Gimblett Gravels Winter Series - Esk Valley & Squawking Magpie

SQUAWKING MAGPIE WINES

The Gimblett Road area of Hawke’s Bay is synonymous with the production of world-renowned wines. From these much celebrated shingle soils, hails their exciting boutique label: Squawking Magpie.

The “cradle of quality” for Squawking Magpie is the Woodlands Vineyard in the GIMBLETT GRAVELS WINE GROWING DISTRICT area, the first 4 hectares of which were planted in 1995. In 2002, a new 20 hectare vineyard was developed as a joint venture and planted predominantly in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.

From the very first plantings, emphasis has been placed on creating outstanding wines by focusing on viticultural excellence. Owner and director Gavin Yortt and his team hold the firm belief that great wine comes from great grapes.

And the proof is certainly there to be tasted: Squawking Magpie wines exhibit all the elegance and finesse of a unique terroir and stand testament to the superiority of single vineyard estate management and production.

ESK VALLEY WINES

Esk Valley takes winemaking personally. You could call our approach eccentric, we call it analogue. A symbiotic connection to every drop we craft.

Being analogue requires a direct connection to our wines, and crafting them requires patience. Our winemaker Gordon Russell continues to apply the same techniques used in the original Bay View winery established in 1933. Wild vineyard yeast, long-term lees aging, hand plunging and stirring and red wines fermented in concrete fermenters that are exacting replicas of the historic tanks in the original winery. Modern styles of wine made in a hand-crafted manner.