The Landing has established a reputation as Northland’s most outstanding vineyard. Founded in 2007 on a spectacular coastal peninsula with deep historic significance in the Bay of Islands, the family-owned vineyard and winery produces red, white and rosé wines acclaimed in New Zealand and overseas.
The Landing Wines has recently launched the Madre Collection — a premium, limited-edition tier, named for the family matriarch who inspired the planting of The Landing’s first vines. Made from the pick of the grape crop, only in exceptional growing seasons, the collection launches with the Madre 2020 Chardonnay and the Madre 2020 Syrah.
In Northland, 2020 was an outstanding vintage — warm and dry, with low yields and great concentration. The Madre grapes, selected primarily from the original 2007 plantings, were hand-picked, then hand-sorted in the winery before processing. Further selection in barrel was undertaken to ensure only the very best parcels went into the Madre blends. Bottled on site, each bottle is hand-labelled and numbered.
The first two Madre wines represent the purest and most intense expression of the unique terroir of The Landing. The vineyard’s dense Marua clay soils and drying coastal breezes mean the vines grow and fruit ripens slowly, building complexity and a deep richness into the Bay of Islands’ characteristic ripe-fruit profile.
“The Madre wines are the realisation of an ambition to present the very best from this special coastal vineyard,” says winemaker Ben Byrne. “These wines reflect so much hard work from all involved, past and present, and it’s an honour to be part of the story.”