The Gimblett Gravels sub-region in Hawkes Bay dates back a mere 35 years.
The first plantings (of chenin blanc and muller thurgau) were made in the late 1970s; the first reds (merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc) going into the ground in 1981, followed by the first syrah in 1982, with just 20 hectares planted by 1991.
Since then, the area has grown rapidly with around 800ha devoted to vines, some 90% of that to red varieties. A Gimblett Gravels Dozen is selected from the 20-plus wineries to showcase the region. Here's part 1 of 2.
Price: $35
Rating: Excellent to outstanding
This opens to brooding, dark fruits, hints of lead pencil, violetty florals and spices. Savoury and powerful in the mouth with old leather, black pepper and pencil lead. This manages a lovely knife-edged ripeness: intense, yet without being over-sweet, with excellent tannic structure suggesting it is in for the long haul.
Price: $100
Rating: Outstanding
A powerfully fragrant nose with spices, cedar, a whisper of funk and dusty oak. Dark and red fruits here with a sweet fruit core. Fine-grained tannins and a savoury, umami character. This blossomed and grew to another level with aeration: powerful, yet remaining graceful and light on its feet. Another for the long haul.
Price: $45
Rating: Excellent
Quite wild on the nose at first, the funk and barnyard blowing off to reveal intense dark fruits, cedary spice and toasted coconut. Noticeable intensity on the palate with grip and structure: tannins chewy and drying. Big, dark, and full of mystery, the fruit florals and black pepper rise with time in the glass.
Price: $60
Rating: Excellent to outstanding
Pepper and spice leads on to lifted florals and sweet fruit. Finer in the mouth, medium weight but with impeccable balance. This is a bit of a slow-burner that creeps up on you, nothing flashy or showy, but with a quiet sumptuousness and poise that is very moreish. The red fruits and tannins build with time in the glass.
Price: $75
Rating: Very good to excellent
Dark fruits and plums, violets again and oak notes. Medium weight with savoury notes and minerality, underpinned by a sweet fruit underlay reminiscent of Merlot. This is powerfully structured with crisp acidity in a tighter style: not as immediately expressive perhaps, but likely to blossom with food and time.
Price: $25
Rating: Excellent
Dusty and brambly with cassis and raspberry, leaf and violets: enticingly fragrant. The supple, medium-weight palate is earthy, with tobacco, brambles, cassis and raspberry. A little different this, a variety we don't often get to see in a stand-alone role, yet with a lovely, slippery mouthfeel; fine-grained tannins flood in as it breathes.
