Cabernet's from Margaret River and Hawke's Bay

 

It was difficult to come to generalized conclusions in a recent comparison tasting of Cabernet's from Margaret River and Hawke's Bay. The wines varied wildly in age, grape composition, and screw cap vs. cork also made a difference.

The two Gimblett Gravels wines from Hawke's Bay, the 2021 Tom by Church Road, and the 2013 Sophia by Craggy Range, were full-bodied, with the Sophia quite rich and dense, whereas the 2021 Tom was more red fruited with a silky finish. New oak was significant in both wines.

In contrast, the Te Mata Coleraine comes from vineyards near Havelock North, with a different soil profile. This shows in the wine, which is a bit lighter, savoury, and higher levels of acidity. 

The Margaret River wines were very different from each other. The 2014 Woodlands 'Matthew' is quite open and fruit oriented, the 2008 Howard Park 'Abercrombie' was surprisingly sweet and ripe, whereas the 2005 Diana Madeline from Cullen impressed with its complex palate of various fruits, licorice, dark chocolate and earthy notes.

I could not draw any generalizations from this comparison, maybe other than 'when wines come from similar climates, it is down to the winemaker'.

Te Mata Gamay Noir

 This 2022 Te Mata Gamay Noir is a great find. 

There is a lot of talk about the improvement of Beaujolais cru, and some of this is justified. And then you get a Gamay from left field, at half price or less, which is quite exciting.

The colour is carmine (ruby with a bit of blue), very appealing.

On the palate, there is raspberry fruit, but also a lot of savoury flavours, game and green tea. The mouthfeel is velvety. The wine is not very concentrated, but the flavours create an intriguing complexity. Acidity and tannins are medium.

This is a good quality, very drinkable great summer wine. Highly recommended.

Score: 90/+++

Bordeaux Style Blends New Zealand

 The last post in the series of premium wines from New Zealand looks at quite an eclectic group of Bordeaux style blends from the North Island.

Three wines stood out from this line-up. My favourite wine was the 2019 Church Road TOM from Hawke's Bay, the predominant region of Bordeaux style wines in New Zealand. This Cabernet Merlot delivers red cherry and blackberry fruit flavours against a background of smoky notes. This is an elegant wine with soft tannins and a long finish. It is the most expensive of the wines reviewed here (96/+++ points).

Not far behind is the 2020 Man O' War Ironclad Merlot blend. This winery from Waiheke Island is going from strength to strength. It has a similar fruit profile to the previous wine. The wine is quite big and intense, while still elegant. It delivers attractive lifted notes on the finish (95/+++ points).

I also enjoyed the 2018 Paritua 21.12 from Hawke's Bay. This is a Cabernet blend with a similar tasting profile to the Church Road. The wine has medium concentration, and is elegant with silky tannins and a satisfying finish (95/+++ points).

The 2019 Te Motu Cabernet blend is fresh, with redcurrant flavours, a bit confected. This is a relatively straight forward, smooth wine (92/+ points).

Also from Waiheke Island is the 2017 Tantalus Ecluse Reserve, another Cabernet blend. This wine has medium concentration. It is a harmonious wine, but a bit bland (92/+ points).

Overall, Bordeaux style wines have come a long way in New Zealand. The blends are sophisticated, seamless, and elegant. They should certainly be considered as alternatives to Pinot Noir.

Craggy Range Te Kahu

 This wine, from Craggy Range's home block, is a blend of five Bordeaux varieties, with Merlot taking the lead at 63% for the 2016 Craggy Range Te Kahu. It mimics a right bank Bordeaux wine.  I tasted this wine more than 18 months ago and gave it a mixed review. Let's see how it stacks up this time.

The colour of this wine is very dark. Therefore, no surprise on the palate with black fruits dominating, blackberry and dark cherry. There are earthy notes and five spice. The wine is surprisingly developed. The mouthfeel lacks some integration - between varieties, between flavours. The fine tannins provide some compensation, but the finish is slightly hot.

This is a wine that should be drunk now. It provides reasonable value for money.

Score: 90/+

Craggy Range and Torbreck

 I am drinking the 2016 Craggy Range Te Kahu Merlot blend. This wine hits me with its concentrated fruit. It is intense and powerful, but also elegant and quite smooth. I am reminded of Torbreck.

There is a lot of primary fruit here, blackberry and plum. The structure is firm, with a dry tannic backbone. There is great fruit in this wine; it is well made. However, the mouthfeel is of a thick and blocky wine. It is not layered.

Score: 94/0

As it happens, the first wine I grab after is the 2017 Torbreck Factor. This is Torbreck's most concentrated 100% Shiraz. In comparison to the Craggy Range, it is darker, riper, almost Port like, and the oak shows more. In my view, this is not like wine should be, and the dry year did not help. I do not think the winemaking has been great here. Interestingly, David Powell's favorite during his Torbreck reign has always been the Steading, not the more powerful wines with the best and ripest fruit, selling for three times the price.

