Majestic Wine x Craggy Range

Welcome

In 2024 Craggy Range will reach its 25th Vintage. With regard to vineyards, this milestone in many parts of the world would sound like a blink of an eye in terms of history. Our humble winery in New Zealand has asserted itself on the world stage quicker than any of our family could have anticipated.

When Terry and Mary Peabody first conceived the idea of Craggy Range, they wanted to create an estate that could sit alongside the world’s great vineyards. Understanding this goal may take multiple generations to see it through to fruition. They certainly did not believe Craggy Range would come close to the recognition it has today in their lifetime.

We have been blessed with many accolades. From many years of featuring in the World’s Most Admired Brands, World’s Best Vineyards and being named the top winery in New Zealand for 2023 to an incredible run of scores over the past decade, Terry and Mary may be closer to seeing their ultimate goal attained in their lifetime. While four generations of our family are now walking the vineyards, there is still more work to do.

It is up to us to be caretakers of our land and stewards of what is in our bottles.

- David T. Peabody

Craggy Range

Established in 1998, Craggy Range is a family-owned winery situated in the shadow of the spectacular Te Mata Peak in the premium wine-growing area of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. With an unrelenting focus on quality, Craggy Range produces a collection of iconic wines from their exceptional estates in Hawke’s Bay, Martinborough, and Marlborough.

When Craggy Range owners Terry and Mary Peabody first set out to start a winery with world class aspirations, their search quickly brought them to New Zealand. Looking down from Te Mata Peak onto the land where Craggy Range now stands, they were clear that they wanted to create a winery and an experience which truly evoked the unique landscapes and heritage of the region.

GIMBLETT GRAVELS, HAWKE’S BAY

TE MUNA ROAD, MARTINBOROUGH

Taking an innovative position of pursuing a multiregional approach to wine growing meant we didn’t have to compromise. After discovering the promise of New Zealand, the Peabody family focused on the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing district in Hawke’s Bay and Te Muna Road in Martinborough to produce a collection of wines that speak very much of their place.

We have an ambition to sit comfortably alongside the great wineries of the world. This ambition is underpinned by a focus on quality, evolution and custodianship, specifically around community and the environment. In 2020 we embarked on an ambitious biodiversity project which will see us plant more than 100ha of native trees within our Martinborough vineyards, improving the biodiversity and eventually the quality of our land.

To ensure a firm commitment, Terry Peabody honoured the original promise of leaving a legacy for the family still to come and established a 1000 year trust, meaning the winery can never be sold. What has followed in the last 20 or so years has been the development of an iconic New Zealand winery which has never lost sight of its sense of place, or its family ties.

Te Muna Road

THE MARTINBOROUGH DISTRICT WAS ORIGINALLY SELECTED FOR ITS UNIQUE COMBINATION OF SOILS AND CLIMATE.

Martinborough has two significant climatic influences. Firstly, wind. Particularly in spring and early summer, reducing vigour and crop on the vines. Secondly, warmth. While Martinborough is similar in degree days to Marlborough, the structure of this heat is quite different. The higher elevation, shelter and distance from the ocean means we are not affected by the sea breeze in summer. The effect is a cooler spring and later start to bud burst and a more continental environment.

Two distinct terraces make up the vineyard, one comprising alvi-fulvic soils that are more than 20,000 years old and at higher altitudes. These rocks are full of complex minerals such as feldspars and argillite, slowly

released into the surrounding soil. The subsoil layers also contain ancient weathered volcanic ash, which has reacted with the rocks and hastened their decomposition to a point where they can be easily broken. This produces exceptional Pinot Noir, which stylistically shows incredible complexity, a reserved intellectual feel, and great length.

The second lower terrace comprises younger stony soils interlaced with limestone lumps, providing an excellent environment for Sauvignon Blanc. Here the vines are matched and planted to these variations, creating more than ten individual parcels within the vineyard.

LATITUDE: 41.2

SEASONAL RAINFALL: 446mm average

AVERAGE VINE AGE: 15-20 years

DEGREE DAYS: 1160. This compares to 1346 in Marlborough

SOIL TYPES: Top Terrace: 75b Tauherenikau stony silt loam.

Lower Terrace: Greytown silt loam and sandy loam, Ruamahanga sandy loam Omahu Stony Gravels Class 1

TOTAL PLANTED LAND AREA: 93 ha

Gimblett Gravels

HAWKE’S BAY’S GIMBLETT GRAVELS WINEGROWING DISTRICT LIES ON THE ANCIENT BED OF THE NGARURORO RIVER, WHICH CHANGED COURSE IN 1867 TO EXPOSE ITS SOILS FOR POSSIBLE VITICULTURE.

