Anthony Joseph Vidal of Hawkes Bay

Vidal Soler Chardonnay 2018 Hawkes Bay

There’s no mistaking the power and youthful impact that the bouquet of this wine offers - peach and nectarine, vanilla, burnt butter and brazil nut, lees spices and blond tobacco. A natural complexity and raw energy. Equally intense on the palate with flavours of yellow stone fruit, grapefruit, apple and layers of wood spice and lees textures. An abundance of oak and acidity with some fine oak tannins. Very lengthy & finishing just dry and complex. Decant for service now and through 2021. Ideal drinking from 2021 through 2028. 96 Points

Vidal Soler Syrah 2017 Hawkes Bay

A bouquet filled with aromas of violets, black currants, raspberry, peppery sweet meats, smoky oak and layers of garrigue, dry stone and baking spices. Complex and beguiling. Very expressive on the palate with flavours of oak and wood smoke, dark raspberry and black currant, loads of pepper and sweet black olive. Weighty yet fine, a strong back bone of acidity and firm youthful tannins, a core of fruit and ripeness with a long dry finish. This wine is delicious and should be in your cellar. Decant for service now and through 2022. Excellent drinking from 2022 through 2030 if stored well. 98 Points

Vidal Soler Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc 2017 Hawkes Bay

A bouquet that is slow to reveal it’s story. Aromas do emerge of blackened blackberry, dark plum and fresh cigar tobacco. Marmite and meat, a sweet toasted wood scent accentuated with aromas of clove and vanilla, then dried herb and baked bell-pepper. A complexity unfurls after many minutes in glass. Youthful, tense, firm and dry with flavours reflective of the nose. Abundant fruit and wood tannins with plenty of acidity. Complex, lengthy finish. A wine that should be in your cellar - will age and harmonise over the coming 3-5 years. Ideal drinking 2024 through 2034. 96 Points