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All about New-Zealand wines > Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay is New Zealand’s second largest and oldest wine region. The varied topography and wide range of soil types, from fertile silty loams to free-draining shingle, produces a considerable range of wine styles in this large region. There are 22 categories of soil types on the Heretaunga Plains alone, from stones to hard pans to heavy silts.
The ripening dates for a single grape variety can vary by as much as three weeks, from the warm red metal soils on the plains to the cool, higher altitude vineyards of central Hawke's Bay.
Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape variety, but the long sunshine hours attract a high percentage of later ripening red grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Kim Crawford winery has selected vineyards in the Ngatarawa Triangle sub region for its merlot.
These Merlot grapes are from a selection of vineyards predominantly on the red metal soils of the Ngatarawa Triangle. After harvest, the grapes were crushed to open-top tanks and standard fermenters and inoculated with cultured yeasts selected to enhance varietal expression. During active fermentation, caps were plunged three times daily with 18 days total maceration on skins. The individual parcels were drained to a mixture of French and American oak barrels and matured for 10 months before final blending. The wine underwent 100% malolactic fermentation.
Colour
Deep ruby with purple highlights.
Aroma
An intense nose of dark fruits — ripe plums and blackberries complemented by hints of spice and liquorice.
Palate
Rich black fruit flavours of plum, berry and currant are to the fore underpinned with savoury oak. Fine tannins and lovely balance promote a fleshy texture and lingering finish.
Food pairings
Superb with seared lamb on a potato rosti, green beans, and a red wine jus.
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