River Gravel Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 6x75cl

• 75cl bottle

Rich aromas of black fruit and fragrant spicy oak dominate this sumptuous red wine. The palate is full-bodied with incredible concentration of supple, rich ripe fruit, smooth ripe tannins, beautifully integrated oak and great complexity.

Vineyards

This wine is a blend from grapes grown on the stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels. The vines in the Ngakirikiri, Twyford and Omahu Gravels vineyards are now approaching 20 years of age and are cropped at low levels to produce grapes of the highest possible quality. Intensive viticultural practices such as shoot and bunch thinning and leaf plucking were employed over the course of the growing season to further maximise the vineyards' potential.

Vintage

Excellent weather conditions from late March through to April meant that the grapes achieved physiological ripeness and were picked at the optimum time. Dry conditions and cool nights throughout harvest resulted in low yielding crops showing great concentration and freshness.

Winemaking

The individual vineyard parcels were harvested separately and destemmed to our open topped concrete fermenters for fermentation. Indigenous and selected red wine yeast strains were employed and once 0 the ferments were gently hand plunged up to four times daily. After a period of post fermentation maceration the ferments were pressed to barrel and tank for malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged for 16 months in French oak barriques (45% new) before bottling.

Enjoy with:

• Grilled and Roasted Red Meats
• Pizza/Pasta
• Casseroles/Stews
• Mature Strong Cheeses

Enjoy with red meat and game dishes.