Reviews

Bob Campbell's Wine Reviews November 2008  

Clearview Black Reef Blush 2008

“A bright, almost luminescent colour. Made from a blend of Bordeaux varieties plus the disease-resistent French grape Chambourcin, this wine regularly rates as one of the country's best examples of Rose. Fresh crushed berry and strawberry flavours with firm tannins effectively balancing a suggestion of sweetness to give a dry finish. Good gutsy Rose offering great value.”

Bob Campbell's Wine Reviews October 2008

Clearview Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008

"Rich, creamy wine with plenty of spicy oak adding extra complexity to ripe nectarine/tree fruit flavours. Bone dry wine with character and intensity. An individual style that departs from mainstream fruit-driven Sauvignon Blanc styles.”

Winestate Magazine - July/August 2008

Clearview Reserve Chardonnay 2007         

A top vintage, with excellent potential.  Grown at Te Awanga, on the Hawke’s Bay coast, it's a very rich and vibrant wine, poised with youthful, tight and elegant, with lovely depth of citrus and stone fruit flavours seasoned with toasty oak and a lasting finish 

F&B Magazine - March 2007

Unwooded Chardonnay 2006

“Very approachable and enjoyable Hawke’s Bay style, all the better for being released at twelve months rather than six and without the clutter and distraction oak can provide.  Balanced, alive and great with food, especially for the price.”  Peter Saunders

Wine Orbit - 2007

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2006  94

 “I scored this wine a conservative 92 points in the last issue.  Having had another look among a larger group of Sauvignon Blancs, this wine really got into top gear and rocketed down home straight.  The bouquet is hedonistic and haunting; there’s ripe stone fruit with the classic Sauvignon herb notes.  The oak presence is undeniable but very refined, and for a young wine it shows remarkable integration of flavours.  The palate is concentrated with generous body but tightly structured with racy acidity.  A magnificent wine evoking Bordeaux blanc characters.  100% barrel fermented, partial malolactic and matured for 10 months in barrels.  At its best: now to 2010. Sam Kim

48 Hours Hawkes Bay - August 2007

Pinot Noir des Trois 2006

“Sweet florals, anise confection, black tea and savoury spices leap out of the glass from this, which to my knowledge is the first multi-regional blend I’ve ever tried.  Central Otago, Waipara and Martinborough grapes play happy families here, coaxed along to create an incredibly dense, plum laden, chocolatey pinot with sexy earthy flavours and lingering, teasing tannins.  Three parcels of fruit from three regions made in part by Tim’s three talented daughters – a magic ménage indeed.”  Yvonne Marie Lorkin 

The Telegraph (UK) - June 2008

Enigma 2006

Rated 4/5 “Made from the traditional Bordeaux combination of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this is a very Bordeaux-like wine. The key flavours are of plum, cherry and blackcurrant, but there are some perfumed notes too and a hint of spearmint. Classy and worth keeping. Robert Joseph

New Zealand Herald

Old Olive Block 2005

"Classic Bordeaux blend – cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and malbec. Generous palate, warm and spicy with complex cassis and plum flavours. Smells divine and the savoury cedar oak and long soft tannins finish the wine off beautifully. " John Hawkesby, Canvas Magazine, NZ Herald, 17 November, 2007

Winestate Magazine - Michael Cooper

"Clearview Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2006

The latest vintage of this Hawke's Bay classic is notably powerful and lush.  Concentrated stone-fruit flavours, showing a slightly honeyed richness, are seasoned with toasty oak (almost all French, 50% new) in a creamy-textured, ‘full-on’ style, full of personality.”  Michael Cooper’s Recent Releases, November/December 2007 issue of Winestate magazine 

New Zealand Herald

“Clearview's Tim Turvey is well known for making some of the country's biggest and boldest chardonnays and this is no exception. Not for the faint-hearted or for drinking with delicately flavoured foods, this fat and creamy chardonnay, with its ripe stone fruit and lashings of toasty oak is reined in by a crisp citrus acidity which stops it from being overblown.”  Jo Burzynska, Viva Magazine, NZ Herald 27 June, 2007

Wine Orbit, Issue 2

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2006
I scored this wine a conservative 92 points in the last issue.  Having had another look among a larger group of Sauvignon Blancs, this wine really got into gear and rocketed down home straight.  The bouquet is hedonistic and haunting; there's ripe stone fruit with the classic Sauvignon herb notes.  The oak presence is undeniable but very refined, and for a young wine it shows remarkable integration of flavours.  The palate is concentrated with generous body but tightly structured with racy acidity.  A magnificent wine evoking Bordeaux blanc characters.  100% barrel fermented, partial malolactic and matured for 10 months in barrels.  At its best now to 2010.

