Mystery Hawke's Bay Merlot 2018

Description

"Bright and nicely fragrant, the bouquet showing dark plum, cherry, mixed spice and subtle dried herb aromas, leading to a juicy palate that is smooth and supple. The wine is elegantly framed by silky tannins, making it friendly and very approachable" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

This Mouku Merlot is fragrant, earthy and savoury textured with rich, spicy, cherry and plum flavours. This wine is concentrated, balanced and supple with fine lingering tannin. Red fruit spectrum aromatically and bright raspberry, cherry and plums on the palate.

The 2018 vintage in Hawke's Bay will be remembered for its warm growing season and modest yields, resulting in wines of exceptional quality. Bud burst was similar to that of 2014 vintage due to an early and warm spring, while fruit set was approximately 20% above average. Warm weather continued into Jan / Feb with some infrequent rain helping to keep the vines fresh and the fruit healthy, enabling the vineyard to hang the grapes until optimal ripeness was achieved. Merlot fruit in pristine condition was harvested early April in the cool of the early morning to preserve flavour, then de-stemmed and crushed with the juice kept in contact with the skins during fermentation to gain maximum colour. Following fermentation, the wine was pressed off skins and aged in contact with oak and light lees to increase palate weight and complexity.

Food Pairing: Merlot marries nicely with a spiced lamb burger with cumin, coriander and garlic stuffed into a pita pocket with slices of garden fresh tomato, lettuce and lashings of chilli jam. Top it off with a dollop of tzatziki.