Michael Daymond-King owner of Hatton Estate

Sorry, couldn’t resist using the first line of theme tune from the film “ladies Night”. It just seemed to fit for a vertical tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon blends back to 1998 from Hawke’s Bay producer, Hatton Estate.

Hatton Estate is a 16-hectare vineyard and winery in the Gimblett Gravels region of Hawke’s Bay. They make a range of impressive wines including Tahi-One, A Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend. Michael invited me to a vertical tasting of seven vintages of Tahi-One, because: ” Our top wines are typically described as “closed tannic monsters, requiring age”- and instantly dismissed as they are normally tried too young and we believe this vertical will provide some good perspective as to what we have been trying to achieve. The wines end up elegant expressions of a Hawkes Bay Bordeaux blend, and apart from a mad trip down the US market palate in 02 and to a lesser extent in 03 we have remained true to the fruit and subtle oak aging.”

Although I have tasted a number of Hatton Estate wines, and particularly liked the Gimblett Road Reserve, another Bordeaux blend, I had never previously tasted their flagship wine, Tahi-One. Here are some very brief tasting notes (it was a hurried affair, I only had 15 minutes to review all wines – my fault because I had a wine course to run).

2006  (93 points) My favourite wine (not due for release until 2010). Very Bordeaux-like with fine tannins and an array of delicate (and complex) fruit, spice and floral flavours. More about structure than fruit – will age.

2005 (89 points) Attractive wine in a very different style to the 06. A classically New World style with gobs of berryfruit plus an undercurrent of spicy notes. Bigger and more obvious – easy to appreciate. Will age but accessible now.

2004 (85 points) Quite mellow wine with sweet fruit and obvious smoky oak. Dusty tannins. A bit too simple but shows nice concentration.

2003 (83 points) I was surprised to see a wine from this very frost-affected vintage. Few wineries released a top red in 2003. Quite herbal with raw, peppery flavours that contrast with riper fruit characters.

2002 (80 points) Lean, savoury wine with a thread of hardness from VA. Interesting savoury characters but a tad too much VA for a better score.

2000 (88 points) Quite bright and youthful. Still showing plenty of primary fruit flavours. Elegant and accessible. Not greatly complex but a very satisfying drink.

1998 (84 points) A bit of a curate’s egg. Slightly fecal, reduced nose (the wine, like all in the range was sealed with a cork) together with an array of developed berry and savoury characters. Hard to score – if I was in a panel and the others wanted to give it a much higher mark I wouldn’t object strongly.

Conclusion: the wines do age and the superior later vintages will age very well indeed. New winemaker, Frenchman David Ramonteu, made the 2005 and 2006 vintages. The future looks particularly bright under his stewardship.