Esk Valley Heipipi 'The Terraces' Malbec Merlot Cabernet Franc 2019

Esk Valley Heipipi 'The Terraces' Malbec Merlot Cabernet Franc 2019French oak Blackberry & ripe plum Vanilla pod & chocolate Elegant & complex "Grown on a steep, terraced, north facing hillside at Bay View, in Hawkes Bay, this is typically a strikingly bold, dark wine with bottomless depth of blackcurrant, plum and strongly spicy flavour. Malbec (43 per cent of the vines) and Merlot (35 per cent) are the major ingredients, supplemented by Cabernet Franc; the Malbec gives perfume, spice, tannin and brilliant colour.

• French oak
• Blackberry & ripe plum
• Vanilla pod & chocolate
• Elegant & complex

"Grown on a steep, terraced, north-facing hillside at Bay View, in Hawke’s Bay, this is typically a strikingly bold, dark wine with bottomless depth of blackcurrant, plum and strongly spicy flavour. Malbec (43 per cent of the vines) and Merlot (35 per cent) are the major ingredients, supplemented by Cabernet Franc; the Malbec gives ‘perfume, spice, tannin and brilliant colour’. Yields in the 1-hectare vineyard are very low, and the wine is matured for 17 to 22 months in French oak barriques (55 per cent new in 2018). ‘En primeur’ (payment at a reduced price, in advance of delivery) has been the best way to buy. It typically matures well, developing a beautiful fragrance and spicy, Rhône-like complexity. The 2018 vintage (5*) is a deeply coloured blend of Malbec (43 per cent), Merlot (38 per cent) and Cabernet Franc (19 per cent). Fragrant, with a spicy bouquet, it is powerful but refined, with concentrated, ripe blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, that build to a supple, very harmonious, lasting finish" Michael Cooper

"Fabulous colour, purity and intensity, there’s a lot of energy in the bouquet of this wine with dark spices and black berry fruits, sweet black olive and dark chocolate, the toasty barrel qualities bring forward scents of sweet vanilla pod and fresh cloves, there’s violets and plums  and a light brambly quality. Fantastic on the palate with a plush mouthfeel, highly polished tannins and back bone of acidity. The concentration layers flavour  throughout the palate delivering a wonderful mouthfeel and finish. Best drinking from today if you want or 2027 through 2040+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Jan 2023

"A blend of malbec, merlot and cabernet franc. The malbec component dominates with ripe plum and spice flavours while the merlot and cabernet franc help extend an already lingering finish. Impressive layers of fruit and savoury characters evidence complexity and suggest underlying power that will be revealed with bottle age" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Feb 2023

This is a handcrafted wine with much effort made to produce a wine of elegance that is a true expression of its site. The wine is deeply coloured and full of primary black fruits, including cherry and blackberry. As a young wine, cedar notes complement the fruit, but with time, complexity and vineyard nuances will predominate. This wine has been sealed with a screw cap to guarantee the quality of each bottle and offer even greater cellaring potential.

The Terraces Vineyard is perched on the steep north-west orientated hillside above the old Esk Valley winery site near Bay View in the North of Hawkes Bay. This sunny, sheltered site was originally planted in the 1940s and re-established with its current plantings in 1989. It occupies approximately one hectare and is planted with Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc which is harvested and fermented together as a field blend. The soils are complex with low fertility, containing layers of seashell and limestone, interspersed with clay and volcanic ash. The vines are spur-pruned, thinned to one bunch per shoot and hand harvested.

The individual plots of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc were harvested together and processed as a field blend, as they have since 2001. The grapes were hand harvested, sorted and destemmed to a single concrete vat for fermentation with wild yeast. Hand plunging was employed for cap management and the finished wine aged in French oak barriques (100% new) for 18 months before being bottled without filtration.