Rebecca Gibb MW, writing for Antonio Galloni's Vinous, has just released her April article on New Zealand wines and her scores for our recent 2019 vintage with the Magna Praemia 2019 coming in as the highest scored Cabernet-blend at 98/100 (paywalled). The Mystae and Destinae also achieved noteworthy scores of 96/100 and 93/100.

Speaking of the 2019 Magna Praemia, Rebecca says, "...while silken and welcoming on entry, offers the most poise, restraint and sinew, lending direction, structure and freshness. Layers of flavor emerge, from blue and black fruit to licorice, dried oregano [...] Serious, complex and concentrated[...]"

Equally enticing are her comment about the Mystae 2019, "The 2019 Mystae is silken, seamless and sumptuous without being opulent. You want to sink into this wine with its relaxed pillow-like core of Cabernet and Merlot fruit, while the fine-grained tannins provide frame and tension. There are subtle layers of flavor woven through the wine, from mocha and festive spices to black currant, pencil shavings and more. Clever, classy Kiwi claret crying out for a collector's cellar."

And finally, her notes about the Destinae 2019 make us all want to open a bottle now, "The 2019 Destinae is a suave, polished Bordeaux-inspired blend that shows what New Zealand can do when it is lavished with attention – and the weather turns it on. There's lashings of cedar and sweet vanilla-like aromas and flavors derived from high-quality barrels (55% French and 45% American oak, around one-third new). There's a high level of fruit concentration here; the rich, expansive mid-palate comes courtesy of the ripe Merlot, a generously fruited Cabernet clone and the clay-based soil [...] offering dark cassis fruit and blueberries, festive spices, a touch of graphite, and a structured but not austere frame of tannins. [...] The length goes on and on. While this will benefit from cellaring, if you are incredibly impatient it can be approached now."