The wines of Craggy
Range, New Zealand
Craggy Range Vineyards Limited, 18 Napier Road, PO BOX
8749 Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand Tel: +64 (0) 508
272 449 Fax: +64 (0) 6 877 7141
Website: http://www.craggyrange.co.nz
Editor's
note: this piece dates from 2003. To read a more recent review
based on a visit in November 2008 - see
this article
A fairly recent joint venture with Steve Smith MW as general
manager and shareholder, Craggy Range began life in 1998, with
the purchase of two vineyard sites in Hawkes Bay and
Martinborough. It will take some time for these new vineyards to
come on line, so in the meantime Craggy Range is buying top
quality grapes from mature vineyards in Hawkes Bay and
Marlborough. First release was the 1999 vintage. The model here
is for producing single-vineyard wines (no less than eight
vineyards are described on their impressive website, with more
detail than you could hope for) and Smith takes a
no-holds-barred approach to quality. Early results are very
impressive indeed.
I've
reviewed these wines on two separate occasions, with the most
recent notes first.
wines
reviewed in November 2002:
Avery Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2002, Marlborough
Taut, almost spicy edge to the vivid, grassy nose. Extremely
lively, rich, grapefruit-edged fruit on the palate. Bright and
youthful with lots of flavour and character. Very good/excellent
Old Renwick Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2002, Marlborough
Quite a rich style. Intense, aromatic gooseberry/grassy nose
with very taut fruit character. Lovely rich, concentrated palate
displays pure grassy fruit with a herbal edge. Impressive. Very
good/excellent
Rapura Road Vineyard Riesling 2002 Marlborugh
From Marlborough’s oldest Riesling vineyard, this wine has a
lifted spicy character to the nose. Clean and crisp on the
palate with spicy, slightly limey fruit. Tight and fresh with
good concentration. Very good+
Craggy
Range Les Beaux Graviers Vineyard Chardonnay 2001, Hawkes Bay,
New Zealand
The
first of the prestige range of wines from this pace-setting New
Zealand producer, this is fantastic. Deep coloured with a
beautifully elegant creamy, toasty nose and vivid fruit. The
palate is very classy with integrated fruit and oak, nutty
complexity and an intense character. Excellent (expected to
retail around £20, contact Capricorn wines on 0161 909 1300 for
more details)
Seven Poplars Vineyard Merlot 2000 Hawkes Bay
Attractive, fruity and ripe. Sweet herbal-edged berry fruit
nose. Good concentration of ripe, savoury berry fruit with a
slightly toasty, tarry edge. Very good+
Gimblett Gravels Vineyard ‘Sophia’ 2001 Hawkes Bay
A blend of Merlot (60%) and Cabernet Franc, supplemented with
some Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Ripe, liqueur-like sweet
fruit on the nose: dense and rich with a tarry edge. The palate
is hugely concentrated with rich ripe berry and blackcurrant
fruit, and some oak character. Definitely in a new world style.
Very good/excellent
wines
reviewed in February 2002:
Rapura Road Riesling SGN 2000, Hawkes Bay
Quite a restrained nose with creamy-edged citrus and
marmalade notes. Palate is rich and sweet, but the spicy
botrytis character and high acidity provide balance. Very
good/excellent
Avery Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2001, Marlborough
Nose is bright, fresh and aromatic: not too over the top.
Concentrated, nicely balanced palate has good acidity. A good
food wine. Very good+ (£9.99 Waitrose, Virgin)
Old Renwick Road Sauvignon Blanc 2001, Marlborough
Very pale colour. Wonderfully intense nose is at the grassy
and gooseberry end of the spectrum and is gloriously aromatic.
The palate is concentrated and quite rounded: typical
Marlborough style and very attractive. Very good/excellent
Seven Poplars Vineyard Chardonnay 2000, Hawkes Bay
Classy, appealing nose with tight fruit and toasty, bready
barrique notes. The palate is beautifully balanced showing lean,
restrained fruit and stylish oak. Still quite light and fresh
despite the concentration. Brilliant stuff. Excellent (Waitrose
£11.99, still some left although they won't be listing this
again)
Seven Poplars Vineyard Merlot 1999, Hawkes Bay
Very attractive bright berry fruit is backed up (almost
dominated) by rich, spicy, expensive-tasting new oak. Lovely
texture, but probably a bit too oak-dominated at the moment.
Great concentration. Very good
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wines
tasted February 2002 and November 2002; article published August
2002 and then revised April 2003
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