LEVERET ESTATE IQ PREMIUIM BRUT MÉTHODE TRADITIONNELLE NV

Gold Medal – Hawkes Bay Wine Awards 2022

These guys have been producing bubbly for years. Originally as Morton Estate, then they sold the brand, kept the winery and vineyards and re-branded as Leveret. This current release is great and represents huge value.

Winery notes
"This premium Brut has a fine and persistent bead. The aroma shows complex yeast autolysis characters of nuts, freshly baked bread, wild mushrooms and marzipan. The fruit aromas are totally entwined with the secondary characters but are still present enough to provide a citrus and stone fruit base. The palate is amazingly fresh, with a gentle effervescence and long textural finish.

The grapes for this wine are mainly sourced from our Hawke's Bay vineyards located in the upper river terraces of the Ngaruroro River. These very free draining sites with cool night-time temperatures are ideally suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier production. Clonal selection, crop load and canopy management within these varieties allows for further selection of sparkling versus still wine grape growing.

*Note for courier freight – 12 bottle freight rate applies for up to each 6 bottles – we will contact you if applicable.

Traditional methods of sparkling winemaking are used, firstly through a primary fermentation with a neutral yeast strain, followed by a complete malo-lactic fermentation. The base wines are then blended after 12 months maturation on lees prior to filtration and tirage. Following bottle fermentation the wines are left for at least 18 months on the fermentation lees. This maturation time allows yeast autolysis to occur contributing important flavour and textural qualities to the wine."

4 Stars Yvonne Lorkin, January 2023 (NV)
"This Méthode Traditionnelle (the same method of making Champagne) is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier that’s been disgorged after a minimum of 18 months on its yeast lees (the residue leftover from the ferment). These guys have been making high-end sparkling wine since aeons ago, and they know how to craft bright, citrusy, slightly dry, nutty fizz with creamy harmony, vibrancy and depth. It’s jaw-droppingly good with Nadia Lim’s Gooey baked camembert with plum and beetroot chutney."

91/100 & Buy of the Week, Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, October 2023 (NV)
"A blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier with at least 18 months ‘en tirage’. Quite a mellow sparkling wine showing good bottle development. Relatively low acid. Nice bready autolysis."

4 Stars Michael Cooper, 2020 Edition (NV)
"This vivacious Hawke's Bay sparkling is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, disgorged after a minimum of 18 months on its yeast lees. The non-vintage wine I tasted in mid-2019 is bright, light yellow and invitingly scented, with fresh, lively grapefruit and peach flavours, biscuity, yeasty characters adding complexity, and a crisp, finely balanced finish."

90/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, October 2021 (NV)
"It's attractively expressed on the nose showing golden apple, apricot, fresh bread and subtle spice aromas. The palate delivers generous mouthfeel and roundness, well supported by juicy acidity, finishing smooth and creamy."