Man O' War Estate Waiheke Island Blend 2019

Description

• French oak
• Blackberry
• Graphite
• Well structured

The Island Blend 2019 is brooding on the nose with blackberry, bramble, black tea and a touch of Provence herbs. The palate is medium bodied with red berry fruits, a touch of black olive and graphite on the finish with a light hint of oak and pepper spice on the finish. The 2019 Island Blend is a well structured wine and a wine to enjoy fresh in its youth as well as a wine worth ageing.

The Island Blend is a Bordeaux style wine and is a blend of fruit from both Waiheke Island and its neighbouring Ponui Island. A blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 25% Malbec, 19% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot.

The 2019 vintage was dry and settled with wonderful balance in the vines. The blend is predominantly Cabernet Franc from our Paradise vineyard on Ponui Island with Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot coming from sites nestled in the sheltered valleys of Eastern Waiheke Island.

After careful hand harvesting the fruit is delivered to the winery and then put across a sorting table before being 100% de-stemmed and delivered to open vats for fermentation. All of our red ferments undergo fermentation with wild yeasts with pump overs being carried out twice daily. Following an extended time on skins (average 35days in vat) the wines are gently pressed and taken straight to barrel for natural malolactic fermentation in the spring. The wines are racked once to a blend after 18 months before further maturing in tank for 3 months prior to bottling.