Score: 89/-

PS: So in hindsight, the Craggy Range was nothing like a Torbreck (I just had forgotten) 

Hawke's Bay Premium Tasting

 Hawke's Bay is the oldest NZ wine region, yet it is not nearly as prominent as Central Otago, Marlborough or Martinborough. A recent tasting of some of its best wines demonstrated that it deserves much better. The region is best known for Chardonnay, Syrah, and Cabernet blends. The wines tasted are shown in the picture below.

The top three wines, in my and the other tasters opinion, were the 2010 Craggy Range 'Le Sol', the sensational 2018 Tony Bish Zen Chardonnay, and the 2014 Craggy Range 'Sophia'. 

The Tony Bish Zen is unusual in that it is matured in a French oak egg, or Ovum. This gives quite a lot of oak exposure. Not surprisingly, therefore, is the golden colour and the fuller bodied flavour of this wine. There was depth in the yellow peach fruit, and complex nutty flavours added to the rich texture. At the same time, there was a lightness on the finish - intriguing (96 points).

Le Sol is arguably the most credentialed Syrah from New Zealand.This 2010 Le Sol showed very layered red and black fruit flavours and was more generous than the other very peppery Syrahs (see below). This is a very balanced wine with a sweet core, and overall quite a big mouthfeel (96 points).

I reported on the Sophia a few posts back, so no notes here.

I rated the next set of wines all 94 points. The 2017 Blanc Canvas 'Element' Syrah is properly named. The elements must have rattled the vines a lot. This is probably the most peppery wine I have ever tasted. The cracked black pepper was so strong, it overshadowed everything else. It is a medium weight wine with dark fruit and bacon flavours and quite a tannic finish. It gets this good rating for personality.

The 2016 Bilancia La Collina Syrah, with part fruit coming from the Gimblett Gravels, and part from south of Hastings, is also quite peppery. This is a more balanced and elegant wine, partly due to the 2% Viognier. The musky notes are interesting; the finish is long.

The second Craggy Range 'Le Sol' was from 2014. The colour was very inky. This wine was quite closed, may have entered a dormant phase. It had a slightly eucalypt character, with peppery flavours and licorice also present.

Finally, the 2019 Te Mata Coleraine. Cassis was dominant, and we felt the wine had a bit of a vegetal character. The highlight were the very fine and dusty tannins. This wine had outstanding reviews by a number of professional reviewers. At this tasting, it suffered a bit from being last and a bit rushed. It was also quite young by comparison. But 100 points? No, it is not a perfect wine.

The final two wines were the 2014 Te Mata Awatea, Coleraine's little brother. It is a lighter wine, with mint and peppery notes and a bit of a gap on the mid palate. It was quite enjoyable, but was put up against outstanding opposition (93 points).

The first wine was the 2019 Craggy Range Kidnappers Vineyard Chardonnay. It comes from a coastal site. The nose was quite floral, and we were in fact not sure if we were looking at a Chardonnay here (all wines were tasted blind). The wine was quite light on the palate, with an attractive texture - a flinty wine with melon flavours and saline notes (92 points).  

 

Craggy Range Te Kahu

 

The 2016 Craggy Range Te Kahu, a single vineyard wine from the home block, yet a blend of five Bordeaux varieties, with Merlot taking the lead at 63%, received rave reviews on release. I did not taste it at the time, bought it on spec. Tonight, I opened my first bottle. 

Blackberry, mulberry, and black olive flavours blend well together. The fruit intensity is medium in this elegant and smooth wine. The tannins are soft and dry, well integrated. The finish is long, but a little lean.

This wine lacks some power and complexity which I would have expected from the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay, but it is a lovely wine. It will continue to evolve for a few years.

Score: 92/++ 

Craggy Range 'Sophia'

The 2014 Craggy Range 'Sophia' is a Bordeaux varieties blend. It is Merlot dominant (61%), with additional components of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. In this way, it is fashioned similar to the Right Bank of Bordeaux. It is grown on the famous Gimblett Gravels of Hawke's Bay, and this ground is sometimes compared to the soil of Pauillac on the Left Bank. At the end of the day, it is a serious New Zealand red.

This wine is quite perfumed on the nose. On the palate, it is a full-bodied, rich wine. I taste black, blue, and red fruits, good complexity. White pepper is quite prominent. Overall, the wine is a bit thick in the mouth, yet it keeps an elegant feel. It stays full-bodied to the end with a medium finish.

This wine is still young, and will peak in 3-5 years, in my view, with a much longer life ahead.

Score: 95/++