Hawke’s Bay: Beyond Gimblett Gravels

There’s a lot more to Hawke’s Bay than Gimblett Gravels – but is further sub-regionality justified? Oliver Styles looks at the cases for and against...

Talk to almost any winemaker in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay and they are convinced that sub-regionality exists. As Mike Henley, chairman of Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers, points out, the Gimblett Gravels – the established sub-region par excellence – is better known than its parent area in some parts of the US. But the Gravels has several things going for it: the soil type is reasonably unique; it is easily delineated (more or less within two roads and a riverbank); and it has several heavyweight companies behind it, including Craggy Range and Villa Maria.

Scroll down for Olivier Style’s top 10 sub-regional stars from Hawke’s Bay

Yet the sub-regional story seems to have stopped there. Since the success of the Gimblett Gravels Association, only two other regions have been officially drawn up: the Bridge Pa Triangle and the Te Mata Special Character Zone. But is there a case to be made for examining sub-regionality across the whole region?

Hawke’s Bay: the facts

Area under vine: Over 4,700ha; New Zealand’s second largest wine region and its largest premium red wine producing region

Wineries: 76 wineries and 71 growers

Yield: Most wineries produce less than 200,000 litres per annum

Grape varieties: 28% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Merlot- Cabernet, 21% Chardonnay, 12% Pinot Gris, 7% Pinot Noir, 4% Syrah

Hawke’s Bay: the sub-regions

This list is arranged alphabetically; see map above for geographical locations.

Bridge Pa Triangle

Often seen in the shadow of its more illustrious neighbour Gimblett Gravels, the Bridge Pa district produces plusher, more succulent and generally more approachable reds than the Gravels, often with just as much muscle. Villa Maria’s Keltern vineyard is counted as part of this region although it is further inland and cooler. Top producers: Paritua, Redmetal, Sileni, Church Road, Matua, Alpha Domus, Ash Ridge.

Coastal (Te Awanga, Bay View)

Heavily influenced by the sea with a cooler but moderated climate, longer growing season and later ripening. Most vineyards closest to the ocean will be planted with predominantly white varieties, although vineyards further inland can produce surprising reds, depending on aspect. Top producers on the coast: Clearview, Craggy Range (Kidnappers Chardonnay), Elephant Hill, Te Awanga Estate, Beach House. At Bay View: Crab Farm and Esk Valley (the latter’s Winemaker’s Reserve Chardonnay is regularly from here).

Esk Valley

Alluvial soils with a relatively coastal climate, Esk Valley is home to a handful of growers. Top producers include: Petane Station and Linden Estate.

Gimblett Gravels

Well-defined, heavily protected (it is a trademark) and with rigorous standards. Young alluvial soils; very hot in summer. Can be affected by late rains. Wines are generally well-structured (sometimes austere) Bordeaux blends and Syrah. Some whites. Top producers: Sacred Hill, Trinity Hill, Craggy Range, Villa Maria, Te Awa, Vidal, Esk Valley, Church Road, Mission Estate, Stonecroft, Element Wines, Beach House.

Hillside Hawke’s Bay

Some of the most interesting, if not profound, wines are produced on the hillside sites around the region. Bilancia’s La Collina S Ash Ridge yrah and Esk Valley’s The Terraces are reference points and are rightly sought after. Other great producers include Hopes Grove (excellent Syrah and Viognier in particular), Supernatural Wine Co (although this could be considered Coastal), De La Terre, Te Mata and Black Barn (the latter three have vineyards in the Te Mata Special Character Zone, itself a potential sub-region).

Mangatahi, Crownthorpe, Matapiro

One step further inland from Bridge Pa, although vineyards can be found on both sides of the river for some distance. Similar soils to Bridge Pa but with more elevation and significantly cooler. Fresh, classy whites and some good Pinot Noir. Top producers: Sileni, Easthope Family Winegrowers, Church Road, Rod McDonald Wines, Smith & Sheth (its CRU Chardonnay is worth seeking out).

Tukituki

Can overlap with Coastal as this river enters the sea just north of Te Awanga; most growers are situated between the Havelock Hills and the coast. Heavier soils due to the nature of the river, but a cooler aspect than more inland sites and varying terrace heights. Recent years of Church Road’s prestige Tom Chardonnay (the fantastic 2014 in particular) have come from this region. Other producers include Ant McKenzie Wines, Indevin, Akarangi, Askerne, Black Barn and Dolce Vista.

Tutaekuri Valley (Dartmoor, Woodthorpe)

Similar soils to the Ngaruroro and, depending on location, will also be either young alluvial or older terraced alluvial soils. However, the higher limestone content of the Tutaekuri river system will have some effect. Soil expert Keith Vincent draws some parallels with Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. Sacred Hill has extensive vineyard holdings in this area. Other top producers include Te Mata Estate and Matua.

