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WINE ANALYSIS
Harvest Detail:
100% hand picked
20 - 27/3/2006
Brix 22.3 - 24.2°
Total acidity 5.1 - 5.5g/l
pH 3.60 - 3.70
Bottling Detail:
13.6% alcohol
5.9 g/l acidity
3.70 pH
Bottled July 2007
PREVIOUS VINTAGES:
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
FOOD MATCHES
Red meat, pork
PEAK DRINKING
2007-2012 |
Following in the illustrious footsteps of the 2005 Tempranillo (winer of Trophies and Gold medals for Best Red Varietals), our 2006 Tempranillo is another great New Zealand example of the widely-grown Spanish red. It grows in a large range of climatic conditions and soil types and is best know as the main grape used for making Rioja. It is also used in Portugal under the synonym Tinta Roriz, where it is used to make port and also the Duero dry reds, with Touriga Nacional. We grow it in the stony, free-draining and warm soils of the Gimblett Gravels, the only Zealand winery producing this wine.
THE VARIETY
Tempranillo 90%, Malbec 7%, Syrah 3%.
VINEYARD LOCATION
The Vineyard is situated in the Gimblett Gravels area. Soils consist of river shingle, deposited by the Ngaruroro River. These soils are extremely free draining and of low fertility, growing low vigour vines producing small crops of intensely coloured and flavoured grapes.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS
2006 was an outstanding season in the Gimblett Gravels for Tempranillo, although the crop was very small. It’s early ripening nature, along with meticulous viticulture, enabled us to pick it ripe in outstanding condition. Tempranillo is the first of the red varieties that we harvest, a great advantage for us in Hawkes Bay, where sometimes the season can be cut short by rain. We have blended in a small percentage of Malbec and Syrah. This adds a dimension of spice and plum character to the wine, plus colour and tannin.
WINEMAKING
The hand harvested fruit was destemmed but not crushed. The fermentation took place in stainless fermenters, at ambient temperature. The cap was punched down or pumped over twice daily during the ferment. The must was pressed out as soon as the ferment was finished, with the wine settled for a few days and then racked to a mixture of new and older oak French and American oak barriques. Regular racking took place during the 14 month maturation in barrel. The wine was bottled in July 2007.
THE COLOUR
Ruby red with crimson
THE BOUQUET
Wild raspberry and plum fruit aromas with spice with a little vanillin from oak barrels.
THE PALATE
Fully ripened fruit from our temperate conditions does not produce jammy or porty characters as can happen in a hotter climate. Malbec adds depth, weight and complexity to the wine, Syrah the pepper, spice and spine, increasing the complexity. This is an elegant wine, with firm but not heavy tannin structure. The texture is silky, but with substance, almost like a combination of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. There is great persistence of the wild fruit flavours on the finish.
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