Te Mata Estate Vineyards Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernets 2021

Description

• French oak
• Blackcurrant
• Toasted almond
• Chalky tannins

"This is instantly seductive on the nose showing blackcurrant, floral, subtle tobacco and toasted almond characters. The palate has excellent weight and fruit intensity, superbly complemented by spice nuances and finely flowing mouthfeel. Beautifully integrated chalky tannins provide classic structure and length, offering gorgeous drinking" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Oct 2022

"Pencils, black fruit, black olive, violet, spice. Medium-bodied, ripe tannin, rich, zesty, green and black olive, blue and red fruit. aniseed, crushed berries, such a good wine, so lively and packed with dark berry fruit and saline flavour. Firm grip of tannin on a very long finish. All the things. Impeccable. Hard to imagine a better value, and more serious Bordeaux blend at this price point. Incredible" Gary Walsh, Wine Front, Oct 2022

Dark crimson with a bright purple hue, Estate Merlot/Cabernet ’21 has a complex and evocative scent of plum and blackberry, with the lightest fragrance of cedar. Seamlessly integrated, the aromas deepen on the wine’s palate into succulent, concentrated dark fruit with ripe, soft tannins. Structural, savoury and long, with a salivating acid/tannin balance, Estate Merlot/Cabernet ’21 runs a long, perfect line between approachability and elegance. Estate Merlot/Cabernet ’21 will continue to evolve in bottle for three to six years from harvest.

The grapes for Estate Merlot/Cabernet ’21 were harvested between 9 March and 29 March 2021 from Te Mata Estate’s own vineyards in the Havelock Hills, Bridge Pa Triangle, Gimblett Gravels and Dartmoor sub-regions of Hawke’s Bay.

The individual parcels of each variety from each plot were de-stemmed before a traditional warm fermentation, followed by extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were pressed, returned to tank for malolactic fermentation, then run off to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels for 12 months’ maturation before blending. The wines were regularly topped and racked throughout maturation, blended and traditionally egg-white fined before bottling. The final blend is 49% Merlot,
43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc.

Food Pairing: Estate Merlot Cabernet is a wonderful accompaniment to mushrooms, grilled meats and hard cheeses.