Decibel Gimblett Gravels Hawke's Bay Malbec 2020

Decibel Gimblett Gravels Hawke's Bay Malbec 2020Oaked Ripe plum& bramble Violet & cardamom Bright acidity "Inky malbec with dark fleshed plum, cassis, dark cherry, and pepper spice flavours supported by fine, ripe tannins. While the wine is certainly approachable now it promises to mellow and integrate with bottle age. Good value at this price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2022 As with every Decibel Malbec release, the colour is an intense deep purple. The immediate aromatics are

• Oaked
• Ripe plum& bramble
• Violet & cardamom
• Bright acidity

"Inky malbec with dark-fleshed plum, cassis, dark cherry, and pepper/spice flavours supported by fine, ripe tannins. While the wine is certainly approachable now it promises to mellow and integrate with bottle age. Good value at this price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2022

As with every Decibel Malbec release, the colour is an intense deep purple. The immediate aromatics are of fragrant violets, cardamom pods, and juicy ripe plums; perhaps fruitier than usual at this young age due to the warmth of the growing season and the siltier soils of the Bridge Pa. There are layers of bramble, blackberry, black cherry, all balanced against the signature bright acidity and soft tannins of a Decibel Malbec.

Hawke’s Bay lies on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The region enjoys dry summers with moderate, cool nights. This wine reflects a single vineyard Malbec from the famed Bridge Pa appellation. 10,000 years ago this area was blanketed by the pumice from volcanic events in Taupo, 165km away. As such, the Bridge Pa Triangle hosts the oldest soils on the Heretaunga Plains. Post volcanic activity, the changing course of the nearby Ngaruroro River had the most significant influence on the soils, leaving free-draining, warm soils that overlay “red metal” alluvial gravels; perfect for viticulture.

The 2020 growing season was an incredible one in Hawke’s Bay with sunny days and cool nights and a late season heat spike allowing us to pick grapes to our schedule and not in reaction to a rain event. This malbec is from a site in the last year of conversion to organics and was picked with freshness in mind, capturing the beautiful acidity afforded by the Malbec grape.

Picked in early April, the fruit was then destemmed and only lightly crushed to allow the skins to slowly breakdown during the fermentation. The fruit was cold soaked for 5 days on skins before slowly warming each of the 2-ton fermenters and allowing a wild fermentation to kick in. Fermentation lasted two weeks and once complete, the wine was left to macerate on skins again for an additional three weeks to resolve the tannin structure. After pressing, the wine went into barrels that were a mix of older seasoned oak and about 10% new oak as we had the opportunity to do so given the excellent season. The wine was aged for 21 months in barrel and then racked and prepared for bottling in late March 2022.

Food Pairing: We think this will be a great pairing with grilled vegetables or bold, spicy dishes.