• Spicy oak
• Plum
• Blackberry
• Drying tannins

"Dense, elegant red with ripe berry, cassis, plum, cedar and spicy oak flavours. Beautifully structured with a core of sweet fruit balanced by gently drying tannins. Approachable now but with good cellaring potential. Great value at this price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review

A rich full bodied wine, this traditional blend exudes intense blackcurrant, blackberry and plum flavours, layered with caramel and spicy cedary oak. Ageing in quality oak has conferred a velvety smooth texture, giving this wine immediate appeal, or for judicious cellaring.

The grapes for this generous wine were exclusively sourced from low yielding vines on stony soils within Mills Reef's own prestigious Gimblett Gravels vineyard in Hawkes Bay. The 2018 growing season experienced ideal weather conditions, enabling the grapes to attain optimal ripeness for harvesting in excellent condition. The grapes were then gently crushed, whilst also allowing some whole berries to remain intact. The must was transferred into a mix of open-top and closedtop stainless steel tanks for a cold soak of an average four days duration. Fermentation was then initiated, followed by daily rummaging for colour, flavour and fine tannin extraction. The resulting wine was then aged for 15 months in quality French oak 300L hogsheads (36% being new wood), with one racking during élevage. The final blend was composed, comprising 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot, and judged to have already attained perfect harmony, to not require fining. It was also bottled unfiltered to preserve the wines full natural complexity, structure and flavour profile. Bottling took place on 24 July 2019 under screwcap closure.

Reserve wines are from low-yielding vines producing superior grapes showing intense fruit flavours and pure varietal expression. The winemaking philosophy is to achieve “balance” of flavour, structure and texture.