2017 Vintage
2016 Vintage
"Fleshy, savoury and full-coloured, the 2016 is a classy young red, likely to be long-lived, with deep blackcurrant/spice flavours, leathery notes adding complexity, good tannin support, and a very harmonious finish. ★★★★★"
- Michael Cooper’s New Zealand Wines 2020.
2012 Vintage
"The 2012 vintage (5 stars) is very elegant, with a cedary bouquet, deep, ripe blackcurrant, plum, spice and nut flavours, fine-grained tannins, and a lengthy, silky-smooth finish. These are classy wines, worth discovering."
- Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2019
"Full, even, very dark, near impenetrable black-red colour with garnet hues on the rim. The nose is full and concentrated with aromas of savoury of dark-red berry fruit band black fruits at the core, along with dried herbs, unfolding subtle red floral elements entwined with slightly funky earth and game notes. A little smoky oak unfolds in the glass. This has good depth and presence. Medium-full bodied, the palate has a concentrated and deep heart of savoury black and dark-red berry fruits melded with a layer of earth and dried herbs, and suggestions of funky game and secondary development notes. The mouthfeel is robust and fulsome, with fresh, lacy acidity and some alcoholic power providing energy and drive. The palate flows along a moderately extracted core and line, and the structure carries the savoury flavours to a lingering earthy finish. This is a robust and vigorous Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend with black and dark-red fruit along with savoury secondary earth, dried herb and funky game notes. 18+/20."
- Raymond Chan Wine Reviews
2011 Vintage
"The 2011 is medium to full-bodied, with a fragrant, spicy bouquet and strong, vibrant blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, still very youthful. These are classy wines, worth discovering. ★★★★"
- Michael Cooper.
"A beautifully styled Bordeaux blend, the complex bouquet shows dark fruit, smoked game, leather, warm spice and cigar characters, leading to a concentrated palate that is wonderfully rounded and smooth. The wine displays sweet fruit intensity with rich savoury notes, brilliantly supported by fine, chalky tannins. Very seductive and long on the finish. At its best: now to 2021."
- Sam Kim for Wine Orbit.
"The flavours ae harmoniously integrated, but the palate has presence and weight. The fruit is supported by elegant, fine-grained extraction and grip. The mouthfeel is lively with lacy acidity, and the wine flows with good tension to a moderately sustained finish. This is an elegant, fragrant Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend with harmonious savoury secondary development and complexity with a finely structured, lively palate. ★★★★★"
- Raymond Chan Wine Reviews.
2010 Vintage
"The 2010 vintage is a powerful wine, deeply coloured, with a spicy, fragrant bouquet. Still developing, it's a very harmonious, Bordeaux-like red, with ripe, highly concentrated plum, blackcurrant and slight herb flavours, showing a leathery, spicy complexity. Best drinking 2016+. 5★★★★★"
- Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2016.
"A magnificent cabernet franc, merlot and malbec blend, the richly fragrant bouquet shows blackberry, dark plum, cedar and cigar characters with nuances of game and mixed spice. The palate is concentrated and velvety, and delivers waves of delicious flavours backed by fine, chalky tannins. The wine is opulent and plush, while remaining firmly structured, leading to a superbly long, stylish finish. At its best: now to 2022. 95 points."
- Wine Orbit.
"This has plenty of power and drive, and the wine carries to a long, lingering finish of sweet and savoury, succulent fruit flavours. This is a concentrated, succulent Cabernet Franc blend with complex, savoury berry and plum fruit, with secondary earth and game notes, nutty oak and a firm palate line. Match with game meat and casseroles over the next 8-10 years. 19/20 points."
- Raymond Chan Wine Reviews.
2009 Vintage
"The 2009 Matakana from Gillman Vineyard comes in at an even fourteen percent and shows off lovely complexity on both the nose and palate. This is going to be a dynamite bottle of wine, but I would be inclined to still give this very promising bottle at least another five or six years in the cellar to fully blossom. Excellent juice. 2019-2040+. 93+/100."
- View from the Cellar.
"This blend has clear Bordeaux-esque leanings. It’s quite earthy, soft, fragrant and enticing, boasting dark plum, dried herbs, blackberry, leather and baking spices. The dusty tannins and medium acidity are integrating well. 2015-2020. 93/100."
