Winemaker Notes
'Ngakirikiri' in Maori, refers to the unique gravel soils that define the Hawkes Bay, Gimblett Gravels growing appellation, a befitting name for this stony Hawkes Bay vineyard sited on what was an ancient riverbed. The Gimblett Gravels sub-region is a majestic site with a reputation for beautiful and thought-provoking wines.
This Villa Maria flagship wine is only made when exceptionally rare conditions produce truly outstanding wines for consideration. Their Icon wines represent the pinnacle of Villa Maria’s winemaking achievements and a milestone in the winery's history.
Upon pouring, this deep purple colored wine gradually yields notably intense and pure aromatics of cassis, black plum and anise, with ground coffee bean, graphite, fragrant thyme and cedar nuances also vying for attention. Layers of concentrated flavors emerge and flow beautifully across the palate from start to finish, with optimally ripe fruit, fine-grained tannins and supportive oak enhancing overall texture and richness at each point along the way. This full-bodied wine will benefit and gain additional complexity from careful cellaring over the next 15-20 years.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Just the fourth vintage of Villa's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2019 Ngakirikiri is as smooth as marble. What's nice about this varietal wine is that it is accepting of its inherent characteristics. Yes, there are pyrazines here, in the form of an herbal lick, but the wine is fully ripe, offering dark black and raspberry coulis fruit alongside dark chocolate and mint. The fruit has excellent concentration, yet it's not over the top; it's firmly structured but not austere. The tannins provide a robust frame for the wine to evolve over the coming years. This is a wine that has clearly had a lot of love, evident in its huge intensity, carefully judged extraction and judicious use of high-quality French oak barrels. It has set out to be one of the best Cabernets in the country, and so far, it’s achieving its aim. I look forward to seeing how it evolves, as we have little precedent so far.
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James Suckling
Clean and mineral with aromas of wild blueberries, blackberries, crushed stones, bay leaves and graphite. Medium-bodied with firm, tight tannins. Fresh finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Ngakirikiri leads with blueberries and rocks, dried flowers (lavender specifically) and forest berries on the nose. In the mouth, the fruit is more plush than the nose would suggest and has a pleasurable flow of fine, gently gritty tannins through the finish.
Founded in 1961 from humble beginnings, Villa Maria is a story of pioneering spirit and a desire to champion the best of New Zealand wine.
From the cool climate region of Marlborough, famous for crisp, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, to the sun-soaked Hawkes Bay producing world-class reds, their wine is a unique expression of their extraordinary land, passion for excellence and bold spirit.
Their portfolio of highly awarded wines is the most stylistically and regionally diverse in New Zealand, setting them apart and consistently delivering a rewarding wine experience.
As the leading winemakers in Marlborough with an unwavering focus on quality and sustainability, Villa Maria wines are distinctive, vibrant, and most importantly, delicious.
Today, Villa Maria is globally recognized and adored for bold, expressive, and exceptional New Zealand wines.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.