Kelly Washington, 2018 Cabernet Franc, Bridge Pa Triangle, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Kelly Washington wines is a partnership between Tamra Washington and her husband Simon Kelly. Tamra grew up in Malborough, and was working in vineyards and restaurants from an early age, which sparked her fascination with the world of wine. After completing her viticultural and oenology studies in New Zealand, she went on to work in New Zealand, California and Italy, before returning home.
Kelly Washington wines is a premium negociant project, and Tamra is working key growers and select, organically farmed vineyards across New Zealand. Tamra told me it has been her mission since day one to make Cabernet Franc as part of her range of wines. Having lived and worked in Europe for over 7 years, she fell in love and drank Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, as often as she could. And it took her a bit of time to find this special block of Franc in the Howell/Prospect Vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle sub-region of Hawke's Bay, and 2018 was her first vintage.
So, I'm sure many are curious as to what the overall Cabernet Franc picture looks like in New Zealand. I mean, we know that Sauvignon Blanc is king in terms of plantings. But Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grow side by side in many parts of the world, such as the Loire, Bordeaux, and elsewhere. So in theory, this should be a grape that might be widely planted? Sadly no.
There's currently around 26,559ha of Sauvignon Blanc planted in New Zealand, that represents a whopping 64% of the area under vine. The number 1 planted red grape variety is Pinot Noir, with about 5807ha planted, accounting for around 14% of the vineyards area. And my beloved Cabernet Franc? There's a measly 91 hectares planted. But, don't despair, because I've heard from many folks that while the examples of varietal Cabernet Franc are few and far between, those that do work with it are making some pretty awesome expressions of the grape.
Which brings us to today's example from Kelly Washington wines. So, of the 91ha of Cabernet Franc planted in New Zealand, the majority are planted in the Hawke's Bay region - a little over 60ha. And Hawke's Bay is the top region in New Zealand for the production of the Bordeaux red varieties and Syrah. So its worth looking at some of the key elements that influence the viticultural areas here.
Hawke's Bay, the country's 2nd largest growing region, is located in New Zealand's North Island. Located on the east coast of the North Island, bound by the Pacific Coast and Hawke's Bay itself to the east, and the Ruahine and Kaweke mountains ranges in the west. Descending from these mountains are a series of ancient rivers that have carved out valley, terraces and plains through the Hawke's Bay region that help to define many of its sub-regions.
The climate of Hawke's Bay would be articulated as cool to moderate maritime, depending on where you are. With temperatures during the growing season being a touch cooler than Bordeaux, with temperatures warmest near the coast, and getting progressively cooler as you move inland. The temperatures during the summer can get quite warm, but the influence of the cool Pacific ocean helps to temper these conditions. Hawke's Bay also receives a high number of sunshine hours, around nearly 2200 hours on average, making it one of the sunniest regions in New Zealand, and a low to moderate amount of rainfall, averaging around 800mm in the main viticultural areas around the cities of Napier and Hastings, with rainfall increasing as you move inland.
The region's topography and many rivers defines the soils of Hawke's Bay, where 25 different major soils types have been identified. And these soils, along with the various microclimates have led to the creation of 9 distinct sub-regions, with the most well-known being the Gimblett Gravels sub-region, but the largest of these sub-region's is the Bridge Pa Triangle, which is where today's wine is coming from.
The Bridge Pa Triangle encompasses 1250ha, and is situated about 17km inland from the coast, on the southern bank of the Ngaruroro River. And the region is on what is essentially one of several alluvial terraces that was carved out by and follow the Ngaruroro River over tens of thousands of years, another being the Gimblett Gravels, which is just east of the Bridge Pa Triangle. Actually, it is interesting to note that all of the Cabernet Franc plantings in Hawke's Bay are split pretty evenly between Gimblett Gravels and the Bridge Pa Triangle, each with about 30ha or so. And as a point of comparison, the Bridge Pa Triangle is slightly cooler than the Gimblett Gravels wine district.
In terms of soils, the Bridge Pa Triangle has the oldest soils on the Heretaunga Plain, which is this large swath of land where we find the majority of the wine sub-regions in Hawke's Bay. There are three main groups of soils, which are either alluvial sandy-loams and clay-loams that are derived from loess, volcanic ash and greywacke, which is a type of sandstone. All three of these topsoils are relatively shallow, about 40 to 70cm deep, and they overlay a very deep sub-soil that is known locally as 'red metals.' These red metals are iron-rich alluvial gravels, that have very good water holding capacity, which provide an ideal moisture balance without the need for irrigation.
So, today's wine is coming from a 0.2ha parcel of Cabernet Franc vines planted in the Howell/Prospect vineyard, which is in the southern part of the wine district. The vineyard has a north-facing exposure, and is well-protected from excess rainfall from a series of hills to the south.
The vines were planted in 1997, and the vines are trained north-south, with the fruiting wire on the east side to ensure the bunches receive the cooler morning sunshine, and then sufficient shading on the west side of the canopy to ensure the bunches are protected from the stronger afternoon sun.
In terms of soils, this block sits on two distinct soils, with Ngatarawa sandy-loam in the upper portion, and Irongate sandy-loam in the lower portion, and they sit atop the all important red metal gravels. Tamra said that these red gravels help to contribute to the finished wine's depth of flavour and concentration. She also said that this site also allows her to harvest early, with the grapes achieving good phenolic maturity, while maintaining lower alcohols.
In terms of winemaking, Tamra's approach with this wine is very much in keeping with what fruit the vineyard gives, which is to make a very Loire inspired Cabernet Franc. The fruit is hand-harvested and destemmed. Fermentation is with selected yeast, in small open top stainless steel tanks. She will do very gentle pump overs during the active fermentation, and the total time on skins is about 24 days. Aging is French oak barrels, 18% of which is new, and the wine will age for about 10 months before bottling.
Key wine wine facts below:
Producer: Kelly Washington Wines
Region: Hawke’s Bay, North Island
Sub-Region: Bridge Pa Triangle
Vineyard: Howell/Prospect Vineyard
Soils: Ngatarawa sandy-loam and Irongate sandy-loam, atop ‘red metal’ alluvial gravels
Alcohol: 12.5%
