New Zealand: A Caravan Experience
Written By: SUSANNE LOMATCH
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Hawkes Bay/Napier
Day 9-10
Hawkes Bay is the start of the "Classic NZ Wine Trail," which extends from Hawkes
Bay/Napier on the NI to Marlborough/Blenheim on the SI. This is a contiguous wine trail
with a self-driving touring route that extends through three major wine regions, Hawkes
Bay, Wairarapa, and Marlborough. Being the wine enthusiasts that we are, we would
have liked to include Gisborne to the north, an up and coming region known for
Chardonnay, Viognier and Pinotage, but the drive was simply too long and in the other
direction from where we were headed.
We hit Hawkes Bay just as wineries were closing that day, so we found a sunny caravan
park on the beach, Bayview Snapper Holiday Park, and secured a spot right up on a ridge
overlooking the ocean and the shoreline. Napier has a relatively large industrial area
situated right on the ocean. Views southward were therefore reminiscent of Gary,
Indiana. After a relaxing dinner of sautéed Red Snapper and a 2007 Morton Estate "Stone
Creek" Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (white pepper tones and a smooth oak bite), we
decided to spend the morning in Napier town, followed by a full afternoon of wineries.
Hawkes Bay has over 35 well-established wineries, and knowing that we could only
muster maybe six or so before we headed south to Martinborough for the night, we made
a decision to ask around for a recommendation on which wineries were too outstanding to
miss.
Napier has a striking downtown boardwalk area, with original art deco buildings lining
the streets, many painted in pastel colors. That, coupled with the sunny crisp morning, put
us into a great mood. After a visit to the local Esquires coffee shop chain that offered free
Wi-Fi with a purchase, we got our Internet mail, world news and stock market fix and
headed inland to the first (and oldest) winery, Mission Estate. Thank goodness for the
GPS, it would have been hard to find from the winery guide map. The rolling, sprawling
grounds were impeccably manicured, and a few of the wines serious, particularly the
"Jewelstone" Chardonnay ’06 (classic, well-rounded) and the Reserve Merlot ’07
(atypical – dark fruit, rich tannins, dry). Church Road was next, right around the corner,
and they had a few off-track hidden gems: a limited release Hawkes Bay Marzemino ’07
(rarely found Italian varietal – much like a Dolcetto in color/body, rich in blackberry fruit
and silky tannins) and a "Cuve Series" Hawkes Bay Syrah ’04 (slightly unfiltered, a
beautiful dark purple, very dry, ripe/dried fruits of raisin and prunes mixed with smoky
terroir).
The real winery experience began at Moana Park, owned and operated daily by the
winemaker himself. We liked almost all of his wines, particularly the Gimblett Gravel
Syrah ’06 (we got the very last bottle) and the Gimblett Road Hawkes Bay/Napier
Viognier, 2008 (Balance, clean, soft, with the expected bitter of a Viognier – creamy
peaches). The winemaker, Dan Barker, took the careful time to discuss each of his wines,
and at the end brought out a surprise – a pre-release taste of his 10-year tawny port.
Incredible – nuts and fruit, velvety and silky. We followed him into the adjacent barn
where the port was finishing its aging stay in several large barrels. He had us taste from
each one – including the one he had bottled from. And our tastes matched with his – the
port from barrels near the outside wall were less flavorful, indicating the need for further
aging or conditioning. The winemaker and his partner also gave us a candid opinion on
which other wineries they wouldn’t miss – Matariki and Trinity Hill.
Matariki is located in the center of the Gimblett Gravels – the famed vineyards of
Hawkes Bay. The area is much drier, but produces some of the more outstanding reds of
NZ, such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and red blends. Matariki sported such an
outstanding super-blend, their 2004 "Quintology" (Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Syrah,
Malbec). Also surprising, their 2006 Estate Pinot Noir. Hawkes Bay is not known for
Pinots, but this dry valley lighter bodied Pinot was shockingly great with smoke and
mushroom notes. Trinity Hill is normally known for its Syrahs, but we much preferred
their 2002 "Gimblett Road" Cabernet Sauvignon – easily the best we had in NZ. Not
surprising, given the 13 or more major awards it has garnered. We weren’t too sure why
it hadn’t sold out of this serious vintage – perhaps the stigma of Syrah as the Hawkes Bay
king red. Since Idaho (Snake River Appellation) produces exceptional Syrahs on gravelly
soil, we perhaps were a little too discerning and critical of Hawkes Bay Syrahs.