Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Vineyard 2017
Trade Tools
New Zealand
The fruit for Te Kahu is grown in the Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, which enjoys one of the warmest, driest, most sundrenched climates in New Zealand. Stony gravel in the soil forces the vines to fight for water, giving the grapes a particular vibrancy.
Harvest Note
A warm and dry spring and summer in the 2017 growing season gave way to late season rains near harvest time. The grapes were able to develop optimally and most were picked prior to the rainy end of the season.
Tasting Note
Deepest crimson red. Brooding aromatically with notes of cassis, black olive, dried tobacco and the faintest hint of caramel. The wine has lovely focus on the palate with dark fruits framed by fine tannins to deliver a classical structure with an excellent future ahead.
Technical Data
GRAPES: 66% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc
APPELLATION: Hawkes Bay
PH: 3.66
ACIDITY: 5.44
ABV: 12.75%
AGING: Aged for 17 months in 20% new French oak barriques before fining and filtering
Unique Selling Points
- A unique location, climate conditions and stony soils that combine to make it the warmest vineyard area in the country.
- Red wines from the Gimblett Gravels vineyard have a rich, ripe and elegant style, and fine tannins.
I am fortunate to lead an extraordinary group of people who want to be part of creating something truly magnificent that successive generations can admire and enjoy for years to come. I love our great estates and feel a strong connection to their complexities and subtleties.
Ben Tombs, Winemaker
About the Grape
Merlot
Merlot makes plump, succulent wines to drink young or opulently massive wines for aging. Has silky, blackberry and currant fruit, with spice, earth, tobacco and chocolate notes, and soft tannins.
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc usually shows tart red cherry and wild currant aromas and flavors with an herbal, spicy character. In the Loire, esp. Chinon and Saumur-Champigny, this grape shows firm minerality.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is adaptable to various growing conditions, and is known for its low yield and late ripeness. It generally produces full-bodied wines with substantial acidity and tannins.
Malbec
Well-made Malbec is a dark, perfumed wine with rich, blackberry and damson plum fruit, aromas of violets and tobacco, and ripe, juicy tannins. In France, may be mineral, structured and austere.
