Grape variety: Hawke's Bay offers reds for all. Photo / Getty Images
One of our warmest, sunniest wine regions, Hawke’s Bay, is acclaimed for weighty, rich reds crafted from varieties traditionally associated with Bordeaux: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and malbec. The latest star is syrah (the Aussies call it shiraz), a classic grape of the Rhône Valley now yielding highly distinctive, peppery, flavour-crammed reds in Hawke’s Bay.
Merlot, Cabernets, Malbec & Blends
Alpha Domus The Aviator 2019
★★★★★
This classy, cabernet sauvignon-based blend was estate-grown in the Bridge Pā Triangle. Matured for two years in French oak barrels, it is mouthfilling and savoury, with ripe blackcurrant, red berry and spice flavours, showing impressive density and structure, leathery and nutty complexities and a long finish. $85
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Franc 2021
★★★★½
A refined, estate-grown red that was matured for a year in French oak barriques. Ageworthy, it is full-coloured, with mouthfilling body, generous blackcurrant, red berry and spice flavours, and ripe, supple tannins. $30
Babich Irongate Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc 2018
★★★★★
Estate-grown in the Irongate Vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels, this elegant, complex, firmly structured red is made for cellaring. Deep and still moderately youthful in colour, it is mouthfilling, savoury and well-structured, with strong, ripe blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours seasoned with nutty oak, and excellent vigour, complexity and backbone. $37-$45