Terrior: The Merlot fruit was harvested from our vineyard sites in Marlborough's Wairau Plain. The vineyards combination of alluvial soils with layers of water retaining clay are an ideal combination for ensuring healthy vines during Marlborough's dry warm growing season.

Climate: Marlborough provides a semi-continental climate with cool winters, hot summers, cool nighttime temperatures and very low rainfall.

Geology:  Alluvial soils deposited from ancient river beds, with layers of clay throughout.The vigour moderating, free draining gravel based soils provide a superb base for the low cropping Merlot. 

Harvest: Machine harvested in the vool of night, with quick transportation to our Marlborough winery. 

Vinification: Following de-stemming into stainless steel tanks the grapes were cold soaked for five days. This assists with maximising the extraction of flavour and colour. Inoculated with specialised yeast to finish fermentation and then hand plunged and pumped over for gentle extraction of colour, flavour and tannin. The young wine was kept in contact with skins and tasted daily until the right extraction and balance was achieved then gently pressed. Once settled it was then racked to settling tanks and seasoned French oak where it underwent secondary fermentation (malolactic fermentation). After ageing on light lees the wine was blended, fined, balanced and carefully prepared for bottling.

Acidity 5.4g
PH 3.59
Residual sugar N/A