"This impressive blend is beautifully fragrant on the nose showing complex aromas of dark plum, floral, game and cedar with a hint of cigar. The palate is ripe, concentrated and expressive, and offers loads of appealing flavours and rich texture. A firmly structured wine showing excellent balance and harmony. At its best: now to 2020. June 2015." Sam Kim Wine Orbit

"The 2013 vintage (4.5 Stars) was harvested from 17-year-old Merlot and 12-year-old Cabernet Franc vines, and matured for 18 months in French oak casks (20 per cent new). Full-coloured, it is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with vibrant plummy, spicy flavours, nutty, savoury elements adding complexity, and finely balanced tannins. An elegant, youthful, supple wine, it's well worth cellaring" Michael Cooper, Jan 2017

"Full, dark, black-hued ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues.  This has a full and voluminous nose with deeply packed aromas of ripe black plum fruit entwined with layers of spices, liquorice, cassis and iron-earth mineral notes, and lifted oak.  Medium-full bodied, the palate exudes vinosity and presence, the fruit initially restrained but blossoming with flavours of sweetly ripe black plums, blackberries, liquorice, minerals and iron-earth elements.  The fruit is balanced by fulsome, but supple tannin extraction, and enlivened by excellent acid vitality.  The palate is well-structured and vibrant, near robust, flowing with plenty of energy, carrying through to a full, black-fruited and earthy finish showing good grip, texture and length.  This is a fulsome and robust Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend with ripe black fruits and good vitality.  Match with slow cooked game meat, and hard cheeses over the next 8-10 years.  A blend of 91% Merlot from 17 y.o. vines and 9% Cabernet Franc from 12 y.o. vines from the ‘Te Awanga Estate’ vineyard fermented to 14.0% alc., the wine spending 4 weeks on skins and aged 18 months in 20% new French oak." Raymond Chan, June 2015

Rich and crimson in colour the nose of this wine displays an aroma of currant, cassis and tobacco characters, while the palate is full, rich and soft with excellent balance and structure. A wine styled for approachability but that will benefit from some bottle age.

Ten years cellaring potential.

Fruit was destemmed and crushed to open and closed fermenters where the must was fermented hot to maximize extraction of tannin, colour and flavour. The fermenting juice was on skins for an average of just under four weeks. This allowed for the full build of tannin and mouth feel before the wine was pressed and run to barrel where it was aged for 18 months in new and used French oak.

Premium grapes were first grown in Te Awanga at the beginning of last century. The warm coastal climate, gentle sea breezes and the shallow clay soils combine to produce award winning wines of great varietal flavour and finesse.
Autumn 2013 was long and dry. The age of our Merlot vines are 17 years and Cabernet Franc 12 years old with a combination of clones and rootstocks. The mix of clay, alluvial silts, volcanic ash and gravels make this in interesting and potentially high quality site. We believe Merlot is particularly well suited to this vineyard and results over the last two decades have proven this to be the case