The colour: Deep red robe with hints of violet. The nose: Intense with notes of black fruit, violets and spices. The palate: Generous with good, mellow tannins followed by a lovely, spicy finish.

Dreadnought Syrah is very classical in style, lifted red fruits with a dark edge of graphite and pepper along with savoury stem derived characters make for an intense and interesting aroma profile. The palate is very linear but vibrant carrying good weight and concentration but also a lively streak from the stem inclusion that makes the finish seem fresh and lithe.

Man O' War Island Blend is a Bordeaux style wine and is a blend of fruit from both Waiheke Island and its neighbouring Ponui Island. The blend is predominantly Cabernet Franc from their Paradise vineyard on Ponui Island with Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot coming from sites nestled in the sheltered valleys of Eastern Waiheke Island. Rich, ripe wine with sweet red berry fruit framed by chocolate and spice. The palate is softly textured with fine ripe tannins making for a decadent expression of a Cabernet Franc dominated blend.

Ironclad shows dark fruits; plums and berries, wildflowers, crushed rock, and iodine, all creating a complex and lifted aroma profile. The palate shows good density which is balanced with coastal freshness and finishes with a core of powerful tannins. A rare dominance of Merlot over Cabernet Franc gives the wine good early accessibility but clearly a wine suited to ageing.

A complex aromatic profile with smokey peaty characters with a herbaceous lift from the stem influence along with notes of blue and boysenberry and a nod towards cured meats. The oak is very lightly toasted providing an edge of a lift from the woody oak aromatics. The palate is fresh with a nice linearity from the acidity and the mix of skin, seed, stem and oak tannins.

Pinot gris for the Exiled comes from the St Helena clone of Pinot gris and is grown on both Waiheke and Ponui Islands. The wines are chilled to below zero to stop the fermentation before blending, the blend is held at low temperatures in the cellar until bottling to retain as much of the natural carbon dioxide as possible.

The wine exhibits some flinty sulphide notes over aromatics of green pepper, gooseberry and nettles with additional tones of passion fruit and lychee. The palate is fresh and vibrant with vibrant acidity balanced by weight and texture from the barrel fermentation and a long persistent gin and tonic like finish.

Classical in its fresh herb, lime cordial and passionfruit seed with a coastal element of weathered rock and salt spray. The palate is linear and textured finishing dry and salivating. Picking early has not only captured the classic herbal notes of the variety but has allowed for the vibrant acid profile to be balanced by the concentration from low yields, a hint of barrel weight and a touch of residual sugar retained from the fermentation.

The Valhalla has a wealth of ripe aromas; nectarine and grapefruit with complex layers of baking bread, cashew and flinty reductive elements. Rich and fulsome on the palate, with a spine of acidity harmoniously interwoven with richness and a ripe citrus finish.

You will fall prey to this wine from the first furtive glance. Crackling black fern and toasted nori rise from the glass, making way for seasoned split acacia, roasted beetroot and freshly uprooted truffle. Warm poached plum, tay berries and dark chocolate gateaux with coffee buttercream icing form a warm welcome as do notes of rich beef consume, sweet violets and a dash of tomato. Palate notes of oven baked wild oats, dark sticky prunes and sun-dried beef jerky. The tannins sit between rhubarb crumble and central plateau pumice. Following with a suggestion of marmite sourdough toast, soft roasted eggplant, rubbed oregano and warm caramel brulee.

Fruit notes of white fleshed stone fruits and ripe citrus zest lead to the rich, creamy mid-palate, with oak derived notes of grilled nuts and baking spice.

They are Marquis de Conflans - but just call them MDC. They're from a 7th Generation champagne house, but they've reinvented themselves for the modern world. They're open, inclusive and crafted with environment front of mind. They're a champagne for modern tastes, modern palates and forward-thinking people.