New Zealand Wine: Hawke's Bay

During our trip to New Zealand a few years back, James and I were so eager to visit Hawke's Bay, we immediately tjumped on a plane from Auckland after we landed in New Zealand. The region is located on the east coast of the North Island and it's reputation as a wine growing region is well established. The first vines planted in the area date back to the mid 19th century. During our stay we visited two wineries; Craggy Range and Te Mata Estate.

We first met with winemaker Matt Stafford, Chief winemaker at Craggy Range to visit the famous Gimblett Gravel's vineyard. Matt explains how when the Ngaruroro River changed its course, it left a dry riverbed full of vine growing potential. The different and mineral rich soil mixes as well as the stones left behind were suitable for Bordeaux varieties as well as Syrah. As Matt explains, the stones retain heat during the day and release it at night. Which helps during cold nights and creates the right medium for the ripening of the grapes. However, Matt compares the ash colored Gimblett Gravels to those in the Medoc, highlighting that the stones in the Medoc being lighter in color reflect more light back to the vine.

Matt and James then tasted an assortment of Craggy Range's wines at their estate in the proximity of Havenlock North. James was most impressed by the Bordeaux blends as well as the Syrahs. James asked Matt, what are his aspirations for the red wines he is making. Matt replies that he aims for optimum ripeness trying to interfere the least with what comes from the vineyard. Finally, James observes that throughout the different vintages he found some to be closer to the wines from the Medoc while others tended to be closer to Super Tuscans such as Sassicaia.

In the second part of the video, James visits Te Mata's Coleraine vineyard with owners Nick and John Buck. Nick explains how the climatic qualities of Hawke's Bay benefit from its proximity to the sea bringing characters similar to those of the wines in Bordeaux and California.

Finally, James sat down with John Buck to taste a range to Te Mata's wines. James emphasized that the Bordeaux blends were of superb quality with a real reserve to them but also with density and richness. John explains that this is the result of a combination between the topography -in valleys one can get exposure and altitude- of the land and the temperate climate that the sea brings.

- Jacobo Andrade Garcia Llamas, senior editor