Decibel Giunta Hawkes Bay Malbec 2021

Description

• Tamarillo
• Purple flowers
• Chewy vibrancy
• Juicy

"Dense, flavoursome malbec with dark-fleshed plum, tamarillo, sweet herb, spice and floral flavours supported by a backbone of moderately sweet, ripe tannins. An heroic, generously proportioned wine" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Aug 2021

Even for this lighter style, the Malbec colour is quite a dark purple. The nose is grainy, dusty, and edgy with hints of purple flowers and grandma's pasta sauce. A cool, crisp tamarillo hits the back of the nose. The taster could go on and on citing different aromatics. The first notes on the palate are soft growing into a chewy vibrancy and eventually finishing with a juicy persistance. The finish is short, a result of this young wine but it also invites the tasters to come back for more and more as the wine pairs with both subtle dishes and bold flavours. 

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 Malbec grown in the Bridge Pa appellation on the Heretaunga Plains. The soils are silty-loam, free-draining red metal of mixed alluvial and volcanic origin. The wines tend to reflect more lush fruit and rounder tannins. After a relatively cool spring during flowering there was a bit less fruit on the vine resulting in more concentrated wines. However, the summer wasn't exceptionally hot, so the wines remained relatively elegant and rich without being overripe. There were two clones of Malbec (595 & 1056) grown on 3 different blocks around the Bridge Pa Tringle. 

Picked in late March, the fruit was picked with very modest sugar levels, ranging from 20.5-22.5 Brix. Most of the fruit was destemmed and only lightly crushed to allow the skins to slowly break down during the fermentation. While some fruit was also left as whole bunches to allow for some carbonic maceration. The fruit was then cold macerated for 6 hours on skins before slowly warming the fermenter and alllowing a wild fermentation to kick in. Fermentation lasted 13 days before the wine was then macerated on skins again for an additional 15 days, which also allowed for full malolactic fermentation to take place on skins. The wine was then pressed to tank and settled and again racked off its heavy sediment in early July. As it has become 'nouveau' tradition the wine was evaluated and the decision was made to release this wine for the spring as a 'Nouveau' Wine and bottled in early July 2020 and immediately released to the public.