Sacred Hill Helmsman Up for Auction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sacred Hill Helmsman Up for Auction

Sacred Hill Wines is donating some of its most acclaimed vintages of Helmsman Cabernet Sauvignon to The Midlands Hawke’s Bay Charity Wine Auction, the oldest wine auction in New Zealand. The Auction is scheduled to take place on the evening of Saturday, 5 June, 2010.

Six magnums of some of the most sought after wine in the world, including three magnums of 2005 Helmsman Cabernet Sauvignon and three magnums of 2006 Helmsman Cabernet Sauvignon, presented in a specially crafted box, will go under the hammer.

Bids for any of the auction lots can be taken via the phone or online. Both phone bid pre-registration and online bids must be submitted by 5pm, Saturday, 5 June. All details and bidding instructions can be found on the Charity Wine Auction website www.charitywineauction.co.nz

Both vintages of the Helmsman rated 3rd and 4th respectively in two comparative tastings of 12 wines, 6 premium wines each from the Gimblett Gravels and Bordeaux.

The 2005 Helmsman was entered into the Scenic Cellars, Taupo Masterclass, where it was rated third, ahead of five highly rated Bordeaux wines, some valued up to $2000, as well as the other Gimblett Gravels wines.

The 2006 Helmsman was tasted in a repeat London event attended by some of the United Kingdom’s most highly regarded wine critics. In this tasting Helmsman was rated fourth behind Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, and Angelus.

Both the first two French wines are valued at around NZ$2000 per wine, with Chateau Angelus costing around NZ$800 per bottle. When you can find it, Helmsman sells for about NZ$65.

All Helmsman wines are sourced from low yielding Gimblett Gravels vines, which are carefully hand tended, followed by small batch processing and aging prior to release. During both vintages, early spells of hot weather saw intense flavour development, excellent ripening and an early harvest of these vines. “Helmsman wines are powerful and elegant, with firmly structured palates and great complexity of aroma and flavour that will continue to develop for many years” says Sacred Hill Winemaker, Tony Bish.

The Midlands Hawkes’ Bay Charity Wine Auction supports Cranford Hospice. To date, Hawke’s Bay wine industry has proudly supported the region’s palliative care specialists with over $2 million raised in donations from local wineries and artists.

The Midlands Hawke’s Bay Charity Wine Auction takes place on Queen’s Birthday Weekend, with a pre-auction tasting on Saturday, 5 June from 2pm-5pm while the auction itself takes place the same day from 5pm.

Visit wwwcharitywineauction.co.nz for more information surrounding the auction.

www.sacredhill.com

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