- Cameron Douglas MS for Decanter magazine.
"Superbly complex and engaging, the wine is filled with dark fruit, smoked meat, mixed spice, cedar and cigar box characters. It is concentrated and richly textured on the palate, and delivers rich fruit intensity and stylish savoury nuances. Beautifully styled and poised, this refined rendition of the Right Bank Bordeaux is gratifying and intriguing. 95/100."
- Sam Kim, Wine Orbit.
2008 Vintage
"A very elegantly concentrated red-fruited Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend with refined structure and cedary oak. 18.5/20"
- Raymond Chan
"The 2008 vintage is the finest since 2004 – dark and generous, in a bold, muscular style, fragrant, fleshy, dense and highly complex. Retasted in late 2013, it's starting to break into full stride. 5☆☆☆☆☆"
- Michael Cooper’s Wines Guide 2014
"The 2008 vintage from Toby Gillman is one of the riper vintages I have tasted of this cuvee, coming in at an unchapitalized 14.5 percent alcohol, but the wine shows no signs of sur maturité or uncovered alcohol on either the nose or palate…despite the wine’s quite plush personality today, I would be inclined to give it at least a few more years in the cellar to allow it's backend tannins to melt away a bit more. Good juice. 91+/100."
- View from the Cellar
"Good colour development – nice ripe fruit, unctuous, quite bricky, savoury, but also black liquorice - blackstrap molasses even. Ripe, round, very rewarding. With acid edged richness and intensity, silky rich. Amazing wine"
- Simon Nash MW
2007 Vintage
"Deep garnet colored with a touch of brick in the rim, the 2007 Gillman Cabernet Franc, Merlot & Malbec reveals a wonderfully evolved nose of dried mulberries, crème de cassis and prunes with underlying suggestions of sandalwood, tobacco and pencil shavings with a touch of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied with layers of spicy dried fruit and blackberry cordial flavors that are supported by a firm level of grainy tannins, balanced acidity and a finish with great length. Drink it now to 2019+. 93+/100."
- Wine Advocate, October 2013
"An initially closed, tight nose opens out to reveal raspberry, plum and cedar characters. That restraint is mirrored in the mouthfeel, which is structured and taut, with subtle, very fine oak elements, dusty, long tannins and a smooth aftertaste. Not a blockbuster, but a sophisticated, elegant wine with great length and purity."
- Paul Tudor MW for the Metro Top 100 Wines for Winter 2013
"Big, lush, ripe blackberry fruit on the nose, just like a fruit pastille. Intense fruit: showing as chocolate, cassis and mint, all wonderfully concentrated and complex with leathery notes and awesome high-toast oak in support. Developed and complex and nicely weighted in the mouth with round, firm, supple tannins. Long!! 5☆☆☆☆☆"
- WineNZ magazine, WineNZ Top 20 Selections 2012
2006 Vintage
"A five-year-old, nicely mature Matakana red that is drinking beautifully now. Blackcurrant and cedar with a touch of mushroom and spice."
- Jane Skilton MW in The Sunday Star-Times.
"This is a beautifully styled Bordeaux blend displaying cassis, game and spicy oak characters with a touch of cigar complexity on the nose. The palate is classic and beautifully poised with excellent mid palate weight and smooth texture, leading to a lingering dry finish backed by fine/firm tannins. At it's best: now to 2018. 94/100"
- Sam Kim in Wine Orbit.
"!!!!! As for our own reds, it has been a great year. Dealing with non-pinot noir grapes first, special mention must go to the 2006 Gillman Matakana Bordeaux-style red. This is a tiny production and hard to track down but worth the effort especially for fans of cabernet franc. Latest release and sheer class with fine balance, texture and flavour. A bold wine with loads of attitude. Cassis, plum, herbs and spice, and most importantly, that X-factor."
- John Hawkesby, for the New Zealand Herald
"!!!!! Recently, I came across a local wine that I vaguely knew existed but had never tried. Silly me. It is superb. This Gillman Vineyard was a revelation, from a small holding in Matakana, just north of Auckland. Primarily a blend of cabernet franc, merlot and malbec, there is a strong nod towards a classic French Bordeaux style. A bold wine with loads of attitude. Cassis, plum, herbs and spice and most importantly, that X-factor."
- John Hawkesby, for the New Zealand Herald.
