Toi Toi Lifestyle Hawke's Bay Merlot 2023

Description

Cherry, Oak, Plum

"Attractively fruited and fragrant, the bouquet shows dark plum, sweet cherry, olive and almond notes, leading to a succulent palate offering supple texture combined with fine-grained tannins, finishing lingering and silky. At its best: now to 2027" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2024

Toi Toi 2023 Merlot has a deep red colour with purple hues. Its aroma is complex with red berry and stone fruits especially raspberry, blueberry and omega plum. Flavours from the barrel include spices such as vanilla and cinnamon as well as the cedar like notes from the oak barrels. The fruit, oak and maturation characters have twined together resulting in a wine of complexity, sophistication and elegance. The palate is boldly structured with a sinewy texture from both the fruit and oak tannins. Savoury nuances contribute to the perception of weight along with the natural fruit richness of the Bordeaux varietals. The finish is long and satisfying.

From snow capped mountains to endless coastline,our native Toi Toi expresses itself distinctively acrossNew Zealand. This adaptability is the inspirationfor our wines - crafted from New Zealand’s best grapegrowing regions. Proudly family owned andsustainably produced – protecting our lands forfuture generations.

Individual vineyardand grape parcels were harvested, crushed and fermented separately in open top fermenters. Fermentation was mainly with wild yeasts and the grapes were plunged twice per day to extract colour and tannin. At the end of fermentation the young wine was pressed and run to barrels for 15 months of maturation and aging. Just prior to bottling all barrels were blended together, lightly clarified and bottled.