Matawhero Single Vineyard Gisborne Merlot 2021

Description

Blackberry, Dry, Floral, Mocha, Oak, Peach

Dark garnet with brilliant crimson edge. Brooding, complex nose. Hints of plums and blackberries. A full-bodied red wine. Hints of light mocha and rich full berry flavours. The wine has good concentration with a smooth finish.

The vineyard source for these grapes is from the Briant vineyard which is situated between Patutahi and Manutuke across the Waipaoa River from Matawhero. Spur pruned to ensure even budburst and ripening, (essential for high quality red wines) the vineyard was leaf plucked to increase exposure to the sun to ensure the vines could fully mature the fruit.

With some lovely warm late season weather in Gisborne, the Merlot grapes exhibited wonderful intense flavours and good colour. Once at optimal ripeness, the grapes were machine harvested in the cool of the evening. The grapes were destemmed and crushed at the winery to a tank. After a two-day soak, the juice was fermented on skins for 10 days. During the early stages of fermentation the wine was rigourously pumped over to extract colour and flavour, without harsh tannins. The wine then underwent malolactic fermentation on oak. After maturation, the wine was filtered and bottled.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with meat, cheese platter or tapas.