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 21 months new and seasoned French oak, this is a powerful, yet restrained and elegant wine, with wonderfully lifted aromas of wild berry fruits. The palate reveals layers of complexity. Intense dark fruits with cassis and plum fruits combining deliciously and the finish is long and impressive.

Especially good with lamb, veal or beef, either cooked or grilled. Also offers a great match to many strong cheeses.

Batches of hand harvested fruit was chilled overnight before processing the following day. Chilled bunches were hand sorted and de-stemmed, and whole berries were transferred to open fermenters with some foot stomping. Whole bunches were also incorporated in some of the Merlot fermenters. The berries were cold soaked before fermentation, with pumping over twice per day then pressed to barriques at the end of fermentation. The Merlot and Cabernet matured for 21 months in new and seasoned French oak barriques. Blended in December 2019 and bottled in January 2020, the final blend is approximately 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Delicately aromatic and seamless red with floral, violet, blackcurrant bud, fresh herbs, raspberry, and spicy flavours. A backbone of fine, drying tannins suggests cellaring potential. 2020–2030 Bob Campbell MW 94/100 ★★★★ “Released October 2020. 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kate Radburnd has 35 vintages under her belt and until now has made wine for other people, mainly at Pask. Here she launches her own label. These grapes were hand-picked from free-draining sites. Aged for 21 months in a mix of French barriques. TA 5.8 g/l. Appetising, gently textured wine that's far from a blockbuster but has good integrity. Lifted, leafy nose and some sweetness on palate entry but nothing heavy or exaggerated. I'm tasting this, as instructed, at room temperature but I think it could take a little cooling too. Light to medium body. Quite sophisticated. When to drink 2020 – 2026” JancisRobinson.com – 16points, Sep 2020