Winemaker Notes
Deep, brilliant crimson with a cherry-red edge, Estate Vineyards Gamay Noir ’18 sparkles with lifted candy-apple, strawberry and star anise on the nose. Soft and luscious, the palate overflows with crushed red summer fruit, wild raspberry and cherry. Hints of rosewater and aniseed culminate in this wine’s sumptuous finish. Refreshing in its appeal, beguiling in its detail, Estate Vineyards Gamay Noir ’18 is New Zealand Gamay Noir par excellence – the result of an incredible vintage, this is the best Te Mata has made.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
If this historic estate’s Gamay is anything to go by, New Zealand should be planting more of the stuff. A vibrant crimson color, it’s a perky medley of cherries, blueberries and strawberries woven with licorice, baking spice and florals, with earthy, mineral base notes. In the mouth the crisp acidity gives a crunch to all that fruit. The silky texture is held together with gentle yet structured and spicy tannins. Light bodied and harmonious, with the oak tucked neatly away, this is an ultradrinkable, chillable red wine to be cracked open young.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of fruit from the Woodthorpe Vineyard and Dartmoor Valley, the 2018 Estate Vineyards Gamay Noir shows a return to form for this producer's Gamay. Made with 50% whole clusters and aged only three months in older oak, it's bursting with ripe raspberries and cherries. There's a slightly sappy, savory element from the stems in this medium-bodied charmer, which finishes juicy and fresh. Fun, quaffable and pleasure-giving, it should be enjoyed over the next couple of years.
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
An eclectic region on the east coast of the North Island, Hawkes Bay extends from wide, fertile, coastal plains, inland, to the coast range, whose peaks reach as high as 5,300 feet. While the flatter areas were historically more popular because they are easier to cultivate, their alluvial soils can be too fertile for vines. In the late 20th century, the drive for quality led growers to the hills where soils are free-draining, limestone-rich and more suited to producing high quality wines.
Over the passing of time, the old Ngaruroro River laid down deep, gravelly beds, which were subsequently exposed after a huge flood in the 1860’s. In the 1980s growers identified this stretch, which continues for approximately 800 ha, and named it the Gimblett Gravels. The zone has proven to be ideal for the production of excellent red wines, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.
Today the area takes well-earned recognition for its Bordeaux blends and other reds. Expressive of intense stewed red and black berry with gentle herbaceous characters, Gimblett Gravels wines are suggestive of their cool climate origin, and on par with other top-notch Bordeaux blends around the globe.
Chardonnay is the top white grape in Hawkes Bay, making elegant wines, strong in stone fruit character. Sauvignon blanc comes in close behind, notable for its tropical, fruit forward qualities.