Decibel Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels Malbec 2017

Decibel Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels Malbec 2017Light hints of florals, petrichor, and wet stone on first breath followed by a wave of blueberry, blackberry, violets and brambly dark heady notes. The palate has a rich attack of plum and dense tannin. The midpalate is chalky with dusty tannins and finishes with fresh, lingering acidity, leaving edgy and drying tannins on the palate, reflective of the famous Gimblett Gravels soil. Hawkes Bay lies on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

Light hints of florals, petrichor, and wet stone on first breath followed by a wave of blueberry, blackberry, violets and brambly dark heady notes. The palate has a rich attack of plum and dense tannin. The midpalate is chalky with dusty tannins and finishes with fresh, lingering acidity, leaving edgy and drying tannins on the palate, reflective of the famous Gimblett Gravels soil.

Hawke’s Bay lies on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The region enjoys dry summers with moderate, cool nights. This wine reflects a single vineyard Malbec which was grown on the famous Gimblett Gravels appellation. The Gimblett Gravels is demarked by specific soils laid bare from the constantly shifting Ngaruroro River over millions of years. The river’s last shift in 1867 left these amazing rocky soils, which combined with the slightly inland Heretaunga Plains’ weather, and classic viticulture techniques created a uniquely expressive Malbec.

Hand-picked in late April and transported in whole bunches from the vineyard to the close-by winery in small baskets. The fruit was then destemmed and only lightly crushed to allow the skins to slowly breakdown during the fermentation. The fruit was then cold macerated for 5 days on skins before slowly warming each of the 2 tonne fermenters and allowing a wild fermentation to kick in. Fermentation lasted 16 days before the wine was then macerated on skins again for an additional 14 days. The wine was then pressed to tank before put into roughly 50% 1, 2 and 3 year old French puncheons (500 litre barrels) and 50% into neutral oak barriques. The wine was aged for 12 months in oak and then racked and prepared for bottling in late May 2018 and bottled in June 2018.