New Zealand assortment

Co-fermented with around 4% Viognier.
Wonderfully evocative nose – meat, spice, milk chocolate, mint. Reams of multi dimensional flavour – broad, long and round. A fabulous, faithful and hugely satisfactory Syrah. (RH)

TA 4.7 g/l. Pale red. Nervy and refined – quite a thoroughbred. At the moment just a hint of oak influence but this would make a great bottle eventually.

Complex and interesting nose with lots of hidden depths. One of the most youthful Pinots at this Liberty tasting. Not nearly ready. But convincing.

Up to 30% stems. Co-fermented with 2% Viognier.
Succulent and peppery – beautifully accurate, yet not a mere ‘technical’ wine – loads of vivacious refreshment on the palate, great length, a touch of oak. Very pliant tannins (this soft texture is perhaps the main distinction from Northern Rhône Syrah), loads of length. (RH)

From a single vineyard. Crushed and destemmed. 4 days' cold soak, indigenous ferment, hand plunged twice daily and one pump-over at height of ferment. Pressed to French oak (20% new), malo and 12 months' maturation. pH 3.6, TA 6 g/l, RS 2.2 g/l.
Relatively pale, translucent cherry red. Very fine red-fruit aroma with an attractive hint of earthiness to balance the fruit sweetness. Light spice note. Super-intense fruit on the palate but still without excess sweetness. Tastes much younger than 5 years old. Tannins seem to add depth and are fully resolved but still combine with fresh acidity to give shape to the wine.(JH)

Includes approximately 10% Touriga Nacional, and a small amount of Viognier.
Lovely chocolate and dried spice character – distinctive and very varietally honest. Not really comparable to Rioja – but totally valid in its own right. (RH)

TA 4.7 g/l. Slightly occluded but very interesting nose. Lovely green top note. Very complete. Thoroughly satiny texture and very layered and absolutely gorgeous already. Maybe not super serious for a very long future but…

Very fresh and fruity nose. Very direct with the oak in retreat. Neat and bone-dry finish. Perfumed. Great not to have a trace of sweetness.

Mushy red fruit, overripe and generous. Classic New World fruit character, but with a soy and dried herb character on the finish that is really attractive. Serious, savoury and structural with a persistently perfumed finish. Very good, and at less than RRP £15, GV. (RH)

TA 5.6 g/l. Bright crimson. Lots of black pepper on the nose. Fresh acidity and very refined. This wine strokes the palate and finishes very dry. Lovely food wine?

Just over 4k bottles produced. 18 months in French barriques, of which 25% new.
Pale ruby. Earthy nose. Sweet and gentle on the palate. With just a little fine tannin on the finish. A tad sweeter than most burgundy but hugely attractive.Serve cool! Transparent and fresh.

Co-fermented with 3% Viognier.
Rather sweet oak, in a more apparent way than the younger vintages. Dry and quite firm palate – a solid and substantial, broad shouldered Syrah. Powerful and potent. (RH)

Nicely developing damp earth and sweet cherry fruit on the nose. Soft, drying tannins on the palate and plenty of vanilla oak. Creamy and luxurious but with fairly conservative complexity. (RH)

Co-fermented with 0.5% Viognier.
Immediate and complex on the nose – ripe black cherry fruit, very sweet, then there’s earth and mushroom and a certain meatiness. Much funkier than the 2011, 12 and 13 – is that just vintage variation and bottle maturity, or is there something else at play here? Regardless, it’s a charming, classic and characterful wine. (RH)

Lovely black pepper and redcurrant character with a toasty finish. Super-classic Syrah with loads of typical Hawke’s Bay freshness. (RH)

Co-fermented with 6% Viognier.
Quite closed. Rounded but fibrous tannins. This may be a little shut down. It has lovely sheen and balance, but the flavour seems suppressed. (RH)

Pure raspberry fruit, a bit of milk chocolate. Pretty high acid and a light brush of tannin. Structural and heavyweight, in the typical Central Otago way. (RH)

Co-fermented with 1% Viognier.
Subtle yet well defined – the pepper, black fruit and singed meat character is all there, but in a really understated way. Doesn’t seem to have the gutsiness to merit much more maturation – ready to enjoy now. (RH)

TA 4.6 g/l. Bright mid red. A bit nervier than the Liaison with some cough-sweet notes. Some tannins and a little bit of heat. Maybe just a tad too sweet and alcoholic for perfection.

