Craggy Range, Sophia, Gimblett Gravels

Still a dark purple. Fruit is still very much there, with blackcurrant, leaf, spices. Unfortunately smothered by the oak, which seems excessive. Bof

2011 vintage

Colour: Very dark purple, garnet tinge Nose: Menthol, cloves, black currant, some pepper Palette: Plum, black current, pepper, unfortunately maybe wet cardboard Quite a thin subdued palette - watery really. No depth of flavour and not much of any intertest really. It's lost any richness (it any) it had over the past 2 tastings, maybe it's just past it. Considering the vague cardboard flavour it may be faulty. Well that's what you get if you use corks to seal a …

2011 vintage

Surprisingly subdued - even after decanting and leaving lack of developed tertiaries and fruit felt bit flat. More blackcurrant leaves than blackcurrant with typical green capiscum. Tannins soft and integrated so decent drop just not as impactful as expected. Left too long in cellar??

2011 vintage

{Cork, 13.5%} Slightly washed out look. Muted nose. Aged floral fruit, indistinct berry quality. Medium weight, soft tannins, low/medium acid. But no depth of flavour or length of finish. Not properly oxidised but showing all the signs of warm storage. Shame.

2011 vintage

Pretty much Ditto to the tasting notes last year. Maybe a bit of pepper and liquorice has crept in to make the nose and palette a bit fuller, or maybe it's just a variation, the bottle is sealed with cork after all. The good news is it was drunk over 2 days and didn't change much on day 2 so it has a few years ahead of it.

2011 vintage

Serve with roast lamb, beef, venison, and with semi-hard cheeses.

2011 vintage

Colour: Very dark purple, garnet tinge Nose: Menthol, cloves, black currant Palette: Menthol, musk, black current, plum. Missing a bit of the depth of fruit I'd expected and somewhat acidic, drying finish, a bit short. Not as good as I'd thought it would be, especially at this price point. Didn't improve much over the night as it was drunk. Not overly complex. Wasn't bad, but more like a $30 wine that a $100+ wine.

2011 vintage

Medium ruby color. Balanced understated nose of ripe black fruit, cedar, toasted oak and savory notes. Dry, balanced acidity and tannins, palate follows through. Medium+ body, fantastic balance, long finish. An elegant expression.

2011 vintage

Delicious. Silky but full of verve, pure cherry and cassis fruit but a mature oak influence too, supple tannins, ageing most gracefully. I really enjoyed it.

2011 vintage

A typically polished and well balanced example from Craggy Range. At 11 years in the bottle this is drinking fine however I can't see much more flavour development from this point. A sound bordeaux blend and well made, but nothing remarkable. I didn't pay full price for this case so am satisfied with value for money. If I had paid $100+ a bottle I would feel differently The wine looks crimson colored. There is light sediment in the bottle.

2011 vintage

I had a query from Giantram about the acidity in this wine and its drinkability with minimal food. I can't say whether the cabernet component has contributed to the bulk of the acidity profile but I food it overall too hard to have enjoyed it without a solid meal. Maybe it will soften...

2011 vintage

A fine wine that improved over the session. Earthy red berry framed in subtle oak with fine drying tannin finish on a long length.

2011 vintage

Drinking beautifully. I’d recommend at least 30mins decanter.

2011 vintage

NobleRottersSydney - reds at 10 20 30 (Fix, St James, Sydney) : {cork, 13.5%} [DavidH] Merlot 60%, Cab Sav 24%, Franc 14.5% and PV the remaining 2.5%. I always though Sophia to be a Merlot/CF blend. Cabernet’s irresistible call, I guess. Garnet with a purple touch. Developing nose of soft plums and red-fruit spectrum aromas. Subtle french oak too – discreet. Very seductively handing between youthful and maturing. The palate is wonderfully balanced, even and polished, with ripe plum fruit, …

2011 vintage

Medium depth of colour. Bright. Slight bricking. Nose not especially ripe or complex. Quite light on the palate with rather assertive acidity. Stern rather than inviting. Better with aeration.