NB: Central Hawke’s Bay is a separate Geographical Indicator to Hawke’s Bay. Its scattered producers fell outside the scope of this article.

Church Road winemaker Chris Scott certainly thinks so. ‘Put South Australia over a map of Hawke’s Bay,’ he says, ‘and Adelaide Hills, Eden Valley and Barossa Valley would fit into it. You can be in Gimblett Gravels or Bridge Pa and the temperature on a summer’s day is 30°-32°C, then drive out to Tukituki and it’s 26°C or 27°C. Added to which there’s the differences in soil type…’

Down to earth

What of those soils? Keith Vincent, an expert in soil science, is reluctant to generalise, but broadly speaking there are three soil types in the region: young alluvial (recently repurposed riverbed, such as the Gimblett Gravels); old alluvial (terraced riverbed with ‘ancient, well-developed sandy-silt’ build-up, such as Bridge Pa, Mangatahi and Crownthorpe); and hillside soils (sites are dotted around the Bay, but generally loess over limestone).

There are, of course, variations both between the different river systems and within zones. Alluvial soils around the Tukituki River, Vincent posits, would likely be heavier given a higher incidence of clay and silt in the watershed. This would potentially extend out to coastal vineyard sites at Te Awanga, although the winemakers I talked to there agree that soils vary quite significantly, from Gimblett-like gravel-shingle in sections of Clearview to heavier soils such as the clay-loam in Craggy Range’s Kidnappers Vineyard. Vincent would also expect more limestone content in sites around the Tutaekuri River (Dartmoor, Woodthorpe) due to the nature of the river.

But while soils play a role in sub-regionality, other factors are also involved. ‘Climate, elevation and distance from the ocean are determinate,’ explains Steve Smith MW. ‘Look at Bridge Pa and Mangatahi,’ he suggests, pointing out the proximity of these two areas and similarity in soil type. ‘Mangatahi is three weeks later [in the growing season] because it’s a much cooler site.’

Distilling all this leaves us with about eight sub-regions in Hawke’s Bay. From north to south these are: Esk Valley; Tutaekuri (Dartmoor, Woodthorpe and other sites on young and old alluvial soils); Gimblett Gravels (young alluvial Ngaruroro soils); Bridge Pa (old alluvial Ngaruroro soils); Upper Ngaruroro (old alluvial soils with greater elevation and cooler climates, encompassing Mangatahi, Crownthorpe and Matapiro); Tukituki Valley (heavier old and young alluvial soils); Te Awanga (coastal sites of varying aspect and soil type); plus hillside sites dotted throughout the region.

Help or hinder?

But how useful are these sub-regions in the broader context of taking the Hawke’s Bay story to the wider world? Indeed, is this a story the wineries even want to tell? Henley worries that the sub-regional story may ‘muddy the waters’ and most winemakers I spoke to – including Scott at Church Road and Damian Fischer at Trinity Hill – understand this.

What’s more, many Hawke’s Bay wines are blends across sub-regions. Vidal’s Legacy Chardonnay – a Decanter World Wine Awards International Trophy winner – is often a blend of three sites: Keltern, Ohiti (over the river from Bridge Pa Triangle) and Lyons (Gimblett Gravels). Furthermore, as Vidal winemaker Hugh Crichton points out: ‘It’s one thing having sub-regionality and another thing having the consumer – and even some trade – understand it.’

Minimal attention is given to sub-regionality in the main wine competition of Hawke’s Bay, the Agricultural & Pastoral Awards, which judges the best Chardonnay, Syrah and Pinot Noir of the region. ‘There was not one mention of sub-regionality,’ notes visiting judge and Marlborough winemaker Nat Christensen.

Story telling

To add further complexity, winemaker Rod McDonald points out that a significant proportion of plant material is currently planted in the wrong place. Futhermore, it’s clear that viticultural practices (sprays, yield, picking date and so on) as well as winemaking can often outweigh characteristics of terroir. Chardonnay is the prime example. Even single-vineyard wines such as Villa Maria’s Reserve Keltern Chardonnay can go from the sublime (2014) to the reductive (2016).

Such variations, and the range of wines made in the region, put Hawke’s Bay in a bit of a bind, foiling attempts to simplify the message. But for many, sub-regionality is still an issue worth talking about. Grant Edmonds at Redmetal Vineyards says: ‘Marlborough and Central Otago are a one-horse race… Hawke’s Bay has never made it to that. [Sub-regionality] is the only way we can tell our story.’

And how might it do that? Smith points to Oregon as a possible model for Hawke’s Bay. ‘When a lot of smaller AVAs split off from their parent body they found that for smaller, unknown AVAs it was always better to have both regions on the label. It won’t create confusion if the two names are together.’ Henley agrees: ‘It will assist the story.’

Oliver Styles is a wine writer and winemaker based in New Zealand

See Olivier Style’s top 10 sub-regional stars from Hawke’s Bay

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