Merlot

Juicy smooth blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec in a bold and powerful red made by Hawke's Bay winemaker Jenny Dobson, whose extensive winemaking experience in Bordeaux and Hawke's Bay shines through in this fleshy flavoursome wine. 

Doris was named after her grandmother, Doris and this is the first vintage of this medium bodied, dry and fleshy wine, which has flavours of red plum, red fruit and lightly toasted spice