Te Awa

Te Awa was founded in 1992 by the Lawson family, longtime Hawke's Bay grape growers who purchased a corner block at the intersection of Ngatarawa Road and State Highway 50 with the express intent of growing premium grapes and making fine wine from Bordeaux varieties. At the time the gravel terraces north-west of Hastings were still considered marginal land; until the late 1980s the area now known as Gimblett Gravels was regarded as the poorest, least productive land in Hawke's Bay, with three acres needed to feed a single sheep. The first Bordeaux red varieties were planted in the wider district in late 1981, and by the early 1990s a small group of producers had begun to recognise that the free-draining greywacke gravels, deposited by the old Ngaruroro River before the great flood of 1867, created an unusually warm microclimate. The estate name, drawn from Te Awa o Te Atua meaning 'River of God' in Maori, references the subterranean streams that flow beneath the gravel terraces. The Lawson family planted Bordeaux varieties first, with French-trained winemaker Jenny Dobson, who had spent twelve years as cellarmaster at Medoc cru bourgeois Chateau Senejac, joining as winemaker and shaping the early Te Awa style with French oak handling and blending discipline. By the late 1990s Te Awa had built a reputation for the Longlands range of Merlot and Chardonnay and for early plantings of Syrah and Pinotage. The Gimblett Gravels Wine Growers Association was officially launched in January 2001 with Te Awa as a founding member.

• Founded 1992 by the Lawson family at the corner of Ngatarawa Road and State Highway 50; estate name Te Awa o Te Atua means 'River of God' in Maori
• First Bordeaux red varieties planted in the wider Gimblett Gravels district in late 1981; until the late 1980s the area was considered marginal sheep country
• French-trained winemaker Jenny Dobson, formerly twelve years cellarmaster at Medoc cru bourgeois Chateau Senejac, shaped the early Te Awa house style
• Founding member of the Gimblett Gravels Wine Growers Association, officially launched January 2001 to define the gravels-based subregion

In 2003 the Lawson family sold Te Awa to American hedge fund pioneer Julian Robertson, founder of Tiger Management, and Napa Valley vineyard owner Reg Oliver. Robertson had already been investing in New Zealand luxury hospitality and would go on to develop the Cape Kidnappers golf course and lodge on a coastal sheep station east of Hastings. Under Robertson and Oliver, Te Awa was refocused as a 23,000-case Hawke's Bay specialist concentrating on Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay. The Robertson partnership also launched the super-premium Kidnapper Cliffs label, named for Cape Kidnappers at the southern end of Hawke's Bay, which gained its English name when a Maori party tried to seize a Tahitian boy from one of Captain Cook's ships in October 1769. Kidnapper Cliffs was a collaboration between Te Awa and Martinborough icon Dry River, which Robertson also owned at the time, drawing fruit from a dedicated 17-hectare Gimblett Gravels block and applying Dry River's terroir-focused, low-yield philosophy to make a small range of wines structured for long-term cellaring. In September 2012 Villa Maria Estate, founded by Sir George Fistonich in 1961 and then the dominant family-owned New Zealand wine company, purchased Te Awa from Robertson. The deal included 250 acres of land with 130 acres planted to grapes plus the Kidnapper Cliffs vineyard and brand rights, making Villa Maria the largest landholder in the Gimblett Gravels subregion.

• Acquired 2003 by Julian Robertson (Tiger Management founder) and Reg Oliver (Napa Valley vineyard owner); refocused as a 23,000-case Hawke's Bay specialist
• Robertson partnership launched Kidnapper Cliffs super-premium label, originally a Te Awa and Dry River collaboration drawing from a dedicated 17-hectare Gimblett Gravels block
• Villa Maria Estate, then the largest family-owned New Zealand wine producer, purchased Te Awa in September 2012 including 250 acres with 130 acres in vine plus the Kidnapper Cliffs brand
• Acquisition made Villa Maria the largest landholder in the Gimblett Gravels subregion; Villa Maria stated intent to maintain Te Awa as an autonomous boutique operation

Te Awa's vineyards sit on the warmest, stoniest part of Hawke's Bay, the 800-hectare Gimblett Gravels district defined strictly by the gravelly soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River. In January 1867 more than 15 inches of rain fell in ten days, the river broke its banks, and within five years the Ngaruroro had completely deserted its old course, leaving behind a broad terrace of greywacke gravel washed down from the mountainous spine of the North Island. The soils, classified as Omahu soils where Te Awa sits, consist of a mix of gravel, sand, and silt with horizontal sand lenses varying in thickness from 2 to 10 cm, silt content from 0 to 20%, and clay content from 0 to 9%. These soils are low in nutrients and stress vines just enough to produce concentrated fruit, and they warm up early in spring and act as a thermal blanket under the canopy, with soil temperatures at 30 cm below ground level running approximately 5 degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding districts. That heat differential is what allows Hawke's Bay to ripen Bordeaux reds and Syrah reliably at the southern edge of the practical viticultural range for these varieties. Te Awa farms approximately 40 hectares of Bordeaux varieties, Syrah, and Chardonnay on the home block and draws additional Bordeaux-variety fruit from the dedicated Kidnapper Cliffs block of 17 hectares. Under Villa Maria, the property became the consolidated Hawke's Bay winemaking hub for the group, with Villa Maria, Esk Valley, Vidal, and Te Awa wines now produced at the Te Awa cellar at 2375 SH50.