TA 4.6 g/l. Bright red. Tense and nervy on the nose. Lots of sweetness on the front palate. Grainy tannins. A bit burly with some dried grass. Sweet finish.

Yes indeed, a good healthy crimson colour. Very fine, echt sort of nose. Masses of fruit on the front palate with a hint of herbs and just enough sweetness but fine tannins. This is a lovely drink even if it is not a very serious cellar candidate.

39% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec.
Quite leafy on the nose – this was a cool vintage, and it shows. There is more than a hint of Chinon here. Quite foursquare tannins and reasonably light finish. Nevertheless, there is ripe fruit, and it has the right structure to drink now, with food. (RH)

Less pronounced and expressive than the 2013 on the nose. Peppery, but more restrained and savoury, with even a little sour touch on the palate. A somewhat more austere version of Gimblett Gravels than the norm. (RH)

Jammier fruit than the basic Syrah, in a way that slightly obscures the origin. Peppery finish with a leafy tinge. A bit clumsy. (RH)

Three months oak ageing. Dark fruit, some violet and leather character with juicy acidity and very soft tannins. Quite dense and savoury – not a ‘pretty’ Pinot, but a serious one. (RH)

Co-fermented with 8% Viognier.
Shy nose. Rather dry and a little bit mean on the palate. Savoury and balanced, just lacking the varietal showiness of the 2010 or 2013, for example. (RH)

From a vineyard at the western point of the Red Metals in Hawke's Bay. Destemmed and transferred to small fermenters, some juice bled off to concentrate fruit and tannin before beginning ferment. It was hand plunged several times a day then pressed to French oak (40% new) for 14 months. pH 3.4, TA 6 g/l, RS 2.5 g/l.
Mid to deep ruby, very little sign of ageing at the rim. Unusual nose combining very sweet fruit – almost like boiled sweets/hard candy – with some tomato leaf. I am slightly put off by the very sweet notes on the nose. Better on the palate – fresh, fine tannins but there's still that extreme sweetness on the back palate. Tannins help provide a nice dry finish but I can't really make this wine out. (JH)

Confected black fruit and subtle oak spice. Verging on overripe, though there is some piquant spice on the finish. Juicy plum fruit throughout. (RH)

Herbal, lifted nose with lots of sweetness and a gentle texture. Seems quite evolved and very true to its provenance.

Pale, crunchy cranberry and redcurrant fruit. Sappy character lending a slight bitter flash to the finish. Classic Kiwi Pinot. (RH)

Floral scents, relatively light and fresh. Marked acidity and something to chew on but a tad oaky.

Pale ruby. Cherry and parma violets on the nose, slightly dusty. Juicy cherry fruit on the palate, but quite a dry slightly chewy finish. A streak of green. Quite short, but very serviceable. 

Pale crimson. Sweet and beetrooty nose. Racy and gamey. Austere finish – a bit metallic. Not the finest NZ Pinot. Correct but a bit green on the end.

A little obvious and jagged. Difficult to see much Syrah purity. Heavy hand with the oak.

Black bramble fruit, with a rather overt clove oak flavour resting on top, slightly precariously. Dry, savoury finish. (RH)

Closed fruit, pretty nondescript on the palate. Quite firm tannins, but lacking fruit generosity. (RH)

Like the Pinot, pretty light translucent ruby. Slightly odd ripe-banana-skin aroma. Cedary. Very resiny on the palate, a bit of blackcurrant. Light and dry. Without the charm of the Pinot, perhaps serviceable is a more apt description here. (TC)