By Matt Patterson-Green, Head Winemaker, Pask. Last updated July 2026.
Our Gimblett Gravels Merlot is a dark, structured red built on some of the oldest Merlot vines in Hawke's Bay. Much of the fruit comes off the vineyard Pask planted as one of the first on the Gimblett Gravels: old, low-cropping vines that give the wine its concentration and its softer, textural finish. The 2021 vintage recently took a gold medal at the Decanter Wine Awards.
Below is what our Merlot tastes like, why the gravels suit the variety, the old vines behind it, and what to pair it with.
What does Gimblett Gravels Merlot taste like?
Gimblett Gravels Merlot has notes of lifted blackberry and licorice on the nose, with those darker, dense characters carrying through onto the palate in a silky, refined texture. Underneath the fruit sits bright acidity, which comes from our cooler New Zealand nights and keeps the wine fresh rather than heavy.
The result is a Merlot that's dense and generous without turning jammy. The dark fruit gives it depth, the fine texture gives it length, and the acidity keeps it lively right through a meal. It's a savoury, structured style built to sit beside food, and a fine example of what the Gimblett Gravels can do with the variety.
Why the Gimblett Gravels grows great Merlot
The Gimblett Gravels grows great Merlot because its stony ground holds the day's heat and releases it slowly, giving the vines an extra two to three hours of ripening each evening. Merlot is a Bordeaux variety that wants warmth, and this small pocket of Hawke's Bay delivers it with the same latitude as Bordeaux.
Our vineyard sits on the Gimblett Gravels, a small growing area within the wider Hawke's Bay region. The gravels warm up through the day and then release that heat overnight, so the growing period for our Merlot runs well beyond standard sunlight hours. We get that reflected heat coming back off the stones for another two to three hours, which lets the vines keep ripening inside that heat envelope.
That extended, even ripening is why the Bordeaux varieties do so well here. Merlot in particular needs heat and a long, unhurried finish to the season, the kind of ripening you would typically find in a region like Bordeaux. The Gimblett Gravels is one of the few places in New Zealand that can give it that.
The old vines behind our Merlot
Much of our Merlot comes off some of the oldest vines in Hawke's Bay. The Pask vineyard was one of the very first planted on the Gimblett Gravels, quite possibly the first, and a large part of every Merlot blend still comes from those founding plantings. Old, low-cropping vines are what give the wine its concentration and its softer, more textural finish.
These are old, gnarly vines, and they crop low. A low-cropping vine puts everything it has into fewer, smaller berries, and smaller berries carry more skin relative to juice, which means more colour, more flavour, and more concentration in the glass. That's where the density in our Merlot comes from.
It shapes the texture too. Fruit from these old plantings gives us a more textural finish and a slightly softer acidity, so the wine feels rounded and complete rather than sharp or angular. Four decades on the same ground has taught us how these vines behave, block by block, and that knowledge goes into every wine they produce.
The 2021 vintage and its gold medal
The 2021 vintage gave us the fruit this wine is built on. It was an interesting season: a period of rain early, then long stretches of warm, settled weather through the growing season. Going into February, a couple of fresh rains reinvigorated the vines and helped the canopies fill out again, and from there we had a long, clean run to harvest, able to pick each block at its optimum with no weather pressure forcing our hand.
Fruit picked that cleanly, that ripe, off vines that old, is what you taste in the 2021. It recently won a gold medal at the 2026 Decanter Wine Awards.
What to eat with Gimblett Gravels Merlot
Our Merlot pairs best with rich red meats and game. Its dark, dense fruit and silky texture stand up to strong, savoury food rather than getting lost beside it, so think roast and slow-cooked dishes with real depth of flavour.
A few pairings I keep coming back to:
- Game and wild pork. The match I reach for first. Venison, duck, and wild pork carry a richness and a gaminess that meets the wine's dark fruit head-on, so neither the plate nor the glass gives way.
- Roast and braised red meats. Beef and lamb cooked long and slow suit the wine's concentration and soft, textural finish, and the savoury depth of a good roast picks up the dark fruit.
- Dense or sharp cheese. A firm, aged, or sharp cheese after the meal meets the wine's depth without fighting its texture.
The usual advice is to match a rich dish with a leaner, more linear wine to cut through it. This is one of those wines where the opposite holds: a rich wine goes very well with rich food. Ours has the density and structure to sit beside a big, generous plate as an equal.
Drink now or cellar?
Both. Our 2021 Merlot is drinking superbly now, but it will also reward cellaring, and I'd comfortably hold it for another 15 years if you have the fortitude to wait.
The concentration and structure that come off those old vines are exactly what lets a wine age. If you're buying more than one bottle, the pleasure is in watching it change: open one now to see where it's at, then a bottle a year over the next dozen years or so, and you'll follow the fruit soften, and the wine unfold. There's no wrong answer. It's ready when you are, and patient if you'd rather wait.
Where to taste our Merlot
The best way to know a single-vineyard Merlot is to taste it where it's made. You can explore our Gimblett Gravels Merlot online, or come and taste it at the cellar door on Omahu Road in Hastings, where you look straight into the working winery through glass while you taste.
If you'd like the wider picture of where this wine comes from, our guide to Hawke's Bay wine country sets the scene, and if you enjoy our Merlot, our Gimblett Gravels Syrah is grown on the same gravels just a few rows away.
Frequently asked questions
What does Gimblett Gravels Merlot taste like? Gimblett Gravels Merlot has notes of blackberry and licorice, with dark, dense fruit, a silky and refined texture, and bright acidity. Our 2021 leads with lifted blackberry and licorice on the nose, carrying those dark characters onto a smooth, textural palate. The freshness comes from Hawke's Bay's cool nights, and the depth from the reflected heat of the gravels, which ripens the fruit late into the evening.
Why is the Gimblett Gravels good for Merlot? The Gimblett Gravels is a small pocket of Hawke's Bay on the same latitude as Bordeaux, where stony ground holds the day's heat and releases it slowly overnight. That reflected warmth gives the vines an extra two to three hours of ripening each evening, ideal for a heat-loving Bordeaux variety like Merlot, which needs a long, warm, unhurried season to ripen fully.
What food pairs with Merlot? Rich red meats and game are the classic match for Gimblett Gravels Merlot: venison, duck, wild pork, and slow-cooked or braised beef and lamb. A dense or sharp aged cheese works well too. The wine's dark fruit, concentration, and silky texture stand up to strong, savoury flavours, so it pairs rich with rich rather than needing a lighter dish to cut through it.
How long can you cellar Pask Merlot? Pask's 2021 Merlot is drinking well now but will reward cellaring for up to 15 years. The concentration and structure from our old, low-cropping vines are what let it age. A good approach is to open a bottle now and then one a year over the next dozen years, following the wine as its fruit softens and its texture unfolds.
What award did the 2021 Pask Merlot win? The 2021 Pask Merlot was recently awarded a gold medal at the Decanter Wine Awards. It comes off some of the oldest Merlot plantings in Hawke's Bay, from a vintage picked cleanly and at optimum ripeness, the kind of fruit that produces an age-worthy wine.
Written by Matt Patterson-Green, Head Winemaker at Pask. Last updated July 2026.
