"Aged in French oak, 10% new. Elegant, supple red with sweet berry-fruit flavours together supported by fresh herb and spicy oak flavours. An accessible well-made red that's worth drinking now and over the next few years" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Nov 2017

Bright magenta, Estate Vineyards Merlot/Cabernets ’16 shows lifted notes of blackberry and boysenberry, with fine touches of mint, sandalwood and fresh, ripe cherry. Prune, coffee, redcurrant and wild strawberry on the palate all add depth to the wine’s immediate appeal-balanced fruit concentration that glides to a savoury finish and plush, firm tannins.

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owner, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively form its historic Hawke's Bay Vinyards. 

The grapes for this Estate Vineyard Merlot/Cabernets were harvested between 26 March and 20 April 2016 from Te Mata Estate’s own vineyards in the Bridge Pa Triangle, Havelock Hills and Woodthorpe Terraces sub-regions of Hawke’s Bay. The individual parcels of each variety, from each plot, were de-stemmed before a traditional warm fermentation, followed by extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were pressed, returned to tank for malolactic fermentation, then run off to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels for 12 months’ maturation before blending. The wines were regularly topped and racked, throughout maturation, blended and traditionally egg-white fined before bottling. The final blend is 45% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc. Estate Vineyards Merlot/Cabernets ’16 will continue to evolve in bottle for three to six years from harvest.

Food Pairing: Estate Vineyards Merlot/Cabernets ’16 is a wonderful accompaniment to hard cheeses and anything that once lived in a field.