One of the NZ wine world's fastest rising stars, Gravitas has been described as "NZ's next icon wine". With 40 medals in 18 months, it is one of the most accoladed NZ wine companies there is.
Its Sauvignon Blanc has been rated:
- one of the World's Top 100 Wines - of any style (2005 Wine Report)
- the World's Top Sauvignon Blanc (Citadelles, France),
- one of the World's Top Three Sauvignons (IWSC, London)
- NZ's top Sauvignon (first equal) (Bob Campbell).
Its Chardonnay has been rated one of the World's Top 25 White Wines (Robinson).
Gravitas new releases include: Unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Dessert Wines.
Keys to Gravitas quality are:
- computerised, real time, monitoring of temperature and soil moisture levels
- extremely low yields (as low as 50% of those of the great Bordeaux Premier Crus)
- grapes protected by nets and 100% hand picked
- in the winery, use of wild yeasts, hot ferments and minimal filtration
- for oaked wines, only French oak is used (barrels individually chosen from 9 suppliers)
Gravitas is now sold in 20 countries around the world.
Our 70 acres of vineyards are located in Marlborough, New Zealand's most prestigious winegrowing area (we only make wines from our own estate-grown grapes), and our wines are now a sell-out across about 20 countries around the world. We are now frequently referred to in the wine press as "NZ's next icon wine - the new Cloudy Bay", and here some reasons why:
- over the past 18 months we have been awarded 45 medals for our wines in wine shows around the world over the past 18 months alone
- we've been described as one of the World's 100 Most Exciting Wine companies (Tom Stevenson's Wine Report, 2005 Edition)
- last year our 2003 Sauvignon was also awarded the Trophy for the World's Top Sauvignon Blanc and Best New Zealand Wine at the Citadelles du Vin, France's main competition - as well as trophies for all of our wines.
- last year, also, our 2003 Sauvignon Blanc was rated one of the top three Sauvignon Blancs in the world at London's International Wine & Spirits Competition, possibly the most prestigious of all wine competitions globally. Our 2003 Sauvignon has also been rated the best in the country (first equal with Seresin) by NZ's leading wine critic (Bob Campbell, MW) and given the highest possible rating (5 stars) by Michael Cooper, author of the NZ Wine Atlas
- our Chardonnay has been rated as one of the top 25 white wines in the world by Jancis Robinson MW (Europe's most prominent wine critic). In February this year it was included in a list of the World's Top 100 Wines
- Gravitas has won both the Individual and Team Trophies for Best Vineyard Team in the Silver Secateurs (Marlborough) Competition. We are the first wine company to win both trophies in one year.
As mentioned, our wines are sold in some 20 countries around the world and they are listed in many of the world's most famous restaurants (an example of London listings is attached).
We have been described as being "on the lunatic fringe of the quality spectrum" an epithet of which we are proud - here are some examples of our obsession with quality as a company:
- we spent four years scouring the planet before selecting our New Zealand sites (a search that took us through France, Spain, Germany, Italy, California, Australia and New Zealand and required examination of over 100 potential vineyard sites)
- we hold yields to very low levels (as low as half that of a Bordeaux Premier Cru) so as to maximise flavour concentration
- each one of our 80,000 vines has its own computer record with details on its entire history
- we hand-pick all of our grapes (generally many separate "sweeps" on different days, so as to secure only the best grapes). We then we sort our grapes on tables by hand. We are the only NZ wine company that does this for Sauvignon Blanc and one of the very few that does this for our other wines.
- we use innovative winemaking techniques: up to 12 different batches per wine - all treated differently and then re-blended at the end, wild yeasts, seven types of French oak for our oaked wines, minimal wine movement and filtration
Martyn Nicholls, CEO and proprietor, has studied and worked in the wine sector in five countries (France, USA, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and Japan) and was the first New World graduate from the International Wine MBA programme at Bordeaux, where she graduated with the Top Student Trophy. At present she is studying for her Master of Wine accreditation.
We currently make 4 wines and all are currently available (2004 vintage):
- Unoaked Chardonnay
- Oaked Chardonnay
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Noir
- Late Harvest Riesling
....and are currently preparing to launch four more:
- a new dessert wine (Sauvignon Blanc Vin de Paille)
- a dry riesling
- a sparkling wine
