Maxim Wines - Time & Tide Merlot 2020
Time and tide wait for no one, they say. And as winemakers, we understand the importance of seizing the moment. Each year, we get just one chance to harvest the grapes at their perfect peak, making decisions that define the character of this extraordinary wine.
It’s all about timing, intuition, and trusting the process.
Time and tide wait for no one, they say. And as winemakers, we understand the importance of seizing the moment. Each year, we get just one chance to harvest the grapes at their perfect peak, making decisions that define the character of this extraordinary wine.
It’s all about timing, intuition, and trusting the process.
Time and tide wait for no one, they say. And as winemakers, we understand the importance of seizing the moment. Each year, we get just one chance to harvest the grapes at their perfect peak, making decisions that define the character of this extraordinary wine.
It’s all about timing, intuition, and trusting the process.
The Two Terraces Vineyard is located approximately 35km inland, in the Mangatahi Terraces subregion of Hawke's Bay. Over the past 15,000 years, the nearby Ngaruroro River has laid down some spectacular terraces, with shallow stony silt loams over red metals. As well as being shaped by the river, the soils also contain volcanic deposits from past eruptions on the volcanic plateau in the central North Island.
The slightly elevated inland location results in long warm-hot days balanced by cooler nights, ensuring ripe fruit while retaining freshness. The Syrah is planted in a part of the vineyard that is particularly sheltered and warm, with a stonier soil profile.
About Maxim Wines
Maxim Wines was established in 2016 by experienced winemaker, Darragh Hughes. Darragh has worked in the wine industry for 12 years (the last eight in Hawke’s Bay), and has travelled to France and the United States to assist in harvests. He now works as a Senior Winemaker for one of NZ’s top wineries.
Maxim makes extremely small batches of beautiful handcrafted wines from carefully selected sites and growers within Hawke’s Bay. Darragh’s winemaking approach is gentle, with minimal handling and additions. He also has a particular passion for Hawke’s Bay Chenin Blanc and Syrah – which of course, are the varietals he produces.
Darragh tells his story best… “It’s my aim to make wines that are an honest expression of where they’re from and how they’re made. My wines speak the truth of the soil beneath the vines, the sun that ripened the fruit and the light touch that shaped the finished drop.
I love working as a winemaker, and can’t imagine working as anything else. I get immense satisfaction producing a product off the land and selling it. Hawke’s Bay is a beautiful area to grow grapes and live. Every growing season is different and exciting, and I have always played the cards that mother nature gives us every vintage. Coming into harvest I often have a game plan of how the wines will be made, but this changes depending on the weather and other influences. I find you have to adapt and change and let the wine speak of that vintage. It takes time in the industry as a winemaker to understand wine and only impact the wine when required.
There are many challenges for a small producer in New Zealand. It is a small and very competitive market with lots of great wine on offer. I find I have to be very creative with little marketing budget, the best thing I can do is be authentic and make the best wine possible with passion”.
First Vintage: 2016
Scale: Under 200 cases!
Cellar Door: Not Yet!
Range: Syrah, Chenin Blanc
Look out for… Maxim’s Syrah, it’s made in small batches and sells out quickly!