Elephant Hill Hawke's Bay Merlot 2018

Elephant Hill Hawke's Bay Merlot 2018French oak Black Doris plum Smokey Fine tannins "Beautifully fruited and enticing with Black Doris plum, blueberry, clove, cocoa and cedary oak characters with a hint of smoky bacon on the nose. The concentrated palate delivers excellent weight and plump mouthfeel, well supported by silken texture and fine tannins. Delectable and highly enjoyable" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Aug 2021 "Deep, ruby black, lighter on edge. The wine has a fragranced, softly full

• French oak
• Black Doris plum
• Smokey
• Fine tannins

"Beautifully fruited and enticing with Black Doris plum, blueberry, clove, cocoa and cedary oak characters with a hint of smoky bacon on the nose. The concentrated palate delivers excellent weight and plump mouthfeel, well supported by silken texture and fine tannins. Delectable and highly enjoyable" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Aug 2021

"Deep, ruby-black, lighter on edge. The wine has a fragranced, softly full bouquet; ripe plums and blackberries aromas have a savoury edge, melded with violet, cedar and new leather. Full-bodied, Doris plums, blackberries nuances broaden by savoury element, interweave barrel spices, cedar and a hint of new leather. The palate is weighty with the density of fruit, perfectly ripened with subtle floral complexity; fine-grained tannin framed a fine structure, smooth and round-edged. This is an elegant Merlot from a hot vintage, possesses ripe fruit and ripe tannin with complimenting oak details. Match with ribeye with chimichurri and beef Wellington over the next 5+ years" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, Aug 2021

"From the Gimblett and Triangle vineyards. Dense and quite concentrated merlot with dark berry, cassis and smoky oak flavours. An impressive wine that offers value at this price. Delicious now" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Mar 2021

"Aromas of dark plums and barrel spices, no mistaking the gravel dark soils complexity and mild smoky oak scents. On the palate the wine is boldly flavoured with dark berries, lots of juicy fleshy plum textures, firm-ish tannins reflect the youthful core and acidity brings crunch and tension. Tannins and barrel flavours have a fine coco-powder finish, the fruit flavours return on the finish. A lovely wine, warm and generous, ready to imbibe from day f purchase and through 2026" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2021

This wine displays juicy, rich Black Doris plum and cassis flavours with well-balanced acidity and fine-grained tannin. Dangerously drinkable and ready to go.

The 2017-2018 season will be remembered as one which was consistently warmer day to day than previous years. It was not that temperatures were necessarily higher, it was more a sense of milder conditions overall, rather than the suffering extremes. The result was much earlier vine growth and seasonal development than has been seen in recent memory.

This is a blend of 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The wine has had 35% new French Oak treatment, aged in barrel for 10 months with no racking or fining. It was then transferred into our stainless steel tanks where it spent another 8 months on lees before being filtered for bottling.