The wine for which Hans Herzog changed 500 years of winegrowing lineage in Switzerland to pursue his dream to find the perfect terroir to make an outstanding Bordeaux blend, able to stand amongst the worlds best. A handcrafted blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon with a purity of fruit that few can compete with. Power, harmony, and grace wine lovers rejoice!

Vintage 2015

While Marlborough basked under blue skies throughout summer, the fruit on the vines was developing into something magical. Week after week of warm, dry weather followed on from a cooler than average start to the season. The long warm ripening season ended in a beautiful Indian summer perfect for these Bordeaux varieties. We hand-picked perfect physiologically ripe grapes at a low yield of 700g/vine.

Hans’ Winemaking Comments

‘Perfectly healthy, destemmed grapes allowed for a long cold soak to extract the superb flavours and beneficial antioxidants of the skins. I then let the must naturally progress through a long wild yeast fermentation and extended post maceration. After gentle pressing, the young wine was transferred into partly new French Barriques where it underwent the second natural malolactic fermentation. The minimal oxygen exchange over a long 30 months of maturation in the same barrels made all the difference. The wine and wood had time to marry together to form a richer, more complex and textured wine, able to age for many years in the bottle. We like you to enjoy this stately flagship wine at its full potential, very much like a Grand Cru Pomerol with many years of bottle ageing. And so we did, under perfect condition in our barrel hall for a further 3 years but without the hefty price tag! No fining. No filtration. Natural goodness.’

TastingNotes

The 2015s sweetness and velvety tannins are present in abundance and the wine is massive in the mouth as well as incredibly pure and well-delineated. Blackberries, damson plums and black currents scents let this wine sing in full harmony! Hints of spices and cedar add to the great length. Perfect to drink now, but one which will make a great addition to a wine lovers cellar.

Tasted July 2020.

Technical Data

Varieties 33% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon Soil Shallow (<45cm) stoney, gravel and sandy soil. Well drained, developed from stoney alluvium. Planting Density 5.500 vines/ha Yield 3t/ha Vines Planted 1996 Alcohol 14.5% Residual Sugar <1g/L Ageing Potential 20+ years

Food Matching Suggestions

Perfect for meat lovers, pair with steak, lamb and strong hard cheeses, such as Gruyere.

Industry Reviews

The Real Review – 95 Points

‘A blend of merlot (33%), cabernet franc (33%) and cabernet sauvignon (33%). Dense, flavoursome wine with cassis, fruitcake, liquorice, chocolate-mocha, spicy oak and dark berry flavours. Richly-textured with a backbone of ripe tannins. A very impressive wine from a very serious producer.’ Bob Campbell