New Zealand
Hawke's Bay
Sam Harrop Grand Amateur Case, 2018
Lot
1553
Grape Variety
Producer
Sam Harrop Grand Amateur Watchmaker Hawke's Bay
Bright in colour with fresh cream and limey aromas, this is an elegant supple wine with bags of appeal. It has fresh fruits with subtle vanilla oak, a fine texture and a long mineral finish. Sam has created a cooler style from Hawke’s Bay, with the wine fermented in a mixture of old and new French oak barrels. Grapes were picked by hand on March 7, 2018 and whole bunch pressed. The juice was chilled and left to settle for three days then racked and fermented using traditional Burgundian yeast. Relatively low in alcohol at 12.5%, it did not undergo malolactic fermentation and was bottled without filtration to retain its natural and refreshing fruit characters.
Sam Harrop Grand Amateur Merchant Hawke's Bay
Sam is a fan and long-time proponent of Cabernet Franc. He has worked with growers in the Loire and helped many to improve their red wines. Grand Amateur Merchant grapes were grown in one of Hawke’s Bay’s most exciting Cabernet Franc vineyards – The Howell Family Vineyard. It is a complex wine brimming with mulberries, red cherries and red liquorice. It is supple and smooth with ripe forest fruits and an elegant long finish complemented by cedary notes in the background. Grapes were picked by hand on April 12, 2018, de-stemmed and fermented in open-top stainless-steel fermenters. It was subsequently matured in old and new 300-litre Hogsheads for 11 months then bottled without filtration.
Grand Amateur Gentleman Syrah Hawke's Bay
Deep in colour with youthful cassis and herb aromas, this 2018 Syrah will repay some keeping. More dark black fruits emerge on the palate, leading to a firm structured wine with good tannins. Grapes were harvested from a special plot in the fashionable Gimblett Gravels on April 9, 2018. Gimblett Gravels is an iconic sub-region of Hawke’s Bay, pioneered in the early 2000s. The area is based on the deep gravelly and stony soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River. Grand Amateur Gentleman was produced from a mass selection clone of Syrah from exceptional old vines. The grapes were de-stemmed but not crushed, then fermented at between 25°C and 30°C over seven days with hand plunging of the skins two times a day. The wine spent 12 months in bespoke oak barrels crafted by the Ermitage cooperage in France, which uses oak from trees at least 150 years old. Using a classic combination of 33% new oak, 33% 1-year-old and 33% 2-year-old barrels, the oak is discrete and seamless with the fruit. The wine was bottled in May 2019.
Bright in colour with fresh cream and limey aromas, this is an elegant supple wine with bags of appeal. It has fresh fruits with subtle vanilla oak, a fine texture and a long mineral finish. Sam has created a cooler style from Hawke’s Bay, with the wine fermented in a mixture of old and new French oak barrels. Grapes were picked by hand on March 7, 2018 and whole bunch pressed. The juice was chilled and left to settle for three days then racked and fermented using traditional Burgundian yeast. Relatively low in alcohol at 12.5%, it did not undergo malolactic fermentation and was bottled without filtration to retain its natural and refreshing fruit characters.
Sam Harrop Grand Amateur Merchant Hawke's Bay
Sam is a fan and long-time proponent of Cabernet Franc. He has worked with growers in the Loire and helped many to improve their red wines. Grand Amateur Merchant grapes were grown in one of Hawke’s Bay’s most exciting Cabernet Franc vineyards – The Howell Family Vineyard. It is a complex wine brimming with mulberries, red cherries and red liquorice. It is supple and smooth with ripe forest fruits and an elegant long finish complemented by cedary notes in the background. Grapes were picked by hand on April 12, 2018, de-stemmed and fermented in open-top stainless-steel fermenters. It was subsequently matured in old and new 300-litre Hogsheads for 11 months then bottled without filtration.
Grand Amateur Gentleman Syrah Hawke's Bay
Deep in colour with youthful cassis and herb aromas, this 2018 Syrah will repay some keeping. More dark black fruits emerge on the palate, leading to a firm structured wine with good tannins. Grapes were harvested from a special plot in the fashionable Gimblett Gravels on April 9, 2018. Gimblett Gravels is an iconic sub-region of Hawke’s Bay, pioneered in the early 2000s. The area is based on the deep gravelly and stony soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River. Grand Amateur Gentleman was produced from a mass selection clone of Syrah from exceptional old vines. The grapes were de-stemmed but not crushed, then fermented at between 25°C and 30°C over seven days with hand plunging of the skins two times a day. The wine spent 12 months in bespoke oak barrels crafted by the Ermitage cooperage in France, which uses oak from trees at least 150 years old. Using a classic combination of 33% new oak, 33% 1-year-old and 33% 2-year-old barrels, the oak is discrete and seamless with the fruit. The wine was bottled in May 2019.
750ml
6
13.5%
Lime, custard, ripe white fruits
Stone fruits, supple
Roast chicken with an apple and pear dressed salad