Petal & Stem Hawke's Bay Merlot 2021

Description

• Subtle oak
• Dark berries
• Warm spice
• Supple tannins

Dancing in the glass with plum, dark berries and underlying cassis and warming spice. The palate is soft with finely balanced supple tannins and a rich lingering finish.

Journey into the wildflowers, a secret world between the vines, where insects dance from petal to stem, a flourishing ecosystem amongst the rows. It’s all part of the bigger picture to protect our vines and keep pests away naturally. So as you’re busy enjoying this wine, remember our little friends between the flowers who help us to do things both differently, and beautifully.

The 2021 growing season in Hawkes Bay was of exceptional quality; warm spring temperatures, brought forward flowering, but also meant for smaller crops. With very little disease pressure and with the weather continuing to remain favourable through March the fruit was able to be picked at optimal ripeness. This Merlot was picked in excellent condition, achieving ripe tannins and concentrated flavour.

The low yielding Merlot was harvested and de-stemmed directly into a mixture of open and closed fermenters. A traditional warm fermentation followed with gentle pump overs to help craft a wine with elegance and balance. The fruit remained on skins after fermentation to build structure and mouthfeel, it was then gently pressed, settled, and racked to stainless steel tanks to undergo malolactic fermentation. After aging with a range of oak, it was then blended, stabilised, and filtered prior to bottling.

Food Pairing: Perfect with barbequed red meats, hearty stews or dark chocolate.