2020 Craggy Ranges ‘Sophia’, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

Craggy Range is a family-owned winery established in 1998 and situated in the shadow of the spectacular Te Mata Peak in the premium wine growing area of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Over the years, every time we open a bottle of Craggy Ranges it always surprises us, from the entry level Pinot Gris to the premium Bordeaux and Shiraz varietals. They produce a collection of iconic wines from multiple regions in New Zealand. Owner Terry Peabody pursues the single vineyard approach to winemaking, planting on green fields and bare land ensuring a focus on quality for every wine they make. New Zealand, has an amazing diversity of soils types, which offer the perfect location to plant the vines. From the stony, warm soils of the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay to the volcanic, clay soils of Te Muna Road in Martinborough these exceptional vineyards produce wines with amazing aromatics, purity, and complexity. Why do we like it?  This Merlot is a refined, elegant, and hand-crafted wine. Sophia is a very fine expression of terroir, and certainly one of the longest-lived since its inception. You can keep this wine for the next 10 to 30 years. Rest assured that once you open it after some time, some earthy, mushroom and truffle aromas will prevail, a dried fruit character and a lot of tobacco and leather flavours will be shinning. This wine will need decanting, whether you drink it young or old. While young, the decantation will help aerating, while old it will help separate the sediments at the bottom of the bottle, be gentle.   Grape            65% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon Country        New Zealand                              Region          Hawk's Bay Vintage         2020