The soils are composed of small to mediumsized greywacke stones, interspersed with layers of silt and sand down to a depth of at least 40 metres. The stones on the surface absorb sunlight and heat during the day and then radiate heat at night, enhancing the vine’s ripening capacity. The stony soil structure allows for very rapid drainage after rainfall events; the low water-holding ability enables us to control vine growth.

Finally, with the low soil content in the profile, there is naturally low fertility which aids in keeping the vigour of the vine low to moderate. These are soils requiring precise preparation and management. When done well, they offer great potential in this locality to produce rich, ripe, yet elegantly structured red wines with a distinctive mineral, hot

stone and fine dusty character, which we affectionately call ‘Gimblett Dust’.

While the Gimblett Gravels is warm for New Zealand standards, it is still not hot in a world wine context. The combination of relatively low altitude and proximity to the sea, yet sheltered from the direct effect of the sea breeze, creates what we describe as a temperate maritime climate. This location, altitude, and the stony soil’s warming influence creates the warmest site in Hawke’s Bay.

The lack of excessive heat in the Gimblett Gravels is also a critical factor as it means the aromatic characters in the fruit, which contribute to the floral notes, are retained.

LATITUDE: 39.6

SEASONAL RAINFALL: 448mm average

AVERAGE VINE AGE: 16-18 years

DEGREE DAYS: 1503. This compares to 1580 in Napa City, 1450 in Bordeaux and 1346 in Marlborough

SOIL TYPES: Omahu Stony Gravels Class 1

TOTAL PLANTED LAND AREA: 85ha

(approx 15% of the total Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District)

La Place de Bordeaux

IN 2022 CRAGGY RANGE BECAME THE FIRST NEW ZEALAND WINERY TO BE DISTRIBUTED BY THE FAMED BORDEAUX NEGOCIANT NETWORK, LA PLACE DE BORDEAUX

The complex distribution network comprising La Place has brought Bordeaux’s most famous wines to the world since the 17th century. The historic group first opened its doors to the wines of the New World with Almaviva in 1996 and Opus One in 2004, both wines being in partnership with Chateau Mouton de Rothschild. Since then, La Place has begun to offer the world’s most prestigious wines from Italy, the USA, South America, and other renowned regions within France.

The 2020 vintage of Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah and Craggy Range Aroha Pinot Noir joined the ranks of some of the world’s most celebrated wines. This fulfilled a dream of Craggy Range’s founders, the Peabody family, to have their wines sit alongside the great estates of the world.

According to Master of Wine Andrew Caillard MW, “La Place provides access to the world’s greatest wine, Chateau Lafite to Le Pin, Cheval Blanc to Ornellaia, Super Tuscans to the renowned wines of the Napa Valley. And now, Craggy Range. This is a great opportunity for New Zealand to start building its presence in the Fine wine world.”

Tom Portet and Emma Thienpont of International First Growth, who introduced Craggy Range into the network, commented, “We approached Craggy Range due to the quality of their wines and their international relevance. Very few brands from the New World have the presence in major markets that Craggy does. The growth in demand for international wines has been extraordinary, so the time is right to bring NZ into the mix.”

Prestige Collection Wines

aroha le sol sophia

Aroha is a romantic word in the Maori language of New Zealand, meaning love. Reflective of its namesake, Aroha is handcrafted with passion from unique parcels of Pinot Noir, including one of the renowned Abel clone. The pedigree of particular blocks in our Te Muna vineyard is paramount to the quality of this wine. At over 20 years of age, the balance in our best blocks, identified by a narrow band of clay over stone, straddles that line between power and beauty. When crafting this wine, we look for the quality of tannin to be the ultimate driver, and with Aroha, the velvet line provides unmistakable length.

MATTHEW JUKES - 19.5+ POINTS

“Aroha is the most quietly expressive Kiwi Pinot Noir I have ever tasted. There is awesome purity here with sensational sophistication. Gone is the primary fruit explosion with little behind the façade, as is often the case when one drinks warmer climate Pinots. By contrast, this wine is worthy of serious consideration by every Pinot collector on the planet. Aroha is sensitively assembled with impeccable balance and an immensely long finish. I feel somewhat ashamed that I only awarded it a 19.5/20 score in my notes because it is simply sensational.”