2011 vintage

Rich freshly baked fruitcake on nose. Smooth, silky, blackberry, clove, long. Great wine peaking. Lovely.

2011 vintage

Enjoyable but a little short on excitement/interest for the price. Good mouthfeel with ripe and relatively soft tannins and a good food wine given prominent, but not overt, acidity. Flavour profile somewhat ‘mainstream’ although a touch of maturity is adding interest. The issue is that there are plenty of wines that deliver the same for half the price. For that reason it probably won’t be a repeat purchase...

2011 vintage

Heavy bottle with deep punt. Quality cork, Purple black centre with red bricking rim. Darker berry/plum/soy sauce nose. Sense of concentration. On palate, concentrated fruit, dusty drying tannins front and mid mouth, slight edge of stalkiness/greenness. This has old world Bordeaux structure. would have liked a tad more ripeness and a tad less extracted on the fruit. Was a bit too big and structured for the salmon. Finish crashed short then longer subtle perfumed trail. This could go further but …

2006 vintage

Last bottle; first note. Barely soaked, high quality cork. Pours dark, plummy purple in colour. Very seductive black and red fruit nose. Bumbleberry pie filling, smoky plum, black raspberry, suede and a bit of charred oak on the nose. First sip is round and thick and full and rich and sweet darkness. Unctuous. Hedonistic. Mouth coating. So much dark fruit extract, this is crazy! Flirts with being overripe and jammy, but doesn't feel over-extracted at all. The flavours parallel the …

2006 vintage

Very smooth with lovely lingering finish. A bit too much acidity for my liking so not a “unbelievable I have to buy a case” wine but very pleasant winter evening wine particularly with lamb.

2011 vintage

Ruby purple, prosciutto & meaty on the nose, sour cherry with a bit of spice, a bit of nutty hiding behind the dark fruit and liquorice. High acidity, high tanning with a long finish.

2011 vintage

Russk. I did not enjoy it as much this time. Textually really nice but aromatically boring.

2011 vintage

Smooth, red fruits, balanced, silky, long. Fantastic.

2011 vintage

This definitely improved with some air time, and I really enjoyed the last 3 glasses. Our group all sensed paint on the nose, with sour cherries and some cedar to taste - long finish. Elegant, very good but not a WOW! for me. Would buy again, though.

2011 vintage

Day 2. Pepper and dark fruit on nose. Sweet dark fruit, silky smooth, rich, long.

2011 vintage

Deep magenta, very dark at the core. Wiffilicious! This smells amazing! Crushed black berry, black raspberry chalk, a touch of suede and hint of fresh wild mint on the nose. Super long, widely spaced legs. Gobs of black currant pastille, blueberry, and super ripe black berry fruits on the plush palate. Oh my this is good! Impeccably balanced. Satin finish that fades out infinitely! This is crazy good! Wow! Hard to describe how good this is! Easy 96 points!

2011 vintage

Full body red blend with red and black fruit with a hint of spice. Still have years to go but drinks well after decanting.

2011 vintage

Found very acidic until it had sat in the decanter for at least an hour. But once it had calmed down, thought very enjoyable.

2006 vintage

Very good, elegant wine but not as impactful as I'd like for this price level

2006 vintage

{cork, 14%} Deep garnet right for age. Aging plums, blackberries; medium intensity. Classy nose. The palate is pleasant with being really impressive; it has a nice balance of aging red fruit, always ripe and red, low dusty tannins, medium acid, and medium weight. Oak is subtle; it's only a little cedary and not obviously new world. The finish is only short/medium, and just a little simple to really justify a big rap (or indeed nearly a decade of cellaring following …

2006 vintage

Notes from the second night. Deep purple in colour. Nice rich nose full of mainly red fruit, oak and cedar. Medium-full bodied on the slightly soft, velvety palate; there's more red fruits, plums and sour cherry and a hint of oak. Slight green tannins at the back end. There's not a lot of complexity here, and it's rather modern. It was a little less disjointed last night, but both nights it wasn't as impressive as I had hoped (B+).

