Our wines are made only from grapes grown on Te Motu vineyard.
We are planted predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon (approximately 60%) but also grow Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Melbec and Syrah which we blend into our two wines Te Motu and Dunleavy.
Te Motu our flagship is selected after a tasting from each barrel two winters after vintage and then aged for a further year in barrel. Total barrell aging is approximately 30 months before bottling. Te Motu is bottle aged for 3 years before release.
The Dunleavy blend contains all of the grapes grown on Te Motu vineyard that are not in the Te Motu blend. Dunleavy is barrel aged for about 22 months before bottling. The wine is rested in bottle for two years before release.
Our fruit production has averaged about 0.9 of a ton per acre and our wine production about 8,000 litres per vintage of which we lose about 20% in angel's share during time in barrel.
Wine |
Tasting Notes |
The Vineyard Seasonal Characteristics |
Te Motu
2006 |
Beautifully fragrant bouquet, dark and unctuous fruit dominant with richly integrated flavours of red and black currants, plum and hints of blackberry. |
A season like we hope for. Excellent flowering followed by a good growing season and a generous crop of clean ripe fruit benefiting very much from the older age of our vines not being stressed by the previously dry summer as with some of the younger vineyards on Waiheke. |
Te Motu
2005 |
Beautifully fragrant bouquet, delightful merlot violets, red and black currants with plum and a suggestion of pipe tobacco. Firm palate, long-lingering flavours of crisp cabernet cassis and plum fruit with cedary tones. |
Small Crop of Exceptional Fruit . Wet conditions at flowering produced a light fruit-set but also the soil moisture for good vigour throughout an otherwise excellent growing season which produced exceptionally ripe and clean fruit in all varieties. |
| Te Motu 2004 |
Fresh flavours of black currant, red currant and plum are evident in the intense bouquet and abound on a lighter than usual palate but like a lean ballerina has surprising power. |
Cool Climate Concentration. Early and excellent flowering and fruitset was followed by cool conditions over a long ripening season producing unusually powerful flavour development for an elgantly lean body. |
Te Motu 2002 |
Fragrant, juicy, dark and warm - Intense vigor and power with spicy sweet fruit, still showing the smokey oak wrappings that will dissipate as the wine develops. |
Abundant Crop. Huge fruiting cane vigour carried through from previous wet season combined with favourable conditions at flowering and fruitset for an abundant crop. Extremely favourable conditions from version to harvest produced remarkably clean fruit with flavours and sugars achieving optimal ripeness. |
Te Motu 2000 |
Opulent mouthfeel and flavours of rich plum and spice that remain vibrant through the long supple finish. Near perfect balance. |
Long Dry Summer. 2000 was one of our best growing season yet. An early bud burst and some late spring rain produced excellent vine and berry condition going into verasion after which optimum conditions of high sunshine, low rainfall and moderate temperatures through to an April harvest yielded clean ripe fruit with good sugars and excellent ph acid balance. |
Te Motu 1999 |
Flavours of current, plum and delicate spice that remain vibrant through the lengthy finish. Some savoury game characters make this vintage a formidable food wine.
|
Cool Climate Concentration. Early and excellent flowering and fruitset was followed by cool conditions reducing berry size and lengthening the ripening season to a late warm harvest. With flavour ripeness developed somewhat later than optimum sugars resulting in a late harvest of highly concentrated fruit with relatively low alcohol. |
Dunleavy 2006 |
Bouquet of cassisy berry and firm palete of rainsiny dark plum with prune tones clearly showing its cabernet dominance. |
Untypically Average . Unusually, spring and high summer were what we hope for but don't usually get, producing good flowering, and good early season and mid season berry development. Although cool late summer completed the cycle with clean ripe fruit. |
Dunleavy 2005 |
Beautifully fragrant bouquet with generous rich ripe fruit and great balance combining in a lighter palate to make a very attractive wine. |
Small Crop of Exceptional Fruit . Wet conditions at flowering produced a light fruit-set but also the soil moisture for good vigour throughout an otherwise excellent growing season which produced exceptionally ripe and clean fruit in all varieties. |
