Tim Atkin: Some color development. Lovely, developed savory nose, with a little bit of Pinot-like tomato skin. Supple, savory, quite alcoholic, yet with nice acidity. Pepper spice, nice complexity. Developed, peppery, soft- 16.5

Alex Hunt: Very savory, very Rhône-like, tomato paste/bay leaf/black olive nose—and it works so far. The palate is, unfortunately, slightly heavy going. These are bitter, uncompromising flavors: wonderful if in proportion, but tough if overdone. Unusually, this is a wine that would have benefited from a gentler, softer side to offset these savory characters. But there is real potential in this style, and I hope that New Zealand will explore it and refine it further- 15

Anthony Rose: Quite evolved in color, with a pungent nose of chocolate, pepper, and spice, tinged with the green celery-like quality of coolclimate Syrah, this is powerfully, pungently spicy, a combination of green pepper and spice, concentrated dark-fruit flavors, and cool-climate green elements with surprisingly chunky tannins; very much a love-it-or-hate-it style- 16.5