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Buy Online94+/100 Top Rated Red Blend – Andrew Caillard MW – Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection 2023
When It Comes to Wine, Vintage Matters, And So Does Opportunity…
Many of you will remember the devastating cyclone that swept through Hawke’s Bay in 2023, leaving winemakers facing tough decisions in its aftermath. For Squawking Magpie, that meant opting not to produce their flagship wines – an extraordinary decision that speaks volumes about their commitment to quality.
Instead, the best fruit usually destined for their top-tier labels was declassified into their more accessible range. And that's exactly what you're getting here in The Chatterer.
But don’t be fooled by the label, this is no ‘lesser’ wine. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The 2023 Chatterer offers a level of quality and sophistication rarely seen at this price point. So much so, it's already caught the eye of leading critic Andrew Caillard MW, who named it as one of just six wines in the highly respected Gimblett Gravels Annual Selection 2023.
A blend of 64% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Malbec, matured for 18 months in premium French oak, this wine shows serious pedigree. Expect a structure and savouriness reminiscent of old-school Bordeaux, layered with the hallmark dusty tannins and dark fruit of Gimblett Gravels.
This is a rare opportunity to enjoy top-level Hawke’s Bay red at a fraction of the usual price – exceptional value, with a great story in the bottle.
Winery Notes (2023 Vintage)
"This wine is deep in colour with a layered fragrant nose of ripe plum and cassis with lifted vanilla, cedar and tobacco notes. The palate has a rich velvet texture with excellent structure, ripe black fruits and cassis flavours with a long full finish. Barrel aged for 18 months."
Andrew Caillard MW (2023 Vintage)
"Medium deep crimson. Red cherry, red plum, cassis aromas with marzipan, roasted walnut notes. Supple and well concentrated with ample red and dark berry fruits, attractive mid-palate volume and sinuous grainy/ cedar tannins. Builds up claret firm with black olive, dark chocolate notes."
18.5/20, Matthew Jukes (UK), December 2025 (2023 Vintage)
Reviewing the Gimblett Gravels Selection 2023 ….
"Like the wine above, the 2020 vintage of this wine is available in the UK. I have found a merchant, Winestore Eccleston, who sells it for £16.50. I wonder if this is a typo or perhaps another cuvée; either way, from the four blended reds and two Syrahs in this selection, this wine stood tall in the non-Syrah camp, and if it ended up being double the price by the time it made it to the UK, I wouldn’t quibble. Leading with 64% Merlot, and embellished with 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Malbec, everything about this wine is carefully considered. The new oak portion is only 10% and the alcohol weighs in at 13.5%. Winemaker Jenny Dobson has calmed all of the threads in this garment such that they hang together with uncommon grace. Once again, there is mineral tension, but, by comparison with the other wines in the set, it is heightened, along with the pristine fruit, and not dampened by ponderous oak or extraction. There are only a handful of Merlots in the Southern Hemisphere with this wine’s timbre. Like the Elephant, this Magpie is nearly drinking, with a bright future ahead of it. Congrats, Jenny – this is a beauty. And there you have it – the Animal Kingdom takes top honours in the Gravels this year! "
