A ‘Bordeaux style’ red blend from Hawke’s Bay – the icon wine of this producer, and made in one of the greatest vintages for red wines in living memory. A blend of approximately 40% Malbec, 35% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. A deep, inky black-red colour in the glass. Strikingly aromatic, with damson, bramble, elderberry, cassis, tapenade and graphite on the nose. Quite tight into the palate, with the vibrant fruit held in a grip of fine tannin and crisp acidity. Oak does show, with a toasted, granite-like frame around the palate. Powerful, concentrated and mouth-filling as the fruit swells and bleeds through the embrace of tannin and oak, to a finish that is dry, polished and elegant. This will improve, soften and evolve after another 10-15 years in your cellar, no rush to drink yet. For now – 95pts
Esk Valley ‘The Terraces’ 2013
