Gimblett Gravels 2011 Annual Vintage Selection Revealed

Media Release – for immediate release

GIMBLETT GRAVELS WINEGROWING DISTRICT™,

Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. –3rd September 2013

2011 vintage “Drop dead gorgeous” and “lovely vinosity, freshness and vibrancy”

GIMBLETT GRAVELS® 2011 Annual Vintage Selection Revealed

These were just a couple of comments from Andrew Caillard MW as he concluded a tasting of GIMBLETT GRAVELS®  red wines to select the top twelve wines to represent the 2011 vintage.

The fourth year of this initiative from the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association (GGWA), the Annual Vintage Selection serves as a unique snapshot of a particular vintage and helps to chart the evolution of GIMBLETT GRAVELS®  wines on a vintage by vintage basis.

Based in Sydney, Andrew Caillard MW has been the independent selector for all four vintages, 2008-2011, inclusive. A major buyer of classed growth Bordeaux and other fine wines, he is internationally recognized as a leading wine critic and was instrumental behind a newly released feature film, Red Obsession, about the Chinese influence on the Bordeaux wine market. His hectic schedule of over twelve international visits already this year allowed just two days to visit Hawke’s Bay.

In making the selections for the 2011 Annual Vintage Selection, Andrew commented that the key criteria were whether the wines “reflected expectations” and were a “pleasing style”. For him,  the Merlot blends “showed good depth of fruit and balance”, the Syrahs “vinosity and freshness” and the Cabernets “fragrant, violet, aromas” and “lovely al dente tannins…one of the absolute joys of Cabernet.” In summary, the selected wines “were coherent and showed strong regional definition”.

The 2011 Annual Vintage Selection will comprise the following wines (in alphabetical order):

Blended reds (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon dominant):

Babich The Patriarch

Craggy Range Te Kahu

Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Merlot Malbec Cabernet

Mills Reef Elspeth Cabernet Merlot

Newton Forrest Stony Corner

Sacred Hill Brokenstone

Sacred Hill Helmsman

Trinity Hill The Gimblett

Syrah:

Squawking Magpie Stoned Crow

Vidal Legacy Series

Villa Maria Reserve

William Murdoch

Chairman of the GGWA, Tony Bish commented “It was a privilege to have Andrew Caillard MW in Hawke’s Bay to taste through our 2011 GIMBLETT GRAVELS® wines. This was a warm season with good heat accumulation, resulting in wines of ripeness and finesse. Andrew’s vast experience and knowledge of the great wines of the world was invaluable, and the scores these wines have achieved are nothing short of remarkable. Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District TM is without doubt one of the most exciting sub-regions in the New World, and with our ever increasing vine age, the wines continue their journey of improvement and excellence”.

A  very limited number of 2011 Annual Vintage Selection packs will shortly be sent out to key wine media and influencers around the world for their review.

Andrew Caillard MW reviewing 2011 GIMBLETT GRAVELS wines

ENDS

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