ASKERNE CSM 2024

91/100 Cameron Douglas MS, May 2026 (2024 Vintage)
"A delicious red blend with personalities of dark plums and dried herb, nettles and peppercorn, milk chocolate and blackberry. A dry wine with polished tannins and medium+ acid line framing flavours of red berries and red stone fruits, a mix of earth and stone, herb and spice. Well made in a ready to drink expression from day of purchase through 2030."

New 2024 vintage, notes for the previous vintage below…

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"An intriguing blend with heady aromas of sweet vanillan spice, blackberries, subtle notes of tobacco, cardamom and black pepper. The palate is rich and flavoursome, with layers of dark berry fruits, and velvety vanillan tones. Fine tannins provide elegant structure, and its juicy concentration gives it a deliciously long finish.

The grapes for this wine were sourced from the lower terrace of the Askerne vineyard, across different soil profiles from sandy silt through to gravels, giving wonderful complexity to the individual parcels that make up the blend. Each batch was fermented as individual varieties followed by extended post maceration on skins to build richness. After pressing, the wines were settled and racked to oak barriques. Here they completed malolactic fermentation and were matured for 12 months before blending.  The final blend was made up of 76% Carménère, 12% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre and 1% Malbec and with a 40% new oak component, and 40% second fill.

92/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, June 2026 (2023 Vintage)
"A red blend from a single vineyard – the grapes sourced from the lower terrace of the Askerne vineyard in Hawke’s Bay. Carménère is a rarity in New Zealand, but in this blend it makes up three-quarters of the components. 76% Carménère, 12% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre and 1% Malbec were each fermented as separate batches, spending extended time post maceration on their skins to build richness and tannin complexity. A dense burgundy-red in the glass. The Carménère can’t help but lead the way – a smoky richness fronting the perfume. Plum, cherry, boysenberry, vanilla and tobacco jostle for attention. Quite rich and decadent, with a fine tannin and a lick of tasty oak that suits the style. Integrated acidity quietly offers some flow, and before you know it, there’s a velvet texture surrounding things and just a hint of musky spice and peppercorn into the smooth finish."

91/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, July 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"Splendidly fruited and fragrant, the bouquet shows Black Doris plum, dark cherry, thyme, floral, and nutmeg aromas, leading to a succulent palate offering supple texture backed by polished tannins, making it sturdy and balanced with a pleasing dry finish. A blend of Carmenere, Syrah & Mourvèdre. At its best: now to 2029."