More GOLD, more heavy hitting endorsements, more great value.  Mission Estate is on a roll!  Reserve Merlot from the stellar red wine 2013 vintage – the perfect accompaniment to cooler climes, longer nights; warm, rich and ohhhhh so inviting.  Bolt to the checkout now!

"This impressively fruited and intensely flavoursome merlot shows excellent weight, silky texture and rich mouthfeel, beautifully enhanced by attractive dark fruit, game and cedar characters. There are hints of floral, dried herb and clove complexity, brilliantly wrapped in loads of fine tannins. At its best: now to 2023." Sam Kim Wine Orbit

"Full, very dark, black-hued ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues.  This has an elegant, restrained nose with softly packed aromas of ripe black plum and black berried fruits.  The fruit is expressed with clarity and purity, building in depth, unveiling subtle nuances of cassis and liquorice.  Oaking is integrated and harmonious.  Medium-full bodied, sweetly ripe, aromatically vibrant flavours of black plums and dark red berry fruits feature on the palate.  This has a stylish lusciousness, with the richness enhanced by fresh acidity.  The wine flows along a fine, firm line, the mouthfeel marked by fine-grained tannins and textures.  Lifted cedar and nutty nuances emerge on the soft, dry, long lingering finish.  This is an elegantly restrained Merlot with rich, vibrant, sweet fruit, clarity and balanced tannin structure.  Serve with roasted lamb, beef and venison over the next 7-9 years.  90% Merlot from the Mere Road block, with 10% Gimblett Gravels Malbec, fermented to 14.0% alc., the wine aged 12 months in 10% new French oak." Raymond Chan

This is a rich and complex Hawke’s Bay Merlot single vineyard wine. The wine from the stony phase had particularly vibrant Merlot aromas and fine tannins. The heavier phases were richer and more concentrated. The oak is in balance and respects the wine’s structure and character. There is nice intensity on the front palate with very good tannins that are quite firm at bottling, but which will soften with time. The wine is harmonious, showing balance and softness; a result of dedication, care and passion in the vineyard and winery.

This Merlot was selected from our vineyard on Mere Road – part of the highly regarded Gimblett Gravels sub-region. This vineyard has a generous silty phase that produces wines with soft mouth filling tannins. Our viticulturist used precision viticulture techniques to target appropriate treatments for the different soil phases. These treatments included targeting crop loads and canopy management appropriate for the different vigour levels on the different soil phases. Extensive fruit thinning was applied to the vines prior to veraison. This ensured mature grapes. There were three picks at different periods over the 5 hectare block. Each timed to harvest the fruit at optimum maturity. The stoniest phase was harvested first at 22.5 Brix, the other phases picked later at 23 – 24 Brix.