Te Kahu means "cloak" in Te Reo Maori and refers to the mist that envelops Giant's Winery in Tukituki Valley. Legend has it that the mist was used by a mythical Maori maiden to protect her lover Te Mata from the sun when she visited him. Te Kahu means "cloak" in Te Reo Maori and refers to the mist that envelops Giant's Winery in Tukituki Valley. Legend has it that the mist was used by a mythical Maori maiden to protect her lover Te Mata from the sun when she visited him. Deep garnet with a purple hue. Rich aromas of ripe blackcurrant, black olive and tobacco. Flavors of red fruit, licorice and dark chocolate, with rounded tannins that create a great structure. The 2021 vintage is typical of the Bordeaux style made by Gimblett Gravels. The spring was very warm, so the grapes grew well. The summer was normal, but the overall harvest was smaller than usual due to the lack of rain. Gimlet Gravels (Hawke's Bay)
Gravels means gravel, and the unique "Greywackestone" of this area is important for grape cultivation, and this area produces high-quality Bordeaux blends, Syrah, and Chardonnay. The soil is more than 40 meters deep and is layered with greywacke, sand, and silt. The stones on the surface of the field absorb heat during the day and keep the field warm at night, so this area is 2-3°C higher than other areas of Hawke's Bay, which has a cool marine climate close to the sea. In addition, the poor soil has low water retention even after rainfall, allowing the growth of grape vines to be properly managed.
Therefore, even in cooler lands with less sunshine than Bordeaux, they can produce outstanding Bordeaux-style red wines and aromatic white wines that are rich in fruit and elegant. Founded in 1998, Craggy Range is a family-run winery located in the foothills of Te Mata Peak, a premium wine producing area in Hawke's Bay on the North Island of New Zealand. When Terry and Mary Peabody decided to start a winery with the aim of making world-class wines, they immediately visited New Zealand. The Peabody family saw the potential of New Zealand and began winemaking with two aims: to produce a collection of wines that represent the region and to "stand shoulder to shoulder with the great wineries of the world" and to "leave a legacy for the family to continue in the future and make it a winery that will last for 1000 years". Each of these two areas has a different soil type. Hawke's Bay's Gimlet Gravels is made up of layers of Greywackestone, sand and silt, which absorb heat during the day and keep the vineyards warm at night, making the temperature 2-3°C higher than other areas in Hawke's Bay, which has a cool marine climate close to the sea. Martinborough's Te Muna Road has 20,000-year-old alvi-fulvicsoil and limestone soils with sedimentary rocks, complex minerals and volcanic ash, and these excellent vineyards produce wines with amazing aromas, purity and complexity. Craggy Range thus has a unique terroir. They make a variety of wines, but they have been ranked in the Top 50 for five consecutive years from 2020 to 2024 in The World's Most Admired Wine Brands, and LeSol has always received 95-97 points in Wine Advocate, boasting world-class quality. They are also known for having held the wedding of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in January 2024, and their beautiful winery, which is attached to an award-winning restaurant, is attracting attention as a representative destination in New Zealand. Sauvignon Brante Muna Martinborough and Te Kahu Gimlet Gravels Vineyard Hawke's Bay were served at the wedding. In recent years, they have been focusing on sustainability, and have welcomed a new organic cultivation specialist as a vineyard manager. The cultivation and brewing teams work together to study the microorganisms that live in the fields and winery to understand the ecosystem, and to improve pruning techniques to improve the flow of sap in the wine trees and suppress disease. We are always thinking about how we can pass on the fields to the next generation in the best possible condition.
In 2020, they embarked on a project to increase biodiversity by replanting over 100 hectares of Martinborough vineyards with native vines, ultimately aiming to improve the quality of their land.