Destiny Bay: aiming high on New Zealand’s Waiheke Island

Visitors to Auckland, New Zealand, known as the city of sails, usually have a list of activities they want to complete before leaving. Quite often this includes several days on Waiheke Island to enjoy the beaches, bush walks and great dining spots. And with more than 25 vineyards and wineries on the island, there’s a lot of wine culture to engage in too.

As a local from the Auckland mainland, I’ve notched up quite a few trips to Waiheke myself, and I’ll never forget the very first time I visited Destiny Bay.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of three vintages of Magna Praemia, Mystae and Destinae

What struck me most about the estate was that it had soul. The welcoming smell of the air, ancient earth and the flora close by, along with the view, were all very seductive.

As a sommelier and wine professional, I always try to connect a sense place with the wines I am tasting. So naturally I was curious as to how vines could grow successfully in the unique amphitheatre setting I first stood on the edge of.

The Destiny Bay story

‘When my parents emigrated from the United States to New Zealand there was no intent to seek out the ideal spot to grow and produce Cabernet blends in a country known for Sauvignon Blanc,’ winemaker and co-owner Sean Spratt explained to me on a recent visit.

When Mike and Ann Spratt found the property on Waiheke Island as a place to build a home for their family, Ann initially wondered if the bowl-shaped amphitheatre would lend itself to being a hobby vineyard.

Once they’d settled in, Mike – thinking that her idea could be a more serious venture – got a site assessment from viticulturist Dr David Jordan. Jordan’s declaration that the amphitheatre was ‘not just good, it’s fantastic – particularly for Cabernets’, was all it took for the family project to take off.

In 2000, over the course of many days, ‘we dug holes, inserted posts and planted vines’, recalled Sean. ‘We told our friends and colleagues of how we found this spot and were now becoming vintners, and everyone said the same thing: that it just seemed like it was destiny.’

The site

Destiny Bay is indeed a special site characterised by moderately steep slopes (from 12 degrees to more than 30 degrees), mostly facing the northern sun and with naturally draining slopes that form the crater-shaped bowl. Both the higher eastern and western ridges offer protection from some strong winds that beset the island from time to time.

The bowl is also a sun and heat trap but because of the lay of the land all nine vineyard blocks are hand nurtured and harvested with a strict berry-selection process. Crop loading per vine is specific too, from as little 0.5hg of grapes to just over 2kg per vine. This is not very much at all, but quality is the key and management begins well before veraison.

Destiny Bay was the first producer on Waiheke Island to be accredited sustainable; 96% of New Zealand wineries are now certified. In addition to sensitive vineyard and winemaking practices, including some organic farming, the Spratt family has built energy-efficient buildings and planted more than 500 native trees to reduce their carbon footprint.

The wines

Winemaker Sean produces three Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant red blends planted with 11 different root stock and clone combinations. Magna Praemia (Latin for ‘great rewards’) – launched on La Place de Bordeaux in 2022 with the 2019 vintage – is typically a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot.

When first introduced to the market in 2005, it was released at NZ$275 a bottle. It now sells for an average of NZ$680 (£360/$410), making it New Zealand’s most expensive wine. Magna Praemia is a perfect example of why Bordeaux’s fine wine distribution network has expanded its portfolio to now include producers beyond its backyard. An opportunity to stand alongside some of the world’s most collectible wines and tell the story of Aotearoa New Zealand wine is one Destiny Bay was not going to miss.

The Mystae blend is named after ancient Greek philosophers who followed Dionysus, the god of wine and sought a deeper understanding of the universe. Also produced since 2004, it is typically a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot 8% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot.

Destinae (meaning support or prop in Latin) is typically a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec and 8% Petit Verdot. Its first vintage was 2006.

The winemaking

Every part of the winemaking is done on site, from as little as 100 litres up to 3,400 litres at a time. Once the fruit is harvested and sorted it is fed through the winery by gravity. All grapes see a cold-soak, extended maceration, pigeage and pump-overs to complete fermentation.

Malolactic fermentation is completed simultaneously with the primary ferment. This can take several weeks, so consistency and uniformity of aromas, flavours and textures are monitored throughout the whole fruit to bottle sequence.

Barrels are classic 200- to 225-litre French and American oak barriques, with racking done several times during the 10- to 15-month period prior to blending. All wines are bottled and stored on site ahead of packaging and shipments.

Along with accolades and high scores from critics, Destiny Bay has enjoyed a long and loyal following from wine lovers since the outset, collectors eager for their share of the 1,500 cases made each year. Getting your hands on a bottle is not easy, so my best advice is to join their Patron Club, where as a member you might just get an allocation of the 2019 vintage, to be released in October 2022.

Destiny Bay: the facts

Co-owners Sean Spratt, general manager and winemaker, and his parents (the founders) Mike and Ann Spratt

Vineyards planted 2000

First commercial vintage 2005

Grape varieties 6.2ha planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (20%), Cabernet Franc (10%), Malbec (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%)

Vineyard natural amphitheatre where varieties are planted across several tiny vineyard plots. They are called: Melanie, Ashley, Hannah and Waina Motu (planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc); Millennium and Dog Run (Merlot); Tui and Waina Motu (Malbec); Millennium and Keiko (Petit Verdot)

Average yield less than 5 tonnes per hectare, producing 1,500 cases of wine a year

Soils triassic, clay with Aeolian sediment

Farming minimal intervention approach to viticulture with organic practices, and 100% certified sustainable (SWNZ)

Destiny Bay: three vintages of Magna Praemia, Mystae and Destinae

Related content

September releases on the Place de Bordeaux 2022

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: panel tasting results

Premium Pinot Noir: 20 New Zealand wines to try