• French oak
• Summer berries
• Christmas cake spice
• Full-bodied

Dense ruby core and thin rim. Intense and complex aromas of ripe summery berries and Christmas cake spices. Full bodied with a medley of fruit flavours up front, incorporating ripe blackcurrant and blackberry. The mid-palate is rich and concentrated, showing fine grained tannin and savoury characters with a hint of charred toast on the finish. Approachable now and will continue to develop positively for five years and beyond.

Sourced from the highly regarded Gimblett Gravels wine growing district of Hawke’s Bay. The soils are free draining and vigour moderating, providing a great base for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The fruit was carefully monitored during ripening and harvested in the cool evening at maximum flavour maturity and physiological ripeness.

This wine is a blend of 77 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 23 percent Merlot. Each variety was kept separate during fermentation through to blending. The fruit for each variety was held cold for four days prior to ferment to help extract maximum flavour and to enhance colour stability. Inoculation took place to carry out the primary alcoholic fermentation during which the fermenting must was hand plunged up to four times daily. When dry the young wine was pressed and then racked off gross lees to a mix of tanks and seasoned French oak. The wine underwent a clean malolactic fermentation while ageing in oak and tank for six months. Trials of various portions of each variety took place before careful blending to create the final wine.

Food Pairing: A perfect match for venison steaks with a wild mushroom sauce.