Esk Valley Estate Cabernet Sauv Merlot 2020

This wine was blended from grapes grown within the renown Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District. These deep stony soils have excellent drainage and low vigour, ideal for the production of high-quality red wine. Our vineyard sites are close planted and yields per vine are kept low to maximise quality.

The individual vineyard and varietal parcels were destemmed to our concrete and stainless steel fermenters and allowed to ferment with wild yeast. Once active the ferments were hand plunged or gently pumped over to extract tannin and colour from the skins. After a period of maceration on skins the new wines were pressed to barrel and tank for malolactic fermentation. The individual parcels were aged separately in French oak barrels for 14 months before blending and bottling in September 2021

This is a smooth and elegant Gimblett Gravels blend. Densely coloured, it has a bouquet of red cherry, blackberry, dried herbs and cedar from barrel maturation. It is soft and generous in nature and can be enjoyed as a youthful wine, but possesses sufficient tannin to age gracefully for many years.

• Region: Hawkes Bay
• Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec
• Size: 750ml
• Vintage: 2020
• Case size: 6x bottles
• Awards & Reviews:
  1. Silver - New Zealand International Wine Competition 2022
  2. 93/100 Points - NZ Wine Rater 2022