• French oak
• Juicy plum
• Spiced
• Polished tannins

"It’s attractively fruited and nicely lifted on the nose showing dark plum, sweet cherry, subtle spice, vanilla and roasted nut aromas, leading to a juicy palate delivering smooth mouthfeel and fine tannins. Medium-full-bodied and harmonious, making it friendly and very easy going" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2021

Fabulously ripe and inviting, the wine shows subtle dark fruit aromas, spice notes, balanced fruit sweetness, juicy plum and balanced acidity. The palate is equally delightful with succulent fruit intensity and rounded mouthfeel, backed by polished tannins, making it immediately approachable and flavoursome.

The fruit for this wine was grown on warm inland vineyard sites on Ohiti Road and the Bridge Pa area of Hawke’s Bay. Soils on these sites are alluvial, stoney and free draining, perfect for producing high quality fruit. The canopies were trained using vertical shoot positioning with cane and spur pruning. Fruit thinning was undertaken prior to veraison to ensure crop loads were well balanced contributing to intense flavour development and maturity.

The grapes were gently crushed, allowing some whole berries to remain intact, the must was then transferred into open-top and closed-top fermenters for a 4-day cold soak. Inoculated with specially chosen yeast to enhance varietal character fermentation proceeded with twice-daily aerated pump over of the cap for colour, flavour, and fine tannin extraction. Malolactic fermentation followed pressing to enhance texture. The wine was aged, for 11 months, in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and French oak barriques. Following blending the wine was lightly fined to enhance its vibrant fruit flavours, complexity, and intensity.

Food Pairing: With this well balanced Merlot we recommend a duck breast on a potato rosti with caramelised apple balls and aubergine caviar.