2006 vintage

Under cork. A full decant, which was needed. Black red colour. A high toned bouquet of blackberries, black currants and prunes and dark chocolate, with a suggestion of violets and other dark florals. Also spicy oak. On the palate, a relatively sweet entry but drier across the mid and back palate, once the tannins kick in. The tannins are sleek and fine grained. There is a little vanilla oak in the background. Cassis, dark cherries and black fruit flavours, but …

2006 vintage

Opaque with flashes of purple. Nose closed for some time (dark berries oak, dusty), opens over 2 hours with decanting and waiting/swirling. Lovely 5 spice, cloves, aniseed, nutmeg, intermingling with perfect dark berries, then blue berries, wrapped in classy french oak. Mid weight palate, then a lovely perfect wave of tannins fine & dusty, berry/spice/oak flavours start exploding, very good. Length is brilliant, very similar to nose and palate just carrying on for over a minute and beautifully defined. Lovely …

2006 vintage

Drank from a half bottle. Decanted for about half an hour. Dark cherry in colour. Seemed a little closed on the nose initially, but opened up over the next hour. Chocolate and dark berries on the nose. Round and smooth, with a bit of cherry on the mid palate. Oak is quite noticable in the back palate which hasn't fully integrated. Good long finish, with powdery tannins lingering for the best part of a minute. Perhaps not quite as good …

2006 vintage

Dark purple color with sweet fruity nose. The palette is medium-bodied with hints of sour cherry, sweet plum, mocha and hints of oak. Still very young, restrained and a bit unresolved especially in the middle but overall a balanced and well-made wine with a lingering finish.

2006 vintage

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter; 11/13/2010-11/14/2010 (Landmark Hotel, London) : (Decanter Fine Wine Encounter) A blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Malbec, 20 months in 60% new oak. Purple color, sour cherry in the nose, some oak, full juicy palate, firm tannins, fatty , spiced medium aftertaste.

2006 vintage

Big, round chocolate notes - soft, sensual - very merlot driven but good winemaking here gives it an elegant finish providing you give it some time in a decanter. For me Craggy Range are at the pinnacle of New Zealand wine making and this will, in time, turn out to be an excellent wine.

2006 vintage

London Wine Fair - day three (London) : Lovely stuff as always from Craggy Range - nice semi-resolved colour in the glass (even for such a young wine) - excellent and complex fruit with depth and persistence. Very long finish. Deserves to be enjoyed slowly to be truly appreciated.

2006 vintage

Dark purple. Plum, liquorice, dark chocolate and herbs with subtle oak. Mid-full bodied, with firm but juicy tanins, rich fruit and balancing acidity. Long finish. Will improve with 5+ years of bottle aging.

2006 vintage

Made from a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this wine is delicious! Dark fruits, especially plum, mocha and espresso characters on the nose lead through to a complex, elegant and well balanced palate which shows blackcurrant and well-integrated oak.

2006 vintage

Full and fat - no nose. Sorry, hammered.

2006 vintage

NobleRottersSydney - NZTrip - Matterhorn, Wellington (Matterhorn, Wellington) : {cork, 14%, NZ$60} This is Craggy’s spiritual flagship, even if it’s not their priciest wine. The nose is fruity, with ripe, slightly sour raspberries, and little detectable oak. The dry, medium-weight palate combines fine powdery tannins with gawky fruit – it’s clearly very young, but there’s still a silky feel to the wine that suggests it will integrate beautifully. It’s not a blockbuster (as you’d expect from a wine taking Cheval …

2006 vintage

Are you sure?

Craggy Range, Sophia, Gimblett Gravels

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews