• French oak
• Cassis & cigar
• Spiced cherry
• Richly textured

"This is beautifully ripe and inviting on the nose with cassis, spiced cherry, game, dark mushroom and cigar characters. The palate is concentrated and rounded, and displays excellent mid palate weight and rich texture, wonderfully supported by silky mouthfeel and chalky tannins. It is flavoursome and generous, while remaining firmly structured" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Dec 2017

"Bright, moderately rich red with berry, plum, chocolate/mocha, liquorice and spicy oak flavours. A smooth-textured and quite complex red that's good drinking now but should develop nicely with further bottle age" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jun 2019

A deep garnet red colour in the glass. Ripe aromatics of plums and dark fruits with a smoky, oaky tannin complexity. The Merlot, that dominates the blend, contributes a plumminess to the fruit spectrum while hand-crafting using French oak has added palate and aromatic complexity. The palate is richly textured and finishes with great length of fine, structural tannins that are a hallmark of the sub-region.

The growing season weather conditions were perfect for bringing the fruit to full maturity. The large diurnal temperature fluctuations have provided excellent ripeness while still retaining elegant fruit flavours.

The grapes were grown under organic management and the wine was made following organic principles, from hand-picked fruit sourced from Hawke’s Bay vineyards whose deep, well-drained shingle soil structure encourages the fruit to optimise its tannin levels. Batches were fermented separately, mostly with indigenous yeast, and then a period of post-ferment maceration was observed to help tannin extraction and development. The batches were individually basket-pressed and all had a full malolactic fermentation. Oak aging for 18 months was followed by blending then several months in tank to harmonise prior to fining and bottling. Maturation took place in premium French oak maturation for 18 months.

Food Pairing: This wine can be enjoyed with an extraordinary variety of dishes but is best suited to full-flavoured food such as braised lamb shanks or slightly charred barbecued beef.