After a disappointing 2012 vintage, Hawke's Bay winemakers have been rewarded with some really very impressive wines in both 2013 (see this New Zealand compilation, this August 2015 wine of the week and this December 2015 wine of the week) and 2014, which was even more successful in some cases. Whereas 2013 was characterised by drought, which suited Cabernet Sauvignon better than Syrah, 2014 was particularly hot (though not especially dry) and so better suited to Syrah – and the thin-skinned Merlot.
The free-draining gravels of the subregion were identified way back by Steve Smith MW, then of Craggy...
