 The Wines
The Alluviale wines come from carefully selected Hawke’s Bay vineyards that lie along the ancient riverbeds of the Ngaruroro River. Drawing inspiration from classical and contemporary Bordeaux, the wines combine vibrant fruit character with elegance, restraint, complexity and texture.
The Alluviale red Bordeaux blend is created from grapes grown in the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District. The Gimblett Road wine growing area sits on an alluvial fan which has evolved over thousands of years. Over time, the Ngaruroro River regularly flooded the Hawkes Bay area, depositing small amounts of gravel each time. The grapes for Alluviale come from these ancient riverbeds of stoney gravel that were permanently exposed when the river changed its course in 1867.
The white wines, Alluviale Blanc and Alluviale Anobli come from the emerging sub-region of Mangatahi. Proximity to the mountains and elevation results in a long ripening period.
The vineyards’ unique mix of microclimate, fast-draining stoney soils, rigorous pruning, crop thinning and careful irrigation management ensures fruit of extraordinary intensity.
Picked by hand, the grape clusters for the Alluviale wines are transported in small bins to avoid any fruit being prematurely crushed under its own weight. The red clusters are then gently destemmed and any raisins, damaged fruit or stem remnants are removed. The white clusters are either gently destemmed or enter the press as whole bunches. Only the best fruit survives the selection process.
The exact composition of each wine changes year to year, and is entirely determined by the quality of the fruit that particular vintage. The resulting wines show remarkable purity, body and balance.
Information Sheets:
2008 Alluviale information sheet. Click here to download
2009 Alluviale Blanc information sheet. Click here to download
2008 Alluviale Anobli information sheet. Click here to download
Click here for label and bottle images
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About the label design:
The label artwork is an interpretation of the aerial view presented by the braided river channels of the Ngaruroro, the river meandering alongside the Alluviale vineyards.
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