The fruit of Hawke's Bay vines has seen three of the 13 prestigious trophies awarded at the recent 2016 Bragato Wine Awards awarded to the region, with Villa Maria picking up two of them through their Vidal Vineyard-sourced Reserve Gimblett Gravels Hawke's Bay Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2014.
The two Bay-based trophy winners were part of an impressive six-trophy haul for Villa Maria, which also went away with eight gold medals. Its highly rated reserve cabernet 2014 took the Richard Smart Trophy and Champion Domaine Wine award as well as the Tom McDonald Memorial Trophy Winner and Champion Classical Red Wine title.
It was produced from grapes grown on the Vidal vineyard by Phil Holden and drew plenty of praise.
"High-quality, perfectly ripened fruit was allowed to shine through in this expertly crafted wine," chairman of judges Ben Grover said.
"It had superb balance and respect for the fruit, providing seamless delicacy, acidity and palate weight."