Artisinal Collection Malbec / Merlot / Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 6x75cl

This Malbec led blend displays dark colour and seductive fruit with complex Christmas cake spice notes. On the palate it is a medley of rich fruit flavours and ried herbs supported by a generous mouthfeel and age-worthy tannins. This is a full bodied and complex wine, and an ideal accompaniment to red meat dishes.

Vineyards

The fruit for this wine was grown predominantly on the Ngakirikiri vineyard in the heart of the renowned Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District. These deep stony soils deposited by the Ngaruroro River have excellent drainage and low vigour and are ideally suited to the production of high-quality red wine.

Vintage

It was a challenging vintage to navigate in Hawkes Bay and Gisborne with frequent rain through February and March. The summer started hot, with very settled weather around the Christmas period before the wetter late summer arrived. The fruit was often picked at relatively low sugar levels however the hot summer delivered excellent flavour ripeness. Reds have come through ferment well and have shown the benefit of growing grapes on the free draining Gimblett Gravels, particularly in a wet vintage. Malbec from Omahu Gravels was a highlight from this vintage.

Winemaking

The individual vineyard and varietal parcels were harvested separately and fermented with wild yeast in our open topped concrete fermenters. Hand plunging was employed to gently extract colour and tannin. After a period of post ferment maceration the individual parcels were pressed to French oak barrels and aged in cool cellars for 20 months before being blended and rested in tanks for a further 5 months before bottling in May 2024.

Enjoy with:

Red meat, game and rich tomate based dishes.