“Clearview Reserve Chardonnays are well known for their bold, powerful flavours.  This 2006 is another commanding, authoritative wine; yet it has refinement and sophistication.  One of the most glorious young Chardonnays I’ve tried in a long while.  Complex bouquet showing layers of flavours including white peaches and pineapple together with mealy notes and well-integrated toasty oak.  The palate is equally compelling – rich, ripe, juicy, creamy, weighty and with a beautifully balanced acidity.  A complete wine showing power and grace.  This is an outstanding Chardonnay.  At its best: now to 2010.  RRP $37 - $42.” 96 points  Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, 2007

Home & Entertaining Magazine, Aug/Sept 2006

Enigma 2004

"93/100 A dense wine with quite focused flavours including cherry, blackberry, cedar and spice.  Vibrant red with firm tannins suggesting good ageing potential.  Lovely texture and impressive length."  93 points

Gourmet Traveller Wine, June/July 2006

Enigma 2004

"A blend of 80% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from a coastal Hawke's Bay maker with a reputation for producing seriously big wines.  The Enigma was matured for 15 months in mostly new French oak, which the intense rip berry fruit flavours have been more than able to handle.  The succulent fruit is balanced by fine tannins and tangy acidity.  A smooth wine with a great future." 85 points

Otago Daily Times, 19th July 2006

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2005

"Clearview Reserve Hawke's Bay Sauvignon Blanc is an exciting funky wine, with a herbal, nutty complexity and an intense crisp finish.  It's a stylish wine, barrel-fermented with a small proportion of Semillon, and will develop for three or four years." Charmian Smith

Hawke's Bay Today, 17^th June 2006

Reserve Chardonnay 2005

"Explosive tropical fruit, damp hay, grapefruit, pencil shavings and toast swing through the sinuses.  This chardonnay is lovely, full bodied and weighty on the palate with warm alcohol and spicy mealy characters.  A layered and ultimately textural wine that I'd love to revisit in four to five years time." Yvonne Lorkin

Dominion Post, Indulgence, Saturday 10th June 2006

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2005

"Who said you can't cellar Sauvignon Blanc?  Try this one.  An outstanding example of Clearview's oak-aged model which had been tweaked with a Semillon to fatten it further.  Rich tropical Hawke's Bay flavours will become more sumptious over the next few years."  Warren Barton

Dominion Post, Indulgence, Saturday 3rd June 2006

Reserve Chardonnay 2005

"New Zealand Chardonnays don't come much bolder than those made by Tim Turvey at Te Awanga, Hawke's Bay and this is the flagship of his fleet – gutsy (14.5% alcohol), beautifully textured and loaded with luscious stone and tropical fruit" Warren Barton

Gourmet Traveller Wine April/May 2006

Reserve Chardonnay 2004

?95 points.  The Best yet.  Clearview chardonnay has a reputation for its generous proportions.  This vintage is no exception, although the wine is more integrated, less obviously oaky and has a smoother texture than ever before.  An outstanding and complex mix of citrus and stone-fruit flavours entwined with classy French oak.? 

Sommnet.com

Reserve Chardonnay 2005

?Mellow, bright and lemon gold.  Big fruit aromas matched by sparky oak gives this an heroic quality, fresh yet voluminous.  Big fruit (fig) front is shining bright, intense and riddled with oak that is fresh and brisk.  Mid palate is all grapefruit and fig flavour with a vibrant manner and brisk, warm, lingering finish.  Big and brave throughout, with waves of intense fruit in every corner.? Keith Stewart

Otago Daily Times, April 2006

Unwooded Chardonnay 2005

"Tim Turvey makes a range of boldly flavoured chardonnays, from his acclaimed reserve, through to his toasty Beachhead to this gutsy unwooded wine.  There?s a lot of creamy citrus, golden syrup and a crisp, lively finish on this young, unoaked, in-your-face wine.  Both it and the Beachhead are 05?s and will benefit from another few months bottle age." Charmian Smith

Fine Wine Delivery Company 2006

Reserve Chardonnay 2005

"Owner Tim Turvey continually redefines the quality of this icon Chardonnay, he?s delivering his finest work yet in this exciting 2005 release.  An aromatic medley of stonefruit/fig/melon/hazelnut and toasted almonds introduces a generous palate beset with a rich array of fruit adorned by complex nutty/spicy barrel characters. The elegantly structured, intense finish delivers final confirmation of quality. The true marriage of fruit and complexity is best appreciated between 2008/10."

F&B Magazine, April 2006

Beachhead Chardonnay 2005

?Hearty, fairly full on without being heavy.  A decent Hawke?s Bay chardonnay statement without complexity just yet, but made to link with food and it does this well.?  Peter Saunders

Fine Wine Delivery Company, February 2006

Unwooded Chardonnay 2005

"Tim Turvey (Chardonnay winemaking genius) knows how to add x-factor to Unwooded chardonnay.  Just released it?s ready to impress with its enticing lemon, melon, peach and pineapple aromas.  The rich/creamy palate embodie layers of ripe peach/apricot/melon that is underlain with a lovely biscuity character.  A burst of ripe lemon and grapefruit adds zing and beautifully contrasts the rich fruit.  It could become addictive enjoy on numerous occasions now through 2007/8."

