Gravel is a word used in conjunction with some of wine’s most hallowed ground. The gravelly clays of Bordeaux’s Left Bank produce bottles bearing vaunted names such as Haut-Brion, Latour, Lafite, Mouton, and Margaux.

After the example set by Bordeaux, alluvial soils are prized by winegrowers the world over, though only a few regions have used them to such great advantage. One of the other bits of wine country that has exploited its alluvium for fame and fortune can be found on the eastern side of New Zealand’s North Island.

There, where Heretaunga Plains back up against the foothills of the Kaweka mountains, the vineyards sprawl in wide swaths, interrupted by small streams and hillocks buffeted by breezes off of Hawke’s Bay, in a region that has been dubbed the Gimblett Gravels.

Ceci N’est Pas Un Appellation

It might surprise many to know it, but the New Zealand government only formally developed and legalized its geographical indications, or wine appellations, in 2016. This is despite more than 100 years of winegrowing history and a modern wine industry that has grown steadily since the 1960s.

When the government did define the country’s wine regions, they chose to do so only with a broad brush, defining a mere 18 GIs, and ignoring the many sub-regional designations that had been in place for decades prior.

In fact, winegrowers in New Zealand have long been frustrated with the lack of clearly defined appellations in the country, which is why in 2001 a bunch of growers got together and created the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association.

Like other sub-regions of the area, such as Havelock and Esk Valley, people have been referring to the Gimblett Gravels as a distinct winegrowing area for decades. Without the benefit of a governmental designation, the folks at the GGWA did the next best thing. They went ahead and defined it themselves, exactly the same way that the government might have done.

The growers in the area sat down, argued for a long time about what should truly define the region, and then forged a consensus about the boundaries and definition of their place. Interestingly, they settled on defining the boundaries of the Gimblett Gravels strictly based on soil geology (a rarity in today’s world of highly political appellation definition).

While Gimblett Gravels® is a registered commercial trademark managed by its winegrowers association, it is managed with the same (or more) rigor as many standard appellations around the world. If you want to have the words Gimblett Gravels on your wine label, you have to have a vineyard within the boundaries of the designated region, with 95% of the vineyard area having any of three defined soil types, and 95% of the fruit needs to have come from within the district.

The “map” of the district has been drawn to only include the three types of gravelly silt and loam laid down by the Ngaruroro River and observes no other political, geographical, or property ownership distinctions, a point that the Gimblett Gravels Association likes to suggest lends something of a simple purity to their efforts. If you’ve got the soils, you’re in (provided you want to pay membership dues). If you don’t, you’re out.

There are around 1975 acres of vineyards that fall within the Gimblett Gravels zone, the vast majority of those (close to 90%) planted to red grapes, with Syrah and the Bordeaux varieties dominant.

While moderated by the nearby ocean, Hawke’s Bay is the warmest of all New Zealand’s wine regions, and the Gimblett Gravels might easily be described as the warmest bits of Hawke’s Bay.

This shorthand, however, somewhat obscures the fact that “warm” for New Zealand is fairly temperate for most other wine regions. Compared to Paso Robles or the Douro, Hawke’s Bay still comes across as pretty cool, and you can easily find corresponding flavor signatures in the wines, especially the Syrahs.

Third Charmed Vintage

For the third year in a row, the region saw a relatively uneventful growing season (a trend that ended definitively in 2022 with Cyclone Gabrielle).

An unusually warm spring made for early flowering and subsequently early harvest. The 2021 vintage was relatively speaking, a parched vintage, with lower-than-average rainfall, but the lack of extreme summer heat meant that the vines weathered the dryness fairly well.

The weather stayed good through harvest allowing winemakers the leisure of picking at whatever state of ripeness they felt was ideal.

The resulting wines are characteristically zippy, with excellent acidity and often a tart tanginess reminiscent of purple SweetTart candies. I don’t think I like this vintage quite as much as I liked 2020, but anyone who enjoys their red wines bright and fresh will enjoy this vintage.

A Case of Flavor

For the past 12 years, the winemakers in the Gimblett Gravels Association have been putting together a case of wines (selected via blind tasting by the Australian Master of Wine Andrew Caillard), to send out to journalists and critics around the world as an example of what the vintage was like in the region.

This is now the third year I’ve been receiving this vintage selection case and I remain impressed with the idea, and with the wines, which are generally delicious. More regions around the world should consider offering such snapshots to journalists who don’t have the chance to visit as often as they’d like.

So here’s what 2021 tastes like in the Gimblett Gravels.

