An exceptional wine made in honour of New Zealand’s pioneering winemaker

Mission Estate, the birthplace of New Zealand wine, has been crafting superb vintages since the mid 1800s. Now they are delighted to release the limited edition Mission Huchet Syrah 2007, which winemaker Paul Mooney describes as: “The greatest wine we have produced in our long and proud history.”

Generations in the making, it is a tribute to the true pioneering winemaker of New Zealand, Brother Cyprian Huchet. After rising to the position of Mission Estate Cellar Master, he oversaw this country’s first recorded commercial sale of wine back in the early 1870s.

The wine named in Brother Cyprian’s honour is a unique combination of innovative New World technology and Old World techniques.

The grapes were grown in Mission Estate’s Mere Road Syrah block, which is located within the renowned Gimblett Gravels area. “Because this is an ancient riverbed, there are large variations in soil type and structure, and therefore the vines,” says viticulturist Caine Thompson. “To produce a wine that vibrantly expressed the terroir of this vineyard, we deployed a crop sensor – usually used for golf greens – to measure the variations with pinpoint accuracy.”

The resulting data identified two different zones. One produced fruit with rich, intense, deep dark blackberry characters of structure and purity. The other: fruit with spice, dark black pepper and sweet floral violets.

The zones were harvested by hand ten days apart, matured separately then blended. This has created Mission Estate’s most distinctive, vibrant, intense Syrah in 160 years.

Only 1700 bottles have been made. They are available exclusively from the Mission Estate cellar door, online at www.missionestate.co.nz and from selected fine wine retailers. Huchet Syrah 2007 is drinking extremely well now, and has exceptional cellaring potential of 10-20 years.