OVER 150 YEARS AGO, THE NGARURORO RIVER SHAPED THE LAND WHERE OUR GIMBLETT GRAVELS VINEYARDS NOW THRIVE.
“The art of farming grapes involves finding the best blocks of land within the estate for each varietal, then making footprints in the vineyard, vigilantly managing and nurturing the vines to maximise their potential.”
Jonothan Hamlet | National Vineyards Manager
The Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay, from the distinctive stony soils of our vineyard and fermented and matured in oak barriques, exemplifies precision and balance with a seamless, supple texture.
Diverse clonal selections from varying vineyard parcels enhance the wine’s structural complexity, contributing both concentrated acidity and mineral depth. Careful vineyard management, including early picking and shading of fruit, ensures a purity of expression, free from overt tropical notes. The result is a Chardonnay of intensity and elegance with a long, sophisticated finish.
Individual parcels grown in our Hawke’s Bay Vineyards are carefully selected for balanced flavour and freshness. Harvested, then gently pressed for careful colour and flavour extraction.
Produced from the stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels, this distinctly unique Syrah, aged in French oak barriques, shows an intense aromatic lift of floral, pepper, and black fruit. Concentrated flavours and excellent purity on the palate are balanced with fine tannins for a long, elegant finish.
Te Kahu embodies the essence of a Bordeaux-style ‘vineyard blend’, reflecting the planting percentages of the vineyard with a Merlot-dominant composition followed by Cabernet Sauvignon. Crafted from fruit grown in The Quarry and Sophia blocks, it is the pinnacle of value. This wine delivers ripe black and red fruit flavours with a softer tannin profile, ideal for shorter aging than Sophia. Sourced from multiple blocks, it harmonises higher-toned red fruit from silty soils with darker, concentrated black fruit from stony blocks, resulting in a blend prioritising drinkability and complexity.
Over 150 years ago, the Ngaruroro River shaped the land where our vineyards now thrive, making Gimblett Gravels a young wine region in geological terms. Unlike the aged soils of many traditional wine regions, our gravelly, free-draining soil is raw and untamed, influencing every aspect of our vines. Here, we don’t just cultivate vines – we cultivate the soil, watching it evolve as the vineyard grows, gradually breaking down and developing its unique character.
Nestled inland and protected from cooling sea breezes, Gimblett Gravels enjoys a warm, consistent microclimate. The soils, a mix of greywacke stones and layers of silt and sand, stretch at least 40 metres deep. This low-fertility, free-draining terrain presents both a challenge and a gift, forcing the vines to dig deep for nutrients, resulting in wines of intense character and complexity.
Though classified as a temperate maritime climate, the heat-absorbing stones create a warmer environment than other parts of Hawke’s Bay. This warmth enhances ripening and flavour development, producing fresh, aromatic grapes that yield full-bodied wines with remarkable depth and structure.
From the beginning, we embraced high-density planting in narrow rows to reduce crop load and maximise quality. This approach, while labour-intensive, results in smaller, more concentrated berries that produce exceptional wines – proving that every bit of extra effort is well worth the reward.
