Bordeaux Style From The Gimblett Road

01 Oct 2019

The Gimblett Gravels

We have worked with the wines from Pask for many years and the consistently reliable quality of these wines is all down to the hard work of Kate Radburnd, the lead winemaker.

So what makes the Gimblett Gravels situated in Hawkes bay on New Zealand's North Island so special? The district is strictly determined by the gravelly soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River and makes up an area covering some 800 hectares. To define the wines they have been heavily influenced by the French concept of terrior with the unique soil types of the region having a defining influence on the finished wine.

The winery’s founder Chris Pask emigrated to New Zealand from England in the 1960’s and spent the next 25 years working as a pilot who sprayed crops from his top dressing plane. From this unique vantage point that he realised the top soils of the region were much like those of Bordeaux and thus a new wine growine region was born. The Merlot included in this months case shows much of the softness and character which typifies the wines of St Emilion.