Craggy Range
Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Vineyard
VINTAGE
2018
COUNTRY
New Zealand
REGION
Hawkes Bay
TABLE #
176
92
Sophisticated, with touches of black walnut liqueur, kirsch, and spicy tobacco. Cardamom, blueberry, and cedar notes linger, with dense, toothsome tannins. Fragrant and balanced on the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2035. 7,900 cases made, 1,000 cases imported. — MW
The fruit for Te Kahu is grown in the Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, which has 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. Fruit is hand harvested and destemmed before undergoing fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine is matured in oak barriques before bottling.
66% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc
Aged for 17 months in 20% new French oak barriques before fining and filtering
A warm and dry spring and summer in the 2018 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.
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.
Terrific paired with red meat dishes.