Today there’s no question that New Zealand can produce world-class cabernet sauvignon. Despite the success of pinot noir, and more recently, syrah, cabernet remains an important red grape here, with a noticeable upswing in quality in recent years.

The international benchmark for great cabernet wines is Bordeaux and temperate maritime climates suit the variety best, a fact which has helped put Hawke’s Bay on the map as the unchallenged home of Kiwi cabernet. Vintage conditions are of prime importance.
Says panel chair, John Belsham, “The best of Hawke’s Bay cabernet become closer to the fine wines of Bordeaux with each vintage, displaying lovely dried herb, floral, tobacco and fruit flavours.”
Of the eight wines awarded four stars and above, all were Hawke’s Bay blends from the excellent 2009 and 2007 vintages, both warmer years.

The Tasting panel The merlot panel of John Belsham, Ralph Kyte-Powell and Steve Smith MW also reviewed the cabernet sauvignon entries.

TOP 5

1. Newton Forrest Stony Corner 2009 $25-$35 (Hawke’s Bay) 5-8
Hawke’s Bay at its best. A ripe, dense, Médoc-like wine (a cabernet-merlot-malbec blend) with a captivating, ripe nose of blueberries and black fruits, a whisper of floral pot-pourri, some Christmas-cakey richness and appealing toasty complexity. In the mouth it’s a “serious red wine” – big and mouthfilling, ripe and grippy, with fine tannins providing a perfect counterpoint.

The colonel’s coup
Bob Newton was a lieutenant-colonel in the Australian Army on exchange with the Kiwi armed forces when he met New Zealand molecular biologist Dr John Forrest (now owner of Forrest Wines in Marlborough) 25 years ago.
“We became firm friends around good Aussie shiraz and the duty-free gin Bob bought through the army,” recalls John. “I wanted to drop out of science and Bob was looking for something to do when he retired from the army. Australian shiraz and cabernet got us thinking about wine.”
They bought a property in Hawke’s Bay for that purpose in 1988. When Bob left the army in 1992, they talked over their plans afresh. Two G&Ts and two bottles of Australian shiraz later, the deal was done. Bob wanted to grow grapes, John to make wine.
They planted their Newton Forrest Gimblett Gravels vineyard in 1990 and the first wine, a cabernet merlot malbec blend, was released in 1994.
This illustrious label has a history of top honours in Cuisine and our winning cabernet, Stony Corner 2009, upholds that tradition.

2. Mission Jewelstone Cabernet Merlot 2009 $35-$40 5-8
Steve Smith described this as “a big rumbling wine” and the other judges heard the rumble too, praising its dense, sweet, plummy fruit, floral aromatics, savoury, charry touches and ultra-long finish. The superb
fruit character is backed by typical cabernet, Bordeaux-like austerity in outstanding balance. A wine for a
luxurious dish. What about venison with Italian mustard fruits?

3. Alpha Domus The Aviator 2009 $52.50 (Hawke’s Bay) 5-8
A wine at the more savoury end of cabernet, combining green olive, pepper, blackcurrant, lead pencil
and gently sweet oak aromas. Slightly lighter than the biggest 09 Hawke’s Bay cabernets, it carries its fruit well in
a supple, silky style of excellent length.

4. Matariki Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2007 $26.90 (Hawke’s Bay) 3-5
This charming wine has moved beyond its youth into the early stages of maturity. Florals, cedar, black fruits, dark chocolate and autumn leaves meet the nose, ahead of a velvety mid-palate supported by fine, grainy tannins. Just the thing for veal chops with sage.

5. Babich The Patriarch 2009 $59-$65 (Hawke’s Bay) 5-8
In Bordeaux they sometimes serve cabernets like this with poultry. We like the idea of crispy roast chicken with roasted veges and shallots. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet franc, it has more than
a whiff of Bordeaux about it, with cassis, briar, sweet mint and leafy notes. The palate is long with great balance.





Mills Reef Elspeth Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $45 (Hawke’s Bay) 5-8
This essence of young Gimblett Gravels cabernet, driven by tart blackcurrant and sweeter cassis aromas, is dressed up in sweet oak. There’s a whisper of the farmyard to it, but not in an unpleasant way, and it has a solid “chunky” feel in the mouth. The finish is beautifully long with balanced drying tannins.

Mission Estate Hawke’s Bay Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $23-$26 5-8
This young cabernet needs time to realise its full potential. There’s intense blackberry, spice and herbal character with a little high-toned edge, plus good concentration. It’s long in flavour and very firm at present. However, some bottle age will integrate everything nicely.

Te Awa Cabernet Merlot 2009 $36 (Hawke’s Bay) 5-8
There’s great purity of fruit in this wine. Mainly cabernet and merlot, with a smattering of cabernet franc and
malbec, it’s all about the essence of dark fruits – berries and plums – while floral and cedary notes give it a lifted, vibrant feel. It’s very pure to taste, clean and youthful, with good length and balanced tannins.

Cabernet weather
“In a warm year in Hawke’s Bay we can make great wine out of cabernet,” says Steve Smith, who, as wine and viticulture director at Craggy Range, is in a better position to comment than most. “It’s in the cooler years that things become a bit more difficult.”
Therein lies the cabernet conundrum. It’s a versatile critter planted all over the world, but it’s generally accepted that it produces its best wine in mild, temperate, cooler regions, though only in warmer years.
In hot regions where cabernet ripens at breakneck speed, such as Australia’s Barossa Valley, it’s jammy, alcoholic, super-ripe and shiraz-like. In very cool areas it just doesn’t quite ripen, with green tasting, herbal and bitter results. However, in moderate climates like Bordeaux, Australia’s Margaret River and New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay, it succeeds best in the warmer vintages.
In such conditions it ripens slowly enough to retain the leafiness and austerity that’s such a part of cabernet’s savoury flavour profile, but it also offers plush blackcurrant liqueur, and blackberry and violet characters that add sweetness and depth to that lightly herbaceous tang.
In cold years in those same mild regions cabernet goes down the green, unripe road. We have yet to compare the 2009 wines with the crop from the cooler 2010 vintage in Hawke’s Bay.

TASTING NOTES Tasting method All wines are tasted blind. If, after discussion, the tasters do not agree on a star rating, the wine will receive the rating given by the majority but dissenting comments will be included in the wine notes. The scores of winemaker judges cannot exceed those of other judges. Availability All wines entered in Cuisine tastings must be readily available at the time of publication. However, high demand and a six-week lead time between tastings and publication can affect availability. If you cannot find the wines, contact the winery or distributor direct. Prices Suppliers are asked to provide a retail price range for all wines entered in tastings. Prices do vary between vineyard and low-to-high volume outlets and cannot, therefore, be guaranteed. All prices are quoted in $NZ. Recommended by Cuisine stickers Look for these top wines as your guarantee of quality. Gold sticker - Wines awarded five stars can wear the gold five-star Recommended by Cuisine sticker. Burgundy sticker - Wines awarded 4 1/2 and four stars can display the original Recommended by Cuisine sticker.