Coopers Creek Reserve Hawke's Bay Merlot 2020

Description

Herbal, Oak, Plum

"Dark red, medium weight and full of ripe fruit tones. Carries a share of tannin less obvious with robust food and adding to that partnership. .All nicely balanced. Still young but already a warm style with meals; lots of life here to carry this wine at its best into 2025 and beyond as it mellows" Peter Saunders, Jul 2022

"Beautifully styled and elegantly expressed, the wine shows dark berry, bay leaf, smoked game and toasted nut aromas. The palate delivers ripe fruit flavours with supple texture and chalky tannins, providing a firm grippy. Solidly built with a lengthy sturdy finish. At its best: now to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Apr 2023

Strongly coloured, black at core with deep ruby rim. An amalgam of sweet oak and ripe Black Doris plums. Full-bodied palate leading to a finish dominated by sweet black fruit and creamy oak. Tannins are bountiful but are soft and ripe. This wine will cellar easily for three to five years and potentially a lot longer.

This 2020 Coopers Creek Reserve wine is a 100% Merlot blended from two of Hawkes Bay’s top vineyards. The 2020 vintage was an exceptional season, with the resulting fruit harvested in such exceptional condition we made a reserve wine for the first time in 20 years. The must fermented completely dry and was pressed after one month on skins. After Malolactic fermentation the wine was transferred to 66% new French barriques, with the balance into seasoned oak. The wine spent a year in oak before racking, a light filtration, and then bottling on October 14th 2021.

Food Pairing: The soft tannins and earthy flavours of merlot make it a great match with full flavoured meats such as lamb, venison, beef and game. Sauces that are not too rich will go well with this wine as will roasted garlic and vegetables. Cheeses, both soft and hard are always good.