Hawke's Bay, on the Eastern edge of North Island, New Zealand, has built a reputation for high quality Bordeaux blends, Syrah and Chardonnay. Paritua is a relatively new project that has been creating quite a stir domestically, and in a short space of time has come to be regarded as one of Hawke’s Bay’s leading wineries. Paritua is located in the heart of the Hawkes Bay Wine Region, the ‘Bridge Pa Triangle’ District. This is one of New Zealand's most diverse regions for the growing and crafting of premium red and white wines. The name Paritua means ‘the meandering stream above the ancient river’ and is a tribute to the Paritua Stream, which meanders gently through the vineyard which is planted over the historical riverbed of the nearby Ngaruroro River which flowed through pre the 1860s earthquake
The development of the vineyard and winery infrastructure was a collaboration with leading New Zealand architects, Crosson Clarke. Every design aspect was carefully considered and the winemaking operation had to be not only efficient, but also sustainable with the added requirement to sit gracefully in its environment. The vines were planted in 2003 and with 53 hectares (130 acres) planted in three phases: seventy percent is devoted to red varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec – with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay completing the picture. Paritua’s vineyard enjoys stony, free draining gravel soils, long summers and crisp winters, which combine to produce exceptional wines. Paritua is in conversion to Organic Viticulture and will be fully certified in March 2022.
No expense has been spared and like many of the top Bordeaux chateaux, the winery uses an optical sorting machine to ensure consistency year in year out. As well as top quality premium reds, there are also some lovely wines at accessible prices, which really overdeliver.
Designed for early drinking, this is a blend of Merlot 37%; Cabernet Franc 32%; Cabernet Sauvignon 22%; Malbec 9%, estate grown on the free draining gravel soils of the Paritua vineyard. The vines are managed with an open canopy to provide good airflow and exposure to sunlight. All the canopies are single cordon spur pruned. All fruit is destemmed to closed fermenters where cold soaking takes place before ferment, with fermentation taking approximately 10 days with regular pump overs to optimise colour, flavour and tannin. Each batch and variety is kept separate during barrel maturation for up to 12 months, before blending, fining and filtration just prior to bottling.
A supple, forward red for consumption over the next 3-4 years; the nose shows some spicy oak initially , but underneath there is a serious amount of meaty blackberry, licorice, cedar, leather, coffee bean black cherry, with a hint of spicy oak and soft ripe, sweet grainy tannins. A serious glass of wine for the money
