Michael Cooper
2009 Wine Guide

 “...dark, purple-flushed colour. Fresh, vibrant & rich, it’s still extremely youthful, with a dense array of blackcurrant, plum, herb & fresh spice flavours, showing real muscle & structure. Best drinking 2012+.” 

***** Michael Cooper

Larose 2006

Stonyridge
Winemaker

A big mouth-filling wine, matured in 90% new oak, this is all gobbled up by the huge ripe fruit. Richly flavoured and hauntingly complex, with immaculate tannin and amazing structure, this wine clearly has a long life ahead of it. It is greatly concentrated with a finish that lasts for minutes, a great vintage not to be missed.”

“Colour: Vibrant and dark purple with great density.

Bouquet: Rich fragrant nose abundant with fruit including black plums and berry fruits mixed with secondary notes of cedar, leather, earth, chocolate, and pencil shavings. On top of all of this is the customary Stonyridge floral fragrance.

Palate: Rich fruit and oak notes run through a tight and concentrated palate held together by firm ripe tannins. Excellent fruit weight, a robust structure and great length promise of a long future in the bottle.”

“A wonderful summer where everything came together.

Colour: Deep purple/crimson hues and great intensity.

Bouquet: Brooding ripe forest fruits, blackberry and boysenberry conserve, with some high floral notes on the nose.

Palate: Racy berry fruit and ripe plums. Clean and muscular with smooth velvet tannins. A depth of luscious rich fruit, which rolls into a generous long finish, dominates the middle palate. The whole wine is underpinned by classy well-integrated oak. Blackberry plum tar and earth. This is a classic Larose."

"A tricky vintage, the summer was late and sun, at times, difficult to find. Using intense viticulture and low yields (less than15 hectolitres/hectare), we were able to maintain a high quality of fruit with a great concentration. A sensational crop of Petit Verdot came to the rescue and gives the 2001 that extra body. This is a very classy wine, seductively perfumed and easy to drink.

Colour: Purple with crimson hue. Intense.

Bouquet: Blackberry, cassis and eucalypt.

Palate: Ripe fruit and fine tannins with notes of chocolate and black olives. A well-balanced oak influence giving nutty characteristics and departing with a multi-layered long lingering finish."

"Hot, long and dry. A great winemaking vintage on Waiheke Island . The 2000 vintage is a wine full of pride.

Colour: Densely coloured – purple black in appearance.

Bouquet: Fragrant bouquet of blackcurrants, mint, and spice.

Palate: Superbly concentrated, with a backbone of ripe, chewy tannins, it’s a top vintage and is potentially very complex, but needs years to unfold and should mature well for a decade."

Geoff Kelly
Former National Wine Judge and former wine writer for the NBR

"Colour: Dense ruby carmine and velvet, splendid.

Bouquet: Total Margaux in style, violets, ripest blackcurrants, darkest plums, together with a soft oak note hinting (?) at some barrel fermentation.

Palate: Still puppyfat on the fruit, but follow-through from bouquet to palate is gorgeous, the wine velvety and plush on its tannins, potentially aromatic, not in the slightest bit heavy, dull or bland.

A classic high-merlot style needing time, and making some of the Hawkes Bay ‘98 Cabernet / Merlots look heavy in comparison.”

18.5/20

Raymond Chan
National Wine Judge

“An excellent vintage with very high quality, ripe fruit.

Colour: Dark, deep, purple red.

Bouquet: Beautifully ripe, berry, currant, and plum aromas with new oak lift.

Palate: Wonderfully primary, great power and depth. Superbly rich and luscious with almost jammy flavours from the ripeness, sweet oak, very fine textures and tannins. This is so fleshy and juicy. A super-ripe baby.”

19.5/20

“Another windy spring again created havoc with the vines flowering. It is the second year in a row that we have seen flowers hit in this way by coulure. The result this year: even less fruit than last year. Unbelievable! This created another minute vintage, providing concentrated fruit of excellent ripeness.

Colour: Deep purple/black/red hues and great intensity.

Bouquet: Wild berry fruits, mint, lavender, and cedar.

Palate: Driven by ripe berry fruits, plums, cedar, and vanilla. Rich, smooth, and yet powerful with fine-grain tannins and wonderful mouth feel. A fruit-driven classic Larose."

