Craggy Range "Sophia" Bordeaux Blend 750mL

Brand: Craggy Range

Release Name: Sophia (Gimblett Gravels, Bordeaux-Style Blend)

Wine Style / Type: Full-Bodied, Structured Red Blend

Varietal: Merlot (Dominant), Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec (Blend Ratio Varies by Vintage)

Age: Vintage varies depending on current stock

Volume: 750ml Bottle

Alc / Vol (%): Varies by vintage (recent vintages around 13.8–14.0%) — please confirm against current stock

Country: New Zealand

Region: Hawke's Bay (Gimblett Gravels, Ngaruroro River Riverbed)

Cask Type: Hand-Harvested, Destemmed, Fermented in Closed-Top Oak Vessels; Matured Approximately 19 Months in French Barriques (Around 42% New)

Limited Edition: No (Craggy Range's Standing Annual Sophia Release — Flagship, Small-Production Wine)

Award Winner: Yes — Up to 96 Points, Decanter; Consistently Ranked Among the Top 10 Gimblett Gravels Wines by Wine-Searcher's Aggregated Critic Data

Craggy Range is a family-owned New Zealand winery formed in 1997/1998 by Australian businessman Terry Peabody and Master of Wine Steve Smith, built on the selection of exceptional single vineyard sites across Hawke's Bay and Martinborough. Every Craggy Range wine comes from a single, named vineyard, with individual parcels fermented and matured separately to preserve genuine site character rather than blending for broad consistency. The estate's Martinborough vineyards, centred on Te Muna Road, sit alongside its Hawke's Bay operations in the Gimblett Gravels district, together forming the core of a range widely regarded as among New Zealand's finest and most terroir-driven wine producers.

Sophia is produced entirely from Craggy Range's own Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, on the right bank of the Ngaruroro River, blending the estate's very best Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec parcels — a genuine "best of the vintage" selection rather than a standardised recipe. The name itself carries real intention: "Sophia" is Greek for "wisdom," a deliberate tribute to the goddess of knowledge and experience that the estate says reflects the philosophy its winemakers and viticulturists bring to crafting the wine each year. That care shows in the results — recent vintages have scored as high as 96 points from Decanter, with wine-searcher's aggregated data ranking it among the top 10 Gimblett Gravels wines overall, and independent critics consistently praising its "seamless structure with fine tannins." Alongside its single-vineyard Syrah sibling, Le Sol, Sophia stands as one of Craggy Range's two most iconic wines, both drawing on the estate's meticulous, single-site winemaking philosophy. Built to age gracefully for 10-15 years, it's an excellent match for roast lamb, beef, venison and semi-hard cheeses, and a serious, well-reviewed choice for collectors wanting a genuine New Zealand Bordeaux-style benchmark.