Te Awa Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 75cl

Te Awa is a single-estate winery on the Gimblett Gravels, one of the most prized red-wine sites in Hawkes Bay. Its name means ‘river of God’, and the estate has built its reputation on classic Hawkes Bay Bordeaux varieties grown on one gravelly home site. The winery, complete with its own restaurant, has long been one of the district’s landmark names.

The Gimblett Gravels is a warm, free-draining pocket of old riverbed that ripens Cabernet Sauvignon more fully than almost anywhere else in New Zealand. This is a pure Cabernet expression, matured in French oak to frame the fruit with structure and a little spice, and the single-estate sourcing gives a consistent, site-driven character year to year.

The 2014 vintage in Hawkes Bay was a warm, favourable year for Bordeaux varieties, giving reds with ripe fruit and firm, well-formed tannins. With a decade in bottle, this wine now sits in its mature, savoury phase.

On the nose, cedar and blackcurrant lead into darker plum and a savoury, gently earthy maturity. The palate is medium to full-bodied with fine-grained, settled tannins and a long, structured finish carrying dried herb and cassis. A little decanting opens the fruit and softens the frame, showing the wine at its mature best.

This is a classic food red for the colder months. Pour it with roast beef, slow-cooked lamb or a wedge of mature hard cheese. For drinkers who enjoy a cooler-climate take on Cabernet, this Gimblett Gravels style bridges the ripeness of the New World with a more restrained, structured feel.