Fine Wine Delivery Company February 2006

Beachhead Chardonnay 2005

The Beachhead is seen as the baby brother to the highly acclaimed Clearview reserve Chardonnay.  It is packed with the bold tropical/stone fruit and spicy/nutty barrel aromas that have made Clearview Chardonnay famous.  The generous mix of pineapple, creamy peach and apricot immediately sets your taste buds alive.  This is further enhanced by a creamy backbone of melon, nectarine and toasted almonds that melds with the palate to give a mouth filling and complex finish.  Lovers of generous Chardonnay will be impressed.  Enjoy through to 2008/9.?

WineNZ August/September 2004

Enigma 2002

"A big chewy wine. Lots of intensity and richness, some lifted perfumed aromas of violets and spice. The oak is noticeable - cedar and pencil box, but the concentration and persistence of flavour more than balance. An impressive wine."

Old Olive Block 2002

"A big densely coloured wine with ripe plum and cassis aromas. The firm palate has touches of dried herbs and spices and a distinct thread of Cabernet gives structure and balance. A long dry finish. Well made."

WineNZ April/May 2004

"Clearview Estate Winery is situated at Te Awanga, a small settlement on the coast of Hawke's Bay (in sight of Cape Kidnappers and almost within the sound of the surf on the beach nearby) where Tim Turvey and Helma van den Berg produce some of the country's most acclaimed wines and offer them to visitors in the confines of one of the country's most distinctive indoor/outdoor vineyard restaurants.........

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Decanter Magazine March 2004

Reserve Chardonnay 2001

Rich, nutty nose with exotic spice, honey and more nuts on the palate.  Bone dry yet rich and relatively forward.

The Fine Wine Delivery Company February 2004

A fantastic few hours at Clearview

Clearview Winery at Te Awanga in the Hawke's Bay should be a complusory visit when you are in Hawke's Bay. The cellar door is approximately 200 metres from the ocean as the crow flies and on a warm summers day the sea breeze offers a nice temper to the gorgeous Hawke's Bay sun.....

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Home & Entertaining Magazine February/March 2004

89 Clearview 2002 Enigma

This wine features sweet vanilla from oak and concentrated, almost jammy, berry and plum flavours. A big, rick and moderately warming wine, with good potential.

86 Clearview 2002 Old Olive Block

This is a sweet, dense red with a lovely mellow texture and good length. It's quite a stylish, chewy wine, with berry, chocolate, liquorice, spice and dried herb flavours.

Hawke's Bay Today 4th February 2004

Clearview launches NZ's 'priciest' chardonnay

Clearview Estate is launching its flagship wine over Harvest Hawke's Bay weekend with tastings of what could be New Zealand's most expensive chardonnay.
Owner-winemaker Tim Turvey says The Endeavour - the winery's "absolute pinnacle" chardonnay - is still to be bottled, but it only will be available in 1.5-litre magnums selling for $200.

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UK Daily Mail, Saturday December 20 2003

Ten places you just shouldn't miss in New Zealand

No 4. Hawke's Bay - You could spend three weeks here, drifting from vineyard to vineyard, wine tasting and eating in high quality restaurants. Don't miss the Clearview Estate Winery, where you can sit in a garden of rosemary and lavender and choose from a menu of fresh seafood and lamb.

Hawke's Bay Today, Saturday 20th December 2003

Clearview puts NZ on world wine map

Clearview Estate has helped put New Zealand on the world wine map as one of only four wineries from this country invited to showcase its wine at an international event. Winery manager Suzie Thorp and winemaker-owner Tim Turvey represented Clearview at The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter staged at the Landmark Hotel in London.

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Dominion Newspaper, Warren Barton's Top 100 Wines, December 2003

Clearview 2002 Reserve Chardonnay

The reserve chardonnays made by Tim Turvey at Te Awanga have a huge reputation for their grunt, their intensity and balance, as well as the way that they mature. This is another in the same mould. Drink this Christmas if you must but better in, say, 2006/7.

Clearview 2001 Old Olive Block

An ample and warm, black-fruited blend of cabernet franc (50 percent), cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec that has gathered a big following since its launch in 1994. Named for an olive tree that has been on the property since 1915.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 11th November 2003

Good Drinking - Wine - Huon Hook
Triple treat from Hawkes Bay

Three Kiwi neighbours are making the wine world sit up and take notice.

Tim Turvey and Terry Peabody couldn't have approached the wine game more differently They are both relatively new to producing wine and both enjoyed immediate success. But one spent about $60 million, the other sold his house for $68,000 and used that to get started.

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Cuisine Magazine, Issue 101, November 2003

Top 10 NZ Other Reds – Number 6 – Clearview Estate Old Olive Block 2001

Strong. Black fruit, fruit-cake and dried spice flavours with some nice savoury complexity that includes game, liquorice and tar. An attractive red with good cellaring potential.

WineNZ Magazine, April/May 2003

Hawke's Bay on the Fringe

The Te Awanga sites are more recent than most and the vineyards are directly open to the sea breezes. It's something that Tim Turvey at Clearview sees as a big advantage. The maritime climate produces a long ripening period that increases the intensity and flavour and it means that frost is rarely a problem. And Clearview has been producing wines with exactly those intense flavours as their impressive record at wine shows demonstrates.