Tasting Notes

All of these wines are extremely young and would benefit from 1-3 years of bottle age before opening. Some are not yet available in the United States.

2021 Craggy Range “Sophia” Red Blend, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry and plum. In the mouth, plum and black cherry fruit mix with a hint of cassis, as bright acidity and sour cherry notes linger in the finish. Extremely fine-grained tannins are wispy and ghost-like. A blend of 77% Merlot, and 23% Cabernet Franc that spends 17 months in 33% new French oak. 14% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $77. click to buy.

2021 Elephant Hill “Hieronymus” Red Blend, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cherry, cocoa powder, and brown sugar. In the mouth, cherry and cedar notes mix with brown sugar and a faintly saline licorice and sawdust note. Light, leathery tannins add texture. Excellent acidity. Fairly savory. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc that spends 22 months in 50% new French Oak. 14.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Not yet released. Score: around 9. Cost: $64. click to buy.

2021 Elephant Hill “Stone” Red Blend, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Very dark garnet in color, this wine smells of caramel, mocha, and a hint of struck match. In the mouth, faintly saline flavors of brown sugar, cedar, berries, and a touch of meatiness are bright with excellent acidity. Definitely more savory than fruity. Lightly grippy tannins flex their muscles through the finish. A blend of 44% Merlot, 28% Malbec, 24% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon that spends 22 months in 32% new French oak. 14.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $35.

2021 Mission Estate “Jewelstone Antoine” Red Blend, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of cherry, plum, and green herbs. In the mouth, faintly salty cherry, plum and green herbs flavors have a nice bright juiciness thanks to excellent acidity. There’s a nice elegance here, and old-school Claret quality. A blend of 52% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 21% Cabernet Franc that spends 12 months in 60% new French oak. 13.9% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $25. click to buy.

2021 Saint Clair Family Estate “James Sinclair” Malbec, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Very dark garnet and purple in the glass, this wine smells of sweet blueberries and black cherry fruit. In the mouth, black cherry and blueberry flavors mix with a sourish purple SweetTart candy note that is accompanied by mouthwatering acidity. There’s a hint of dried herbs in the finish. Barely perceptible tannins. Spends 10 months in 10% new French oak. 13.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $30.

2021 Squawking Magpie “The Nest” Red Blend, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of black cherry and cassis. In the mouth, juicy plum and black cherry fruit have a cheery brightness and only the faintest hint of tannic texture. Hints of green herbs linger with the plum and plum skin fruit in the finish. A blend of 53% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Malbec that spends 20 months in 30% new French oak. 14% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2021 Craggy Range “Le Sol” Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of meaty blackberry and white pepper. In the mouth, faintly salty blackberry, blueberry, and white pepper flavors are shot through with wet pavement minerality. Muscular tannins squeeze the palate through a long finish that has scents of violet and white pepper that eventually give way to a scent of oak. Spends 17 months in a combination of 33% new French and American oak. 13% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $90. click to buy.

2021 Pask “Declaration” Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet blackberry and blueberry fruit. In the mouth, blueberry and blackberry fruit take on a sour cherry quality as excellent acidity brightens on the palate. Fine, powdery tannins. Hints of dried flowers linger in the finish. Matures in a combination of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd use barrels. 13.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $36.

2021 Sacred Hill “Deerstalkers” Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blackberry and a hint of pepper. In the mouth, blackberry and cassis flavors mix with white pepper and chalky muscular tannins. Excellent acidity keeps blueberry and blackberry notes lingering in the finish with a hint of florality. Spends 18 months in French oak. 14% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: around 9. Cost: $40.

2021 Smith & Sheth “CRU Omahu” Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blackberries and dried black cherries. In the mouth, black cherry and blackberry flavors mix with dried cherry and a hint of brown sugar. Excellent acidity and fine-grained tannins. Notes of oak linger in the finish. Contains 3% Tannat. Spends 22 months in 40% new French oak. 13.8% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2021 Stonecroft “Reserve” Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry and dried flowers. In the mouth, wonderfully juicy flavors of black cherry and blackberry have a nice balance between fruit and the peppery saline savory qualities that keep the saliva glands gushing. Very fine, hazy tannins and excellent acidity. Just a hint of oak lingering in the finish. Spends 18 months in 33% new French oak. 13.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2021 Trinity Hill “Homage” Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of wet iron, blackberry, and wet pavement. In the mouth, faintly muscular tannins wrap around a core of blackberry and blueberry fruit shot through with iodine and seawater. Stony, but very fine in aspect, with a nice saline juiciness lingering in the finish. Spends 21 months in 54% new French oak. 14% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $95. click to buy.

Images courtesy of Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association.