Puriri Hills Mokoroa 2016 - a refined Bordeaux-style blend from Clevedon, Auckland, crafted from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. Aged 21 months in French oak, it offers elegant layers of red berries, herbs, spice, and savoury earth tones. Smooth, balanced, and expressive - a beautifully crafted New Zealand red that reflects both place and precision.

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Mokoroa is Puriri Hills’ second label. It takes it name and label design from the vividly green moth that inhabits the Puriri tree.

Origin
Classic varieties of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, (a lost bordeaux variety) Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec are grown in a single vineyard at Clevedon overlooking the Hauraki Gulf in Southeast Auckland. They are blended to create an outstandingly complex and elegant wine.

Vintage
2016 gave us very challenging growing conditions and produced a moderate crop despite rains in January and February. The canopy and fruit are manicured by hand throughout the season. We are dry land farmers and embrace the practices of natural farming managing our vineyard with organic or biodynamic soil additions and manual canopy and understory work. We handpicked parcels at the peak of ripeness between 5 April and 5 May. Total production for the vintage was 11 tonnes from 5.5 acres of vines. Vine spacing is 1 x 2.5 metres. Vine age is 16 to 19 years.

Winemaking
In the winery, bunches were 100% destemmed and 80% crushed into oak cuves or stainless steel open-top fermenters. Ferments were cold soaked for 4-5 days to allow wild yeast development, then inoculated with oenological yeasts. Total time on skins ranged from 1-3 weeks depending on the varietal, fruit condition and the character desired. Free run wines were put to barrel and marc was lightly basket pressed. All wine was barrel-aged in French oak for ca. 21 months before final blending. The wine was sterile-filtered and bottled under screw cap on the estate. Drink now through 2021

Tasting notes and reviews
90 points "Quite an austere red with berry, fresh herb, savoury and spice flavours. Delicately juicy, with a hint of fruit sweetness that helps make the wine more accessible now. Offers value at this price" Bob Campbell ONZM MW
3.5 Stars “Deep ruby, it is a medium-bodied red with vibrant, berryish, plummy flavours, slightly earthy and savoury notes adding complexity, and a smooth, very harmonious finish.” Michael Cooper