Pask Declaration Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2014 $50 (release date tbc) 2014 had Ronald McDonald-sized shoes to fill seeing as 2013 was hailed as ‘the vintage of the century’ by Hawke’s Bay winemakers, yet this new vintage is sneaking up in spectacular fashion. More elegant in its approach, the core is of blueberry, leather, a click … Read More
gimblett gravels
Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 $34.99 Do you know what? I’ve been pacing, literally pacing around waiting for the new Soler cabernet to cross my desk. The wait was worth it. Bursting with black guava, blueberry, dark cherry, bay leaf, dark cocoa and liquorice layers, it’s supremely elegant, freshly structured and seriously frisky. … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 $28 Winemaker Guillaume Thomas managed to secure cabernet sauvignon fruit exclusively from the famous Gimblett Gravels district for the 2018 vintage, and egads and forsooth! Has it made a difference! His style is still typically super-elegant and smooth (and that’s just his hairstyle and dress sense) yet the … Read More
Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $34.99 Reviewd in dish Magazine July/Aug 2020 and paired with Beef Cheeks with Parmesan Polenta The Vidal Soler Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 ($34.99) is the glossiest, most gorgeously fruit-saturated and spice-soaked thing to pair with this beef cheek recipe. Is it because of its lifted, pepper punchiness, … Read More
Stonecroft Old Vine Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer 2019
Stonecroft Old Vine Gimblett Gravels Gewürztraminer 2019 $45 So I have no idea what religion you follow but I’m like, if you love the sun, or the soft or howling rain, or the laughter of children, or the ability to buy fruit, meat and vegetables, or the satisfaction of picking up a worm off the … Read More
Stonecroft Undressed Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019
Stonecroft Undressed Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019 $31 I love how exotically perfumed this organically-grown Gimblett Gravels merlot is, and the fact that it’s made with no added sulphites (hence the ‘undressed’) – so I’m loving what it has, and what it hasn’t. Perky plum, pepper and pomegranate layers set the pace for boatloads of berries … Read More
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 $49.95 Named in honour and memory of Elspeth Preston, grandmother of Mills Reef’s winemaker/owner Tim Preston, and only created in years when Tim and his team feel the fruit is superlative, when the fruit cannot be faulted, and when the positive chi flows through from the East … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2018
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2018 $24.95 Right from the very first sip you’ll understand how this wine scooped a gold medal at the 2019 NZ Wine of the Year Awards and why it’s been the darling of wine critics around the traps. 68% cabernet sauvignon was blended with 32% merlot, fermented and … Read More
Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018
Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018 $22 This is my go-to wine when I need something snazzy to pair with dishes featuring brussels sprouts. Yep. Brussels sprouts. I don’t know how it works; it just does. There must be some science, but like Trump fans I’ll choose to ignore it. Instead I’ll opt to be fully … Read More
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2017
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2017 $39.99 Wow and what-the-blazes and woah Nelly! This chardonnay is all about a-hollerin’ and a-hootin’ to the world how exceptionally fantastic the Gimblett Gravels is at turning out clean yet character-packed chardonnay that handles oak like a brain surgeon, light-fingered yet powerfully in tune with what they’re working … Read More