Bright crimson and very bright fruit that is very beautiful and beautifully balanced. 17.5/ 20

Dense wine with hints of berry, plum, spice/anise/floral and oak. Powerful red that's hard to read at this stage but showing impressive potential. A backbone of fine, dusty tannins restrain fruit flavours and lead to a drying finish.

Bright and crystal clear; nuances of spice and toasted cedary oak float around the blackcurrant/cassis fruit of the bouquet and palate, the latter an elegant and perfectly tensioned exercise in freshness and ripeness.

The Craggy Range Sophia 2010 is Craggy’s tenth and latest prestige Bordeaux blend. It represents an intriguing new chapter for the style in Hawke’s Bay and deserves every accolade it has been receiving. It has the lifted, light touch of a cooler vintage, while the beautifully ripe, fragrant fruit and fine tannins point to a vineyard/winery team full of experience and confidence. This is a beautifully layered wine; the merlot has the early running, but the cabernet becomes more vociferous the longer it’s in the glass. Floral, cassis, coffee notes all chime in. Cellar it now and bring it out for a special occasion dinner in several years’ time.

Bright and crystal clear; nuances of spice and toasted cedary oak float around the blackcurrant/cassis fruit of the bouquet and palate, the latter an elegant and perfectly tensioned exercise in freshness and ripeness.

The Craggy Range Sophia 2010 is Craggy’s tenth and latest prestige Bordeaux blend. It represents an intriguing new chapter for the style in Hawke’s Bay and deserves every accolade it has been receiving. It has the lifted, light touch of a cooler vintage, while the beautifully ripe, fragrant fruit and fine tannins point to a vineyard/winery team full of experience and confidence. This is a beautifully layered wine; the merlot has the early running, but the cabernet becomes more vociferous the longer it’s in the glass. Floral, cassis, coffee notes all chime in. Cellar it now and bring it out for a special occasion dinner in several years’ time.

A blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot, this is a softly textured, elegant wine with hints of cedar, sandalwood, mulberry, espresso beans and herbs. Sheer bliss with beef.

A cooler vintage has meant there is a real freshness to the 2010 Sophia. Subtle yet powerful cabernet sauvignon gives a wonderful cassis lift and contributes a lovely line in tannin. It is a wine that will easily cellar for more than 10 years.

Very dark, near impenetrable black-red with purple hues. This has an elegantly refined bouquet of ripe black plums and dark red currants expressed with freshness and purity, with dark herb and hints of spicy oak emerging in glass. Medium-full-bodied, intense black and redcurrant flavours along with black plums are interwoven with dark herbs and Asian spices. The fruit is supported by very fine-grained tannins and crisp acidity providing cut and linear drive through the palate. This has refined textures, poise and excellent tension to the mouthfeel. The elegant structure of the palate is carried through to a very long and sustained finish with blackcurrant, plum and cedar notes. This is a concentrated, fine-grained Merlot-based wine, showing cool-climate elegance and finesse.

Complex aromas of blueberries, sweet tobacco, and spice. Full body, with fine and polished tannins. It builds in structure and intensity on the finish. Very right bank Bordeaux in style.