The second part of the Classic Reds Symposium in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, looked at Bordeaux varieties and blends. There were 12 wines, served blind, and as well as the 9 New Zealand wines there were 3 benchmarks from other regions. We tasted and then discussed the wines once we knew what they were.
My impression is that Hawke’s Bay has a lot of potential for Bordeaux-style varieties, but it’s still finding its way a little. The complex issue here is that of ripeness, and in particular how the greenness intrinsic to these varieties is dealt with.
It seems that a lot of winemakers are scared stiff of greenness, and so ripen the fruit as much as they can in order to avoid it. But this excessive ripeness results in charming, sweetly fruited wines, but wines that often lack definition and agreeability. Yesterday I tried a whole bunch of older wines from the region, and most had survived, at best, and hadn’t developed positively.
Yet this is a region that is quite marginal for these varieties, and ripening – especially of Cabernet Sauvignon – isn’t always a given. So I can understand why there’s a reluctance to pick earlier.
And the greenness issue is a big one. There are different sorts of greenness, and there is bad, nasty, green pepper greenness that is definitely under-ripe. But there is also good greenness: a sappy, slightly leafy quality that heightens the elegance and definition of the wine. One point made by Steve Smith is that young vines often deliver bad greenness, and you need older vines to be able to pick early.
There’s also the issue of oak use. Small barrels are convenient, but I’m not sure they really suit these Hawke’s Bay reds all that well. Some people are playing with alternatives, such as larger oak and concrete, but very few.
These wines have to find their individual voice more clearly if they are to find a place on the international stage. I think they have the potential for excellence, and sometimes this is realised. It’s definitely a work in progress.
THE WINES – notes and scores exactly as written blind
O’Shaughnessy Howell Mountain Merlot 2013 Napa Valley, California
Dense, spicy and grippy with firm tannins and a slightly bitter edge. Angular and youthful with some gloss over the top of the fruit. Plums and spice and herbs. 88/100
Church Road McDonald Series Merlot 2013 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Lovely edgy black fruits. Subtle tar and gravel with some damson bitterness. A bit of olive and spice, too. There’s good concentration of ripe blackcurrant fruit. Some interest here. 92/100
Villa Maria Reserve Merlot Gimblett Gravels 2013 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Silky texture here to the pretty fruit. Pure, seamless black cherry and blackberry fruit. This is ripe but balanced with real prettiness and a bit of structure. Ripe but balanced. 94/100
Esk Valley The Terraces Malbec Merlot Cabernet Franc 2014 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Ripe, lush and meaty with lovely texture and pretty, pure black fruits. Smooth and ripe with a nice seamless texture and a hint of olive. This is very stylish and alluring. 93/100
Vieux Château Certan 2012 Pomerol, Bordeaux
Graphite and black cherry with some chalkiness. Smooth, ripe and broad with nicely textured ripe blackcurrant and black cherry fruit. Tastes quite Cabernet Franc like. Lush and broad. 93/100
Craggy Range Sophia 2014 Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Fresh, supple and berryish with nice ripeness. Smooth and quite broad with some fresh gravelly notes in the background. Ripe style but has freshness, although it isn’t perfectly integrated. 91/100
Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2013 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Vivid and intense with ripe, sleek blackcurrant fruit with high acidity that sticks out a little. It’s very seductive but it tastes as if the acid has been corrected with a heavy hand. Juicy and a bit tart on the finish. 90/100
Alpha Domus AD The Aviator 2013 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
100% redmetals from Bridge Pa. Fresh and vivid with a nice green edge to the taut, slightly meaty black fruits. Nice definition here. Juicy acidity with some cherry and plum fruit. Dense and satisfying, and its tightwound nature suggests a long future ahead of it. 94/100
Church Road TOM Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2013 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Ripe, sweet, generous black fruits here. Seductive and more-ish with sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit. Soft and a little amorphous on the palate with a very smooth texture. Jammy finish. 89/100
Te Motu 2013 Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Sweet blackberry jam nose is quite seductive. Lush sweet jammy palate is just a little too ripe with soft structure and autumnal fruit qualities. 88/100
Château Léoville Lascases 2012 Bordeaux, FRance
Nicely savoury with grippy black fruits. Has pepper and olives and some cured meat. Firm tannins and acidity that sticks out a little. Nice tight wound black fruits here. Lovely wine, despite the acid. 93/100
Villa Maria Ngakirikiri Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Gimblett Gravels 2013 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Sweet blackcurrant and blackberry fruit with nice definition and grip. Firm and structured with a hint of green. Fresh and youthful with potential for development. Lovely definition. 94/100
