Delta Hawke's Bay Merlot 2019

Description

• French oak 
• Forest fruit 
• Damson plum 
• Toasty finish

"Beautifully ripe and gorgeously fragrant, the wine shows blackcurrant, dark plum, violet, thyme and hazelnut aromas on the nose with a hint of dried herbs. It's succulent and supple on the palate, delivering lovely fruit purity and mid-palate weight, wonderfully structured by chalky tannins" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

"Offering good value, the 2019 vintage (4*) was matured for nine months in seasoned French oak. Deeply coloured, it is mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, with very good density of ripe, plummy, spicy flavour. Full of youthful impact, it’s an ageworthy red, likely to be at its best 2022+" Michael Cooper, Buyers Guide

"Matured in tanks and seasoned French oak casks, this youthful, deeply coloured red is fresh, full-bodied and vibrantly fruity, with good density of ripe, plummy, spicy flavours and fine-grained, supple tannins" Winestate New Releases, 2020

A rich and bold Merlot with elegant dark fruits, hints of spice and a long and structured finish. Dark plum in the glass, this Merlot showcases aromas of dark forest fruit and cracker black pepper. The palate is full bodied and bold, with characters of blackberry, damson plum and black cherry. Complex and rich with velvety tannins and a long toasty finish. With bold and rich red fruit notes on release, the flavours will evolve and ripen over time.

Selected from their low-cropping vineyard in the internationally recognised Hawke's Bay winegrowing region, situated on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island.
Warm days and cooler nights with gravel rich soils lead to small, tight berries full of bold flavours and vibrant colour.

During a cool evening, the deliciously ripe Merlot grapes were harvested and transported overnight to their winery in Marlborough.
Fermented with a carefully selected yeast strain, the grapes were hand plunged up to eight times daily during the height of fermentation.
The wine was then pressed into tank and seasoned French oak and left to mature for nine months. The winemaker then carefully blended the final wine prior to bottling.

The 2019 Delta Merlot is drinking beautifully from release and will continue to mature over the next five to eight years.

Food Pairing: Excellently paired with New Zealand beef and a morel mushroom sauce.