2014 Gimblett Gravels “The Gimblett”

Vineyards:The Gimblett Gravels winegrowing area is a small sub-region in the Hawke’s Bay of New Zealand defined by a very unique stony soil type.

This wine is made from Estate grown grapes in the Tin Shed and Gimblett Stones vineyards.

Varieties: Cabernet Franc 49 %, Cabernet Sauvignon 39 %, Merlot 9 %, Malbec 3 %

Harvest Detail: 31th March to 12th April

Bottling Detail:

Alcohol	13.5 %
Titratable acidity	6.2 g/l
pH	3.66
Residual sugar	<1.0 g/l

Winemaking:

2014 was an exceptional year for red wine in Hawkes Bay. A fantastic warm summer was followed by a mild autumn. Hand-picked fruit was gently de-stemmed for fermentation. Each variety and vineyard parcel was harvested and vinified separately. Pumping over with controlled aeration took place during fermentation to gently extract colour and tannin. A post-fermentation maceration of up to four weeks helped improve the texture and structure of the tannins.

The wine was transferred to small French oak barrels of which 35 % were new. After 16 months in barrel, the wine was blended and bottled in October 2015.

The Wine:

“The Gimblett” is traditionally made from a blend of grape varieties. The Cabernet family gives structure and fresh aromatics. Merlot gives richness and mid-palate

weight with Malbec helping with complexity, density and colour.
The result is a wine with exotically perfumed aromatics that include ripe blackberries and red fruits plus hints of florals and dried herbs. There is superb clarity of flavours on the palate. Structurally the wine is complex, with textural tannins. This structure will allow the development of further complexity over the next 10 years.
Try with red meat and game dishes.

Drink 2016 to 2025