Mystery Hawke's Bay Merlot 2018 (02)

Description

• French oak
• Sweet cherry & raspberry
• Florals & subtle spice
• Supple tannins

"It's nicely fragrant on the nose showing sweet cherry, floral, subtle spice and bay leaf aromas, leading to a juicy palate delivering smooth mouthfeel and polished tannins. Friendly and approachable for easy drinking" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2021

Deep red in colour with a purple hue in the glass. A complex savoury nose with fruit characters of plums, raspberry and cassis. Notes of butchers shop and fi ve spice give additional interest to the aromatic profile. The palate is full bodied and rich with a toasty and savoury complexity. The spice notes are from both the fruit and the new barrels. An umami like savouriness-beef stock and mushroom-comes from a long maturation time on yeast lees without racking. Supple front palate tannins come from gentle extraction of the grape skins. These tannins help balance the fruit richness and give the wine structure without contributing hardness.

All fruit was machine harvested and destemmed to open top fermenters. The grapes were ‘cold soaked’ for seven days before undergoing a quick fermentation with natural vineyard yeasts. After fermentation the young wine was pressed to tank before draining to French oak barrels - 20% were new. Malo-lactic fermentation was completed in barrel and the wine left to age on full lees. After 24 months of aging the barrels were blended and the wine bottled.

Food Pairing: Enjoy this wine with braised red meat dishes.