Vidal Legacy Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2018

Description

• French oak
• Blackcurrant
• Cedar & dried herbs
• Fine-grained tannins

"This refined red was hand-picked in the Omahu and Vidal vineyards, and matured for 20 months in French oak casks. Deeply coloured, it is fragrant, mouthfilling, rich and supple, with deep blackcurrant and herb flavours, fine-grained tannins and a long, spicy finish.  Best drinking 2023+" Michael Cooper, Winestate, Jun 2020

This perfumed Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from the Gimblett Gravels winegrowing district shows intense aromatics of blackcurrant, dried culinary herbs, graphite, cedar and underlying savoury notes. The rich, fine and concentrated palate of dark fruit combines with integrated French oak. Elegantly balanced and textured with fine-grained tannins, this wine finishes with great mineral length. Distinct and age-worthy.

The 2017/2018 growing season and our vineyard sites have produced a fragrant and finely styled Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend. A very warm season with growing degree days well above the long term average combined with below-average rainfall set the vineyards up well. Early season “green harvesting” to reduce yields and improve quality, combined with meticulous canopy management throughout the season rewarded us with ideal ripeness, flavour development, concentration and tannin maturity.

The low yielding vines were handpicked on the 28th of March and the 6th of April. Extended fermentation maceration on skins for 30 days and a gentle maturation in French oak barrique for 20 months has helped round the wine out. Established in 1998, these vineyards are situated in the premium Gimblett Gravels winegrowing district where the soil is made up of relatively recent alluvial deposits of gravel with varying degrees of silt and sand. This naturally free-draining, low vigour and “lean” site combined with detailed vineyard knowledge has produced a wine showing perfume, texture and underlying power.