• Located in Gimblett Gravels, an 800-hectare district defined by the old Ngaruroro River bed exposed after the catastrophic 1867 flood rerouted the river
• Omahu soils: alluvial greywacke gravels with sand and silt layers; very low nutrients, free-draining, with soil temperatures roughly 5 degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding districts
• Approximately 40 hectares planted at the home estate to Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec), Syrah, and Chardonnay
• Kidnapper Cliffs super-premium label sources from a dedicated 17-hectare Gimblett Gravels block; Villa Maria's 2012 acquisition added 130 hectares of vine to the group's holdings

Te Awa today is organised as the Te Awa Collection, comprising three tiers under chief winemaker Richard Painter and his team. The flagship Te Awa Single Estate range is a tight set of Gimblett Gravels wines made exclusively from estate fruit: a Single Estate Chardonnay drawn from cooler corners of the home block, a Single Estate Syrah that reflects the cool-climate end of New World Syrah with peppery florals over a structured medium-bodied frame, and the headline Single Estate Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux-style blend with the Merlot dominance characteristic of Hawke's Bay reds. The Single Estate Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 vintage took Champion Wine of Show at the 2017 Hawke's Bay A&P Bayleys Wine Awards, with judges praising its structure and texture, base notes of cassis, blackberry, and plum, and a floral, dried herb, spicy lift. Above the Single Estate tier, Kidnapper Cliffs continues as the super-premium label, drawn from the dedicated 17-hectare block established under Julian Robertson's ownership, with a Chardonnay and a Merlot-led Bordeaux blend produced in small volumes for cellaring. Below the Single Estate range, the Left Field collection serves as the exploratory tier, drawing fruit from a variety of New Zealand regions to make six wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Albarino, Pinot Noir, Malbec, and Merlot) with playful Aaron Pollock label illustrations of imagined creatures. Across all three labels, the winemaking favours French oak (a mix of new and used barriques), partial whole-cluster inclusion for Syrah where appropriate, and extended elevage for the reds to integrate the structured tannins that the Gimblett Gravels soils produce.

• Te Awa Single Estate (top Gimblett Gravels tier): Chardonnay, Syrah, and Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, all from estate fruit only
• Kidnapper Cliffs super-premium: small-volume Chardonnay and Merlot-led Bordeaux blend from a dedicated 17-hectare block, structured for long-term cellaring
• Left Field (multi-region exploratory range): six wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Albarino, Pinot Noir, Malbec, and Merlot with Aaron Pollock illustrated labels
• House style: French oak elevage, partial whole-cluster inclusion for Syrah where suited, extended ageing to integrate Gimblett Gravels structured tannins

Villa Maria Estate, the company that has owned Te Awa since 2012, was itself sold in 2021. The Marlborough-based contract winemaking specialist Indevin acquired 100% of Villa Maria Estate from receivers Calibre Partners after parent company FFWL was placed in receivership earlier that year. The transaction settled on 30 September 2021 and included Villa Maria's Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, and Auckland wineries, the Villa Maria flagship brand, plus Esk Valley, Vidal, Leftfield, and Thornbury; Te Awa was part of the Hawke's Bay assets transferred to Indevin. Indevin, already New Zealand's largest contract winemaker, framed the deal as a logical next step to become a leading global New Zealand wine business spearheaded by the Villa Maria brand. Critically, the deal kept the family of brands in New Zealand ownership. Under Indevin, the Te Awa winery at 2375 SH50 has become the consolidated Hawke's Bay hub for the group, housing Villa Maria, Esk Valley, Vidal, and Te Awa winemaking at a single site with shared cellar and laboratory infrastructure. Chief winemaker Richard Painter, who grew up in Rotorua and studied winemaking after a foundation in soil and climate geography, oversees Te Awa, Leftfield, Vidal, Esk Valley, and Villa Maria winemaking. Painter has emphasised that his focus is sustainable land management at Te Awa rather than personal legacy, ensuring the gravel terraces continue producing fine wine for many years.

• Villa Maria parent FFWL went into receivership in 2021; Indevin (NZ's largest contract winemaker) acquired Villa Maria Estate including Te Awa from receivers, settling 30 September 2021
• Deal kept Villa Maria, Esk Valley, Vidal, Leftfield, Thornbury, and Te Awa in New Zealand ownership; Indevin framed it as the foundation for a global NZ wine business
• Te Awa winery at 2375 SH50 now houses Villa Maria, Esk Valley, Vidal, and Te Awa winemaking as the consolidated Hawke's Bay hub for the group
• Chief winemaker Richard Painter oversees Te Awa alongside Vidal, Esk Valley, Leftfield, and Villa Maria; emphasises sustainable management of the gravel terraces as the legacy that matters