Simply the best vintage

by Babich Wines May 7, 2020

Simply the best. The Tina Turner song that has become the staple of weddings and team building days aptly describes the 2020 New Zealand grape harvest too.

In Hawke’s Bay, viticulturist Tony Smith reckons it’s the best vintage he’s seen in his 18-year career. In Marlborough, his colleague David Bullivant says it surpassed even the excellent 2012, 2015 and 2019 vintages – the best in at least a decade.

Dry, hot weather in the early months of the year let the grapes grow and ripen unhindered by damp and disease. The result was a harvest that met volume expectations, with the grapes in the Goldilocks Zone of sugar ripeness and intense flavour.

Having great vintages back to back like this is a rarity, says David. Every single variety yielded beautiful, flavourful fruit. And with new vineyards coming on stream, Babich had our largest ever harvest in Marlborough.

In Hawke’s Bay, the volume was as expected and the quality everything one could hope for. Especially pleasing there was the quality of first-crop Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from our Highway 50 vineyard.

What this wondrous harvest means for wine lovers, is that you can expect stunning wine from both the 2019 and 2020 harvests – and good value for money too!

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