Babich The Patriarch 2009
The Patriarch is our flagship red wine, grown on our Gimblett Gravels ‘Irongate’ vineyard in Hawke’s Bay and made in honour of the company founder and New Zealand wine industry pioneer, Josip Babich. With this wine we allow ourselves complete flexibility in order to make the best we can – we are not committed to a particular variety or blend, crop levels are very restricted and it is only produced when we feel we have attained exceptional quality.
Winemaker Notes
Grapes:
Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Malbec 25%, Cabernet Franc 25%
Region:
Hawke's Bay - Gimblett Gravels
Recommended Food:
Ideal with roasted red meats. It makes a good partner for a whole fillet beef, roasted rare. Also perfect with a tasty winter casseroled stew.
Recommended Cellaring:
4-15 years
Production Notes:
Cabernet Sauvignon raised its hand once again this year to be the dominant variety for the Patriarch blend with Malbec adding earthiness and sweet fruit at 25%, while floral notes and enhanced elegance are the contribution of Cabernet Franc (25%). Select crop thinned parcels of fruit were hand harvested then fermented in small open vats and hand plunged. Both the Cabernets received an extended maceration period on skins after ferment. The new wines were drained to French oak barriques, to mature. After several rack and returns and extensive tasting trials the Patriarch was blended. The Wine spent a total of 13 months in oak. Minimal fining and filtering was employed prior to bottling.
Technical Notes:
Alcohol: 13.5%
TA: 5.8g/l
pH: 3.75
Residual Sugar: 0g/l
Tasting Notes:
Our flagship wine has a warm, dark, and concentrated nose which captivatingly displays spice, blueberry, and cedar. Dense, dark fruits are intricately layered with silken tannins and pleasant notes of tar and cigar box. The palate is beautifully balanced and seamless and has a medium to full weight. Cassis, liquorice and black plum linger on the elegant finish.
Awards
SILVER MEDAL -Spiegelau International Wine Competition 2011
5 STARS, 19/20 POINTS -Raymond Chan, www.raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz, April 2011
5 STARS -Winestate Magazine, July/August 2011
5 STARS, 94-96 POINTS -Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, June 2011
5 STARS, 93 POINTS -Bob Campbell MW, www.bobswinereviews.com, June 2011
4.5 STARS, 'TOP 5' NZ CABERNET -Cuisine Magazine, September 2011
95 POINTS -Lisa Perrotti-Brown, eRobertParker.com #197, Oct 2011
5 STARS -Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines 2012
Wine Writer Reviews
"The flagship red wine for Babich, honouring founder Josip Babich, made only in the best vintages, from the best parcels of Hawke’s Bay fruit, the blend varying for each release. The 2009 is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Malbec from the ‘Gimblett Road’ site, fermented to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 13 months in mainly French oak barriques. Very full, densely dark, purple-hued ruby-red colour, this has a refined and concentrated nose of beautifully aromatic black fruits with spices, cedar and sweet oak. A wine combining elegance with great concentration, the fine powdery tannins indicate the latent power and potential of this wine. Superbly ripened blackcurrant fruit with cedar and spice notes, with layers of interest to unfold. This has the structure to develop well over the next 8-12+ years. Serve with roast lamb and hard cheeses."
19/20 POINTS
5 STARS
-Raymond Chan, www.raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz, April 2011
"One year after Gallipoli, Josip Babich founded Babich wines and this wine is made in his memory. He'd probably be stoked with the result if he were still around to drink it. It's concentrated, fine and elegant. There are sweet cassis and plum fruit on the nose with the cabernet franc grape adding a lifted herbal note. Finely tuned oak and tannins give a harmonious finish."
-Rebecca Gibb, NZ Herald, Good taste: A toast to the Anzacs, 24th April, 2011
"Dark, powerful Gimblett Gravels blend of cabernet sauvignon (50%), malbec (25%) and cabernet franc (25%). Highly fragrant, with coffee and spice aromas, mouthfilling body and fresh, concentrated blackcurrant, dark chocolate and plum flavours, showing the boldness and rich spiciness of malbec. Finely balanced, complex, savoury red; best drinking 2013+."
5 STARS
-Winestate Magazine, July/August 2011
"This is outstanding. It's already exhibiting stunning complexity and intensity, even though the best is yet to come after many years in the bottle. The nose is beautifully perfumed, displaying dark plum, cassis, vanillin oak and cigar notes. It's powerful on the palate, yet restrained and poised, with velvety texture and loads of supple tannins. And the delicious flavours continues to evolve on the palate long after the wine is gone, indicating the wine has an enormous potential. 2009 The Patriarch is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Malbec. At its best: 2015 to 2025."
5 STARS
94-96 POINTS
-Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, June 2011
"A rich and warming red with strong blackberry, cassis, cedar, licorice and spice plus an equally strong seasoning of nutty oak. Surprisingly accessible for a wine of such generous proportions but with obvious cellaring potential."
5 STARS
93 POINTS
-Bob Campbell MW, www.bobswinereviews.com, June 2011
"In Bordeaux they sometimes serve cabernets like this with poultry. We like the idea of crispy roast chicken with roasted veges and shallots. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet franc, it has more than a whiff of Bordeaux about it, with cassis, briar, sweet mint and leafy notes. The palate is long with great balance."
4.5 STARS
'TOP 5' NZ CABERNET
-Cuisine Magazine, September 2011
"Powerful, concentrated Gimblett Gravels blend of cabernet sauvignon (51%), cabernet franc (24%) and malbec (25%). Deep, inky colour, with ripe blackcurrant, plum and dark chocolate flavours, fresh, firm and lingering. Savoury and nutty, with good potential."
-Winestate Magazine, Sep/Oct 2011
"Blended of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Malbec, the 2009 The Patriarch comes exclusively from the Gimblett Gravels sub-region. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has earthy / savory aromas of damp loam, black pepper, grilled duck and yeast extract over crushed black currants and blackberries. Medium bodied, this wine has crisp acidity, a firm level of fine-grained tannins, generous black fruit and spice flavors and great persistence. Approachable now, it will certainly reward cellaring and should drink to 2022+."
95 POINTS
-Lisa Perrotti-Brown, eRobertParker.com #197, Oct 2011
"Very robust colour with a dense aroma. Palate is ripe and plush showing notes of blueberry; well-weighted, not too big and sweet with plenty of well-handled oak. Texture is lovely and creamy showing exceptional balance and svelte, silky tannins. A wine of substance and length."SHORTLIST
-WineNZ Magazine, Spring 2011
"This is Babich’s best red, regardless of the variety or vineyard, but all vintages have been grown in the company’s shingly vineyards in Gimblett Road, Hawke’s Bay. It is typically a dark, ripe and complex, deliciously rich red, matured in mostly French oak barriques (30 to 35 per cent new). The 2009 vintage is a very powerful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50 per cent), Malbec (25 per cent) and Cabernet Franc (25 per cent). Highly fragrant, with coffee and spice aromas, mouthfilling body and fresh, concentrated blackcurrant, dark chocolate and plum flavours, showing the boldness and rich spiciness of Malbec, it is finely balanced, complex and savoury."
5 STARS
-Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines 2012
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