Tasting Notes
An inky, deep red wine, this Merlot shows an array of ripe fruit aromas; dark cherry, berries and plum, with hints of leather and spice. The smooth velvety palate is well supported with vibrant berry flavours and silky smooth tannins.
Winemaker's Notes
Fruit from low-yielding vines selectively harvested at optimum ripeness and gently crushed and chilled for a pre-fermentation cold soak to extract colour and fruit flavour. The must was then warmed, inoculated with selected yeast and fermented over 7 days to dryness with a daily routine of traditional hand plunging to maximise tannin extraction. After pressing, the wine was matured for 12 months in new French (90%) and American (10%) oak barrels.
Region: Hawke's Bay
Alcohol: 13% pH: 3.7 RS: <2g/L
TA: 4.8g/L
Cellaring
Presently drinking extremely well, but will continue to become smoother and richer for 5 - 10 more y
Food Match
This rich red wine is perfect for drinking with a prime BBQ beef steak or tender lamb roast.
Awards & Reviews
Wine Orbit - 87/100
Up front and friendly, this attractive merlot shows dark plum, blueberry, spice and dried herb characters on the nose, followed by a ripe and rounded palate that delivers an abundance of youthful fruit flavours. At its best: now to 2018.
BobCampbell.nz - 90/100
Quite an intense but rather closed Merlot with strong plum, oak and savoury, toasty, coffee and malty characters. Fairly dense red with an almost chewy texture. Perhaps a little closed right now but showing potential.
