River Delta Hawke's Bay Merlot 2021

Description

Cherry, Plum, Spice

"Offering excellent fruit purity and intensity, the fragrant bouquet shows dark plum, sweet cherry, olive and nutmeg notes, leading to a succulent palate that’s beautifully weighted and persistent. Medium-full and wonderfully structured with finely infused tannins, making it sturdy and supple at the same time. At its best: now to 2029" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2024

"Aromas and flavours of red and dark-skinned plums, cherry and dried roses. A dry wine on the palate with fine fruit tannins and a whisper of wood, plenty of acidity for freshness and drive carrying flavours from the bouquet. Balanced and ready to drink from day of purchase through 2027" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Delicously savoury with notes of olive brine and charred wood. A rich and full bodied palate showing layers of black cherry, plum with suggestions of vanilla and charred oak on the finish.

The fruit for this wine was sourced from a selection of vineyards across the renowned Hawkes Bay region. Stony riverbeds and a temperature climate al lows perfect growing conditions for our Merlot grapes. Each vineyard's yield was carefully managed and fruit monitored throughout the entire 2021 growing season by Heather and the team.

2021 was a fantastic vintage, with superb quality of fruit and intense flavours that a re evident in the final blend. The fruit was machine harvested in mid-March and transported promptly to the winery where each parcel was cold soaked for five days to encourage bold colour and tannin from the skins.

During the height of fermentation, the fruit was hand plunged by our winery staff up to eight times daily, further extracting the attractive dark ruby colour skins. Once the fermentation process was completed, the wine was racked into oak barriques for a second malolactic fermentation and aged for eight months.