Le Sol (the soil) is crafted from Syrah grown in the stoniest parts of our Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, planted to a heritage clone brought to New Zealand in the 1840s. Intensively hand-managed, Le Sol is always aromatically pure, with a luscious yet elegant mid-palate and a distinctive fine tannin finish. Rich, evocative, yet refined, Le Sol has evolved in style since its first release over twenty years ago to achieve that balance between intense but floral Syrah in its purest form. The longevity of this wine is never in doubt; however, there is an increasing approachability in this wine upon release, so its beauty can be appreciated now while also anticipating future occasions when it will truly shine.

JAMES SUCKLING - 97 POINTS

Sophia, the height of elegance and longevity, predominantly showcases Merlot, complemented by Cabernet Sauvignon and increasingly significant Cabernet Franc. Crafted at our Giants winery, Sophia embodies opulence and ripe flavours with a tannin structure supporting extensive aging. With vines now over 25 years old, our distinct Merlot blocks contribute aromatic elegance and plush power. Evolving winemaking techniques yield depth and balance with silk-laden tannins accentuated by elevated perfume.

MATTHEW JUKES - 18.5+ POINTS

“This comes from two of the best blocks of this vineyard. Blackberry, blueberry and red fruits as well as ink and meat. Fresh flowers. Savory. Medium- to full-bodied. Round yet firm tannins that are so fine and silky. Caresses your

in every way.”

palate

“This is a glorious Merlot-driven wine and one of my favourites in the entire Southern Hemisphere. In 2021, it managed to pack beautifully teasing spice and earth notes into the sleek red-fruit-drenched chassis, and the Cabernet Franc portion ensures a rhapsodic perfume. Craggy has long made a success of the Merlot variety where so many others across the planet fail, and I don’t doubt that this vintage is one of the very finest they have produced.”

Appellation & Estate Collection Wines

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE UK

Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay

KIDNAPPERS, VINEYARD, HAWKE’S BAY TE MUNA, MARTINBOROUGH

Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc is a harmonious blend of 20-year-old vines from the Te Muna Road vineyard and newer plantings along the Te Muna terrace. Thriving in gravel-rich, low-fertile soils, it boasts a unique texture and intensity. Influenced by the cool climate and oceanic breezes, it offers a vibrant lime and citrus profile with a hint of wild herbs, leaving a mouthwatering impression. Purity and avoiding dominant thiol/sulphide or green notes are paramount. Instead, it aims for a long, moreish finish, showcasing flavoursome elegance and beauty without excessive sweetness or acidity.

Kidnapper’s Chardonnay is characterised by its coastal proximity and clay soils, shaping its distinctive profile. The cooling influence of ocean winds prevents overheating of the grapes, prolonging the ripening period. Clay soils, with their moistureretaining properties and canopy shading, yield fresher and lighter wines than those from Gimblett Gravels. Large format barrels and a touch of tank fermentation are employed to preserve its nuanced flavour profile, resulting in a subtler oak presence. With a focus on balance, Kidnapper’s Chardonnay is crafted to achieve a slightly lower alcohol content, enhancing the connection of its lime and orange zest notes.

Pinot Noir

MARTINBOROUGH

Martinborough Pinot Noir is crafted from a selection of our Estate vines grown on the ancient stony soils of the famed Martinborough and Te Muna terrace. Individual parcels of Pinot Noir are selected for their varietal purity and unique regional expression to create a vibrant, fruit-driven wine with a beautiful velvet texture for immediate enjoyment.

Syrah Te Kahu

GIMBLETT GRAVELS, HAWKE’S BAY

Produced from the stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels, this distinctly unique Syrah shows an intense aromatic lift of floral, pepper and black fruit; concentrated flavours and excellent purity on the palate are balanced with fine tannins for a long, elegant finish. Hand-harvested and aged in French oak barriques for up to 16 months, it will reward cellaring for up to seven years from vintage.

Te Kahu embodies the essence of a Bordeaux-style “vineyard blend,” reflecting the planting percentages of the vineyard with a Merlot-dominant composition followed by Cabernet Sauvignon. Crafted from fruit grown in The Quarry and Sophia blocks, it is the pinnacle of value. This wine delivers ripe black and red fruit flavours with a softer tannin profile, ideal for shorter aging than Sophia or Gimblett Gravels Merlot. Sourced from multiple blocks, it harmonises higher-toned red fruit from silty soils with darker, concentrated black fruit from stony blocks, resulting in a blend prioritising drinkability and complexity.

GIMBLETT GRAVELS, HAWKE’S BAY