The Arthur Edmund range is the most lauded and exclusive red wine in our award-winning Leveret & Mills Reef portfolio and stands alongside the iconic Coniglio. So, it’s with great excitement that our Chief Winemaker, who has controlled every aspect of its production, announces the release of the Arthur Edmund Cabernet Merlot 2020 and Arthur Edmund Syrah 2020. These prestigious wines are limited releases with only a few hundred bottles, each labeled and individually numbered. Now available! Wine connoisseurs will have to be quick to pick up one of these rare bottles.
“This is only our second release under this label. The previous vintage before this was in 2013,” explains Chief Winemaker, Paul Dawick. “That’s because it is only made when Mother Nature does exactly what every winemaker wants her to do; provide us with constant hot, dry weather with minimal rainfall.”
Each grape that goes into these exclusive wines is hand harvested from the famed Gimblett Gravels vineyards in Hawke’s Bay. This area is known for its arid, stony soils and warm climate, which produces world-class, full-bodied red wines. One wine critic went as far as to name this location a “sacred site”. The 2020 growing season in this area is widely acclaimed as a “vintage of perfection”. Mother Nature delivered a long, warm, even climate, without heat waves or cold spells. The result? An exceptional vintage.
Mills Reef Arthur Edmund Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2020
Comprised of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, this wine is powerful and beguiling. The harmonious blend of two varieties reveals lusciously intense blackberry and cassis fruit layered with mocha, toffee and subtle earthy notes. It has a lingering fine oak seasoning with seamlessly integrated fine, plush tannins culminating in a wonderfully rich spicy crescendo.
SHOP ➤ $350 NZ | Find out more and purchase online
Mills Reef Arthur Edmund Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2020
This Syrah is a symphony of luscious boysenberry and blueberry fruits alongside subtle pepper spice and fragrant rose petals. The palate is finely tuned with balance, texture, power and grace, with velvety tannins and intense fruit. These reach a harmonious crescendo of refined oak and a sustained liquorice finale.
SHOP ➤ $350 NZ | Find out more and purchase online
Arthur Edmund, the namesake of this wine was the pioneering and visionary father and grandfather of the original founders of Mills Reef, Paddy and Tim Preston. Arthur’s name continues to be honoured by Leveret & Mills Reef, as does their mother and grandmother in the Elspeth range.
“These rare wines are the result of great vineyard sites paired with ideally-suited grape varieties, low-yielding vines, climatically exceptional growing seasons, and diligent hand-harvesting and bunch selection, with minimal winemaker intervention,” explains Dawick. “Both wines are unfined and unfiltered, thus expressing the full terroir characters from the vineyards. They are a true expression of purity.”
With the small number of bottles produced it becomes a wine of rarity.
Check back here to purchase online or stop by our Cellar Door in Katikati, open daily from 9:30am – 5:00 pm.
Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know about new releases.
Our team at Leveret & Mills Reef has been creating some of New Zealand’s finest wines since 1978. New Zealand-owned and operated, we take a boutique approach to winemaking, uniquely controlling every aspect of the process from the grape to the glass. With respect to tradition and provenance, but with an eye firmly on the future our winemakers artfully merge traditional techniques with new technology and innovative ideas. The Leveret & Mills Reef team believes in the art of celebration and crafts award-winning wines for you to share at yours.
