Radburnd Cellars

One of the world’s most renowned winemakers, Kate Radburnd spent 26 years at CJ Pask in Hawke’s Bay quietly establishing her reputation. Awards were plentiful, with her 1998 Pask Reserve Merlot awarded the Bordeaux Trophy at the International Wine Challenge in 2000. A long term champion of sustainability, Pask was awarded the Trophy for sustainability at the International Wine Challenge in 2014. Kate has now set up her own winery, Radburnd Cellars, where she is now doing it for herself. Established in 2017 with the single purpose of making her very best wine from each vintage without compromise, ,using the best fruit, equipment and resources. 2018 is her first vintage release. The wines are handmade and produced in very small quantities. The very best of New Zealand. “There’s nothing like the first day of harvest. I just love seeing the fruit on the vine and I know for the next 6-8 weeks this is what we’re focusing on, and I just can’t wait to get into it.”

Aged for 18 months in new and seasoned French oak, this is a fragrant and elegant Syrah exhibiting a beautiful purity of fruit, with a silky texture and layers of complex dark fruits. The high fruit concentration is wrapped around a backbone of finely tuned tannins.

Try with duck breast with lavender beetroot and sweet potato!

The hand harvested Syrah was chilled overnight before processing the following day. Chilled bunches were hand sorted, then de-stemmed and the whole berries were transferred to open fermenters with some foot stomping. Some whole bunches were incorporated in the ferment. The berries were cold soaked before fermentation, with pumping over twice per day and pressed to barriques at the end of fermentation. The Syrah matured for 18 months in new and seasoned French oak barriques. Blended in November 2019 and bottled December 2019

Decanter, August 2023, NZ reds beyond Pinot Noir Panel Tasting, 95 points, Outstanding: A legend of New Zealand wine, with 40 years of consulting, educating and winemaking for others, Kate Radburnd founded her winery in 2017. Focusing on ‘the best, not the most’, she makes three small-batch wines each year. This inaugural vintage of Syrah is sourced from Bridge Pa Triangle and Dartmoor Valley, with some whole bunches used in the ferment, before ageing for 18 months in new and seasoned barriques. CM: “Brooding blackberry and black cherry. Very intense on the palate, with ripe fig and plum, and hints of smoke, pepper and tapenade. A really complex wine with a long finish.” FB: “A generous nose, albeit fine and not overly concentrated. Milk chocolate and bramble fruit flavours come together nicely. Has a lot to offer.” RJ: “Juicy and fruit-forward nose with light red fruit at the fore. The palate oozes with charm – everything from plums and dark berries to juicy ripe figs dipped in milk chocolate. Watch this one as it evolves.”