Craggy Range vineyards near the Ngaruroro river.
Little more than 150 years ago, the Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District was completely under water. Prior to 1867, the now trademarked, highly sought-after sub-region of Hawke’s Bay was simply the Omahu channel of the Ngaruroro river.
But that year, a flood moved the channel north to the other side of Roy’s Hill, where it flows to this day, leaving an extensive plain of river gravel that can be more than 30m deep.
Too bony and barren to be of much use for farming, the gravel became the sort of wasteland that housed an army rifle range, a landfill site and industrial warehouses. Absolutely no one thought about high-quality wine production.
But in the early 1980s, Chris Pask planted a small block of Cabernet Sauvignon – a variety that struggled to ripen elsewhere in New Zealand. A handful of others soon followed, including soil scientist Alan Limmer, who planted a row of heritage Syrah cuttings he’d rescued from a government research station.
Scroll down for notes and scores for 10 sophisticated wines from Gimblett…
Source : https://www.decanter.com.master.public.keystone-prod-eks-euw1.futureplc.engineering/premium/gimblett-gravels-from-wasteland-to-celebrated-wine-region-543220/
