Brookfields Vineyards is one of Hawke’s Bay’s most enduring estates — a boutique winery founded in 1937 and revitalised in the early 1980s by Peter Robertson, whose steady vision and winemaking hand have guided the brand for over four decades. With its cellar doors just outside Napier, Brookfields is a Hawke’s Bay original: traditional, quietly expressive, and deeply focused on producing wines of substance, balance, and age-worthy charm.

The estate sources fruit from carefully selected vineyards across Mills Reef, Bridge Pa, and the Gimblett Gravels, ensuring each varietal is matched to the soil and site that best expresses it. The focus is on Bordeaux varietals, Syrah, and Chardonnay, with smaller volumes of aromatic whites and boutique blends. Farming partnerships are longstanding, based on mutual respect and consistent quality — with vineyard health, ripeness, and structure the guiding benchmarks for harvest.

In the cellar, Peter Robertson favours a traditional, balanced approach. Fermentations are clean and small-scale, oak is used judiciously, and each wine is crafted to retain varietal purity while gaining subtle weight and texture through ageing. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah are matured in French and American oak, with the flagship Gold Label and Reserve wines reflecting both regional depth and the estate’s house style: refined, fruit-driven, and quietly structured.

The wines are rich, polished, and composed. Gold Label Cabernet Merlot is generous and structured — cassis, plum, cedar, and warm spice with fine tannins and a long, savoury finish. Bergman Chardonnay is vibrant and creamy, with citrus, toast, and soft mineral edge. Back Block Syrah is lifted and peppery, with dark berry fruit and supple weight. The Ariki Reserve, when released, represents the pinnacle: a barrel selection blend of density, elegance, and ageing potential. Across the range, Brookfields’ wines are confidently built — crafted for those who seek substance over flash.

What defines Brookfields is its quiet consistency — a producer that has never wavered in its pursuit of classic Hawke’s Bay character, refined through time, care, and a clear sense of place.

These are wines that stand firm — grounded in history, shaped by the land, and carried forward by the calm hand of experience.