recommendations are for wines stored in optimum cellaring conditions. This includes absence of light, vibration, constant temperature between degrees Celsius and bottles stored with wine in contact with the cork (not applicable to screw cap). Exposure to light, vibraiton, warm temperature, temperature fluctuations or allowing the cork to dry out will accelerate the aging process. Enjoy Church Road Wines Responsibly

2 GENERAL CELLARING NOTES BY VARIETY A more sensitive approach to winemaking is now yielding Chardonnay that ages more gracefully with medium term cellaring, with an attractive mealy or nuttiness developing over time. Church Road Chardonnay should age well for up to four years. It is also very approachable upon release with fresh fruit aromas, subtle oak toast and a gentle, full palate. Church Road McDonald Series Chardonnay, Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay and Church Road TOM Chardonnay are hand harvested and whole bunch pressed. They need at least two years from vintage date to really start expressing themselves and should age gracefully for a total of six to ten years. PINOT GRIS Fantastic while fresh and aromatic, though cellaring for two to three years from vintage date can provide some honey and spice notes and develop an almost oily texture. SAUVIGNON BLANC Church Road Sauvignon Blanc is made in a style that expresses the fresh vibrancy of the variety from a cooler vineyard. It is best drunk young when the flavours are at their purest. Church Road McDonald Series Sauvignon Blanc is enjoyable as a young wine and should age well over the medium term. Church Road Grand Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is grown in a warmer vineyard, hand harvested, whole bunch pressed and barrel fermented. This style of Sauvignon Blanc can age gracefully for several years with some appealing mineral / nutty / waxy characters developing while the palate becomes rounder and more textural. These wines can mature positively for up to seven years. VIOGNIER The appeal of this variety is the apricot, musk and spice aromas, and the wines are best enjoyed young while these aromatics are at their freshest. The aromatics appear to withstand short-term aging, and drinking three years out from vintage date is no problem. MERLOT, CABERNET SAUVIGNON AND BLENDS Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and blends of the three can age very well and are suitable for mid to long term cellaring (four to 15+ years). Red blends develop lovely earth and leather complexity with age, and often become more aromatic with the development of more cedar, sandalwood and dried lavender or dried rose-like characters. However they should still have a core of dark fruit. On the palate, the more highly structured wines become softer and apparently fuller. The Church Road Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon is built for earlier release and is very drinkable as a young wine. Drink early for lots of rich primary berry fruit characters, or age to develop some earthy and savoury notes. The Church Road McDonald Series and Church Road Grand Reserve ranges are more strongly structured and will benefit greatly from four or five years age from vintage date. Church Road TOM can be very brooding early on and the wines really don t start coming into their own until eight to ten years from vintage date. Medium to full-bodied with lovely supple tannin, Syrah is quite approachable young, but also ages well for five to ten years or more. It retains a core of dark fruit and pepper, spice and floral notes which become overlaid with earthy, leathery complexity which can be very appealing. The decision here is really whether you prefer the wines to be fruit driven and aromatic (drink younger), or a little more complex and savoury. PINOT NOIR Lighter bodied than Syrah, but similarly Pinot Noir has an approachable structure in youth, so ageing to soften the wine is not really needed. However complex savoury, forest floor and leather notes develop which can add interest and complexity. Again it is a choice between this and the fresher, more fruit-driven flavours and aromas of the younger wines. Expect aging potential of between five and ten years. MARZEMINO Marzemino is a medium-bodied red with a supple tannin structure that makes the wine approachable in youth. However they can age very slowly. As young wines they can appear a little closed aromatically, though decanting an hour or so prior to serving will help to express the brambly fruit and floral notes. With three to five years cellaring they start to open up and become more aromatic. With further age some appealing savoury and earthy notes become apparent. SAUVIGNON GRIS Earlier vintages of Church Road McDonald Series Sauvignon Gris were made in a fruit-driven expressive style best enjoyed when young. From 2013 we have started hand harvesting and whole bunch pressing which provides more elegant and complex wines with good potential for aging. We still have limited experience of this variety but expect the wines from 2013 onward to age similarly as the Grand Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. VERDELHO Another new variety to our region, it is hand picked and gently whole bunch pressed providing a very gentle, elegant palate texture that will age gracefully. Certainly after two years the inaugural release has opened up and has built in weight and texture and has aged positively. Expect the wine to age well over the medium term (five years) at least and keep an eye on the cellaring guide updated annually.

3 SAUVIGNON BLANC PINOT GRIS MERLOT CABERNET OR CABERNET MERLOT PINOT NOIR ROSÉ M C DONALD SERIES M C DONALD SERIES SAUVIGNON BLANC M C DONALD SERIES PINOT GRIS M C DONALD SERIES SAUVIGNON GRIS M C DONALD SERIES VERDELHO M C DONALD SERIES CABERNET SAUVIGNON M C DONALD SERIES MERLOT M C DONALD SERIES M C DONALD SERIES MARZEMINO

4 CUVE CUVE PINOT GRIS CUVE SAUVIGNON BLANC CUVE SAUVIGNON GRIS CUVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON CUVE VIOGNIER CUVE MERLOT CUVE MARZEMINO CUVE MALBEC SAUVIGNON BLANC VIOGNIER MERLOT CABERNET OR CABERNET MERLOT NOBLE SEMILLON OR VIOGNIER

5 TOM MERLOT CABERNET OR CABERNET MERLOT TOM TOM

Blessed with some of the best grape-growing land in New Zealand s Northland region, The Landing vineyard produces award-winning, sustainable wines.

Blessed with some of the best grape-growing land in New Zealand s Northland region, The Landing vineyard produces award-winning, sustainable wines. THE LANDING CHARDONNAY 2015 Grown on the coastal slopes overlooking the Bay of Islands, the 2015 Chardonnay is an expression of citrus, stonefruit and fine oak flavours, with a long and delicious finish.