Released: 24 May 2011

Mills Reef Elspeth ‘Trust Vineyard’ Syrah 2009 continues the award-winning success story of this relatively young vineyard in the famed Gimblett Gravels of Hawkes Bay, winning a highly prized Gold medal at the 2011 London International Wine Challenge.

Judges commented on the wine as “Cool pepper and mint on the palate, intense with red fruits, spice, acidity and persistence “.

Winemaker for the Trust Vineyard wines, Paddy Preston, said “a Gold medal at this show is particularly special as it’s high praise of the wine’s quality on a truly international level. It’s also extremely satisfying reward for the meticulous efforts we put into the vineyard and winemaking of these wines”. He also added that “it reinforces our belief in the potential for Gimblett Gravels Syrah to become a global benchmark for this variety”.

Trust Vineyard is a special four hectare block, planted in the perfectly suited varieties of Syrah (82%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (18%) over the winters of 2003 and 2004. Its stony free-draining soils, warm mesoclimate and a vineyard design that embraces the French philosophy of intensive planting (6300 vines per hectare) for low vine yields, ensures grapes of exceptionally high quality.

The first vintage of 2007 has gone on to receive significant critical acclaim for both wines produced, amassing six 5-star awards, three gold medals and a coveted Trophy for the Cabernet Sauvignon.

The recently released 2009 vintage wines are equally showing great promise early on, from a first class vintage and receiving 5-star reviews for both the Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, topped off by a prized Gold medal at the London International Wine Challenge.

Click to  View Tasting Notes of the Gold medal winning Elspeth Trust Vineyard Syrah 2009.

Limited stocks are available, but won’t last. Click here to purchase online or email info@millsreef.co.nz for inquiries.  

Released: 30 August 2010

Mills Reef's Elspeth Trust Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 won the coveted Champion Cabernet Sauvignon Trophy at the Romeo Bragato Wine Awards Dinner held last Saturday evening in Blenheim.

Mills Reef General Manager, Nick Aleksich, acknowledged in his acceptance speech the diligent work of vineyard manager Paul Mcevoy in producing tremendous fruit for winemakers Paddy Preston and Paul Dawick to craft this great wine.

In addition, at this year's Romeo Bragato Awards, Trust Vineyard also yielded a Gold medal for its 2007 Syrah under the Mills Reef Elspeth label.

Trust Vineyard owner, Paddy Preston, said he was ‘over the moon' with the Trophy and gold medal accolades for the Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah respectively. The vineyard's terroir was identified as being eminently suited to these two varieties, and planted accordingly during the early 2000's with the aim of producing ultra-premium wines.

Paddy commented that the 2007 vintage is only the second from the vineyard, and is already achieving to the highest levels, this latest Trophy following hot on the heels of two recent five-star awards and a gold medal for the wine. He said "the vineyard's future is extremely exciting as the vines attain even greater age".

Trust Vineyard is located within the renowned Gimblett Gravels, internationally regarded for its prime stony free-draining soils and warm maritime climate ideally suited to growing world-class Bordeaux-varietal reds and Syrah wines.

The preeminence of the district is reflected in the Bragato results, scooping 2 of 3 golds awarded in the Cabernet Sauvignon predominant class (of 18 wines entered) and claiming all four golds awarded in the Syrah class (of 48 wines entered).  

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Released: 23 June 2010

The highly regarded Cuisine Magazine (July issue) recently conducted its annual NZ Syrah tasting and awarded Mills Reef Elspeth Trust Vineyard Syrah 2007 a ‘Top 5' placing and Five Star award.

Says Cuisine Magazine, "This tasting confirms that New Zealand Syrahs at the top level are not just exciting - they're exhilarating".

The Trust Vineyard Syrah was described as ".... ripe, swashbuckling, masculine style. Concentrated dark fruit is laced with nutmeg oak spice, with a slight gunflint note adding interest. Such a big, ripe, velvety wine would be a worthy partner for a hearty beef dish".

In addition to the Cuisine award, 2007 Elspeth Trust Syrah has also earned 5 Star awards from Australia's Winestate Magazine and Michael Cooper's 2010 Wine Buyers Guide.

The Mills Reef Trust Vineyard is a four hectare block, sited on stony free-draining soils within the renowned Gimblett Gravels district of Hawkes Bay. The vines are close-planted and pruned for extremely low yields, ensuring grapes of exceptionally high quality.

The 2007 vintage represents only the third from Trust Vineyard, being planted relatively recently during the early 2000's. Grape and wine quality early on is proving to be exceptional, pointing to a great future for the site.  

|  View Tasting Notes   |