2005 Vintage
"Gillman Vineyard is located in the Matakana region of New Zealand, about an hour’s drive north of Auckland. Their sole wine is a St. Émilion-inspired blend of two-thirds cabernet franc, thirty percent merlot and five percent malbec, and it is a beauty. The 2005 offers up a superbly complex nose of cherries, menthol, tobacco, coffee, lovely soil tones and a discreet framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, suave and classy, with lovely, nascent complexity, moderate tannins and fine length and grip on the elegant finish. Drinkable today, the 2005 should develop additional layers of complexity with a few more years of bottle age, and I might be inclined to tuck this bottle away until 2012 or so. Classy juice and a new name to look for in the firmament of top quality New Zealand wine. 2010-2025. 91+."
- John Gilman (no relation!), USA-based critic for the View from the Cellar newsletter.
2004 Vintage
"The full-coloured, savoury, spicy, slightly chocolaty 2004 vintage (5 stars) was the star [of the tasting], showing lovely concentration and complexity."
- Michael Cooper’s Buyers Guide to NZ Wine 2009
"Finally, I was astounded to taste Gillman Matakana 2004 from north of Auckland. This region should be far too hot and humid to grow good grapes but it's coastal position keeps temperatures down. The flavours in this wine are terrific, dense, rich, elegant and full of dark plums and liquorice chocolate. It is ready now and quite delicious."
- Christine Austin of the Yorkshire Post
"The 2004 Matakana from Gillman Vineyard is a superb wine, with a bit more underlying structure in evidence than the 2005. The bouquet is a tad “cooler” in profile than the 2005, allowing for an even greater interplay of fruit and the volcanic soils on which this vineyard is planted, as it offers up a complex mélange of bell pepper, cherries, tobacco, a fine base of soil, cigar smoke and a topnote of fresh herbs. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely reserved, with a rock solid core of fruit, ripe tannins, and excellent focus and grip on the long, intensely flavored and utterly refined finish. This is a terrific wine that simply needs a couple more years of cellaring to really blossom. 2012-2030. 92."
- John Gilman (no relation!), USA-based critic for the View from the Cellar newsletter
2003 Vintage
"The 2003 is lightly perfumed, neither forceful nor powerful but elegant. Bordeaux on the nose, with loads of minerality and just ripe but not shrivelled berries. The oak is gentle and supportive rather than upfront. The palate is caressing with silky tannins and a long lingering berry finish and crisp acidity."
- Simon Tam, Hong Kong’s leading wine commentator.
"The 2003 Gillman Matakana is another outstanding bottle from this young and upcoming estate. The bouquet is deep and classy, showing off it's cabernet franc heritage in a complex blend of dark berries, tobacco leaf, cigar smoke, a fine base of soil, a touch of bell pepper and just a hint of game in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and tangy, with lovely complexity, excellent mid-palate depth and just a bit of tannin to resolve on the very long, focused and classy finish. This wine would be hard to pick out in a blind tasting of classed growth St. Émilions, and is really a bit more true to the heritage of the Right Bank than many of the modern wines of the commune that taste as if they could have just as well been made in Chile or California. The 2003 Gillman Vineyard Matakana is drinking well today, but a few more years of bottle age will allow it's secondary levels of complexity to fully come to the fore. Classy juice. 2012-2025. 90"
- John Gilman (no relation!), US-based critic for the View from the Cellar newsletter
2002 Vintage
"Plenty of oak from a long rest in barrel support a deep, rich wine with some intensity and concentration. I like it a lot. A wine with depth, a little different, perhaps almost European in style but a wine with plenty to say. No hurry. Comes at a price, but don’t all good things!"
- Peter Saunders’ A Guide to New Zealand Wine 2007
2009 Clairet
"As well, there is a clairet style, a lighter red wine not usually made here, and not to be confused with claret. This is sort of a rosé style but with considerably more depth, flavour and weight. Cabernet franc and merlot are the primary grapes used, so clairet is a darker and more brooding wine than a modern rosé with more fruit, richness, texture and structure. It is best served lightly chilled. Small production available from the winery only. Supple, fruity, early drinking style. Light tannins but an attractive, approachable and refreshing wine. This is worth seeking out."
- John Hawkesby, for the New Zealand Herald