Welcome to Stonecroft's e-cellar door
Stonecroft is a small, family owned winery making premium, organic Gimblett Gravels wines in Hawke’s Bay. Only estate grown fruit is used and the wines are vinified on site. The winery is best known for Syrah (having the oldest Syrah vines in NZ). Other varieties planted are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Viognier.
Stonecroft was established in 1982 and was one of the first vineyards in the Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District® in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It remains a tiny operation and owners Dermot McCollum and Andria Monin converted both the winery and two vineyards to organic production in 2010.
A single row of vines comprises Stonecroft’s original Syrah planting. These vines were planted in 1984 and are the oldest producing Syrah vines in New Zealand. They were rescued by Stonecroft’s founder, Dr. Alan Limmer, from the viticultural research vine collection at Te Kauwhata (now defunct). This material, representing the sole source of Syrah in New Zealand at the time, was made freely available to the New Zealand wine industry as interest in Syrah production increased.
Stonecroft has two vineyards totalling 7 ha planted vines. Both vineyards are hot and dry, with very stony and free draining soil. Yields are very low and grapes are hand picked.
Our approach in the winery is one of minimal intervention. We use traditional wine making techniques and our focus is on getting top quality fruit from the vineyards.
For more information take a look at our website.
Reviews
RESERVE SYRAH 2020
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95 points. A selection of the best barrels from 38-year-old vines and a top vintage. Deep, dark, dense syrah with cassis, dark berry, dark-fleshed plum, pepper, spices and nutty oak flavours. Can be appreciated now but should develop well with bottle age. 17/3/2022
Bob Campbell
This wine is one of Michael Cooper's Super Classic New Zealand wines.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2020 Rating: 95 points
95 points. A concentrated dark berry core with aromas of blackberry, clove and compote, black currant, marmite and fresh violet then scents of other brown spices, granite, toasty barrel and sweet vanilla. Youthful, powerful and new. On the palate - very taut with a firm texture driven by tannins and acidity. The core of black fruit flavours offer contrast and promise with flavours that reflect the bouquet. A delicous wine with a wonderful potential, concentration and finish. A young wine that simply needs the right spot in your cellar with best drinking from 2026 through 2040.
Cameron Douglas
OLD VINE CHARDONNAY 2021 Rating: 5 stars
Certified organic, the stylish, estate-grown 2021 vintage (5*) is a rare wine – only two barrels were made. From vines planted in the Mere Road Vineyard in 1992, it was hand-picked, and fermented and matured for 10 months in French oak casks (50 per cent new). Bright, light lemon/green, it is a mouthfilling, weighty, youthful wine, with rich, ripe stonefruit flavours, biscuity and mealy notes adding excellent complexity, and a very harmonious, lasting finish. Already delicious, it's well worth cellaring to 2024+.
Michael Cooper
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