“A windy spring blew the flowers of the vines of not only the sensitive varieties like Malbec and Merlot, but also the normally tough Cabernet. It is the first time we have ever seen flowers hit in this way by coulure and salt burn. This created a minuscule vintage providing fruit of massive concentration and excellent ripeness. The season continued to be hot and very dry, keeping the berries small.

Colour: Deep purple/black/red hues and great intensity.

Bouquet: Wild berry fruits, mint, lavender, and cedar.

Palate: Driven by liquorice, plums, cedar, and vanilla. Tight and powerful with lots of fine-grain tannins binding the wine and giving it massive mouth feel and texture. Still closed but waiting for that fruit to come powering out."

“Excellent ripeness levels and great concentration of flavours were achieved in '96 due to a hot dry summer and meticulous viticulture.

Colour: Deep purple red hues and great intensity.

Bouquet: Wild berry fruits, mint, lavender, and cedar.

Palate: Driven by rich ripe berry fruits, plums, cedar and vanilla. Tight and powerful with fine grain tannins binding the wine and giving it massive mouth feel and texture. Still closed but pregnant with potential."

“All the Malbec was harvested in excellent condition before unseasonal vintage rain fell; this is our highest Malbec percentage ever. The rest of the fruit came from our older 13-year vines whose deep roots seemed to be unaffected by the rain.

The outstanding quality of the '95 Larose is due to high-quality viticulture, a great summer, and ruthless selection in the vineyard by a team of pickers whose skill, courage, and stamina can only be rewarded in heaven (or the cellar).

After traditional fermentation techniques the wine was barrel-aged (70% new) for one year. Only 40% of the harvest became Larose.

Colour: Deep purple red hues and good intensity.

Bouquet: Black fruits, wild blackberry, vanilla, and roasted nuts.

Palate: Flavours saturated with ripe plums, berry fruit, and vanilla with layers of soft textured tannins, giving it a smooth rich texture."

“Excellent ripeness levels and outstanding concentration of flavours were achieved in 1994, due to a hot dry summer and a very small cropping level (1 tonne/acre or 18 hectolitres/hectare). After traditional fermentation techniques the wine was barrel-aged (70% new) for one year.

Colour: Deep purple red hues and great intensity.

Bouquet: Black fruits, wild blackberry, herbal complexities (not herbaceous), cedar, and tar.

Palate: Very ripe fruit, tightly structured and powerful. Strong fine grained tannins which will mellow. Still closed but pregnant with potential.

“Colour: Delightful red/ruby with very little aging evident.

Bouquet: Beautiful, with concentrated fruit and some savoury notes, excellent full ripe palate, still quite primary although some bottle age characters starting to show.

Palate: Great structure and complexity emerging. Still with plenty of tannin to lose."

18.5/20

“The season, classic to Waiheke, was hot and dry. This kept the berries small, but also saw a reduced cropping level. This and the slightly higher proportion of Merlot in the blend has created a Larose with an excellent structure and an enormous fruit intensity.

Colour: Intense crimson purple.

Bouquet: Spicy menthol with strong blackberry fruit.

Palate: Rich ripe berry fruit, clean oak, smooth tannins, low acid and low pH. Hints of chocolate and a long warm finish. Impressive fruit intensity."

18.5/20

“Colour: Red with some bricking.

Bouquet: As with previous wines, could be straight out of Bordeaux.

Palate: Still plenty of fruit, good body balance and length. Doesn't have the weight of later vintages."

18/20

“Colour: Red/brick.

Bouquet: Big and brawny with developed, savoury characters.

Palate: Medium-bodied with nice balance and a sweet finish. Probably at its peak."

18/20

“The lightest of the wines due to a tropical storm at vintage which put paid to most of the Merlot.

A lighter colour with fruit weight a bit light for top quality wine, but having said that, the wine has good balance and nice savoury developed flavours making an attractive lighter mature wine."

17/20

“This is the wine that bought Stonyridge to the attention of the NZ public and it did not disappoint.

From its mature red brick colour to its fantastic Bordeaux-like perfume, it is very much a superb claret-style wine.

Complex, supple, long, and with great poise. A fascinating wine."

19.5/20

“Colour: Light red/brown.

Bouquet: Developed.

Palate: Some nice developed flavours in a lighter-bodied style. High acid not helping the balance."

14.5/20

“Colour: Light red/brown.

Bouquet: Developed and cedary.

Palate: Savoury flavours, but without the acid. The wine has peaked."

15/20

Buying from the Loyalty Club, our cellar and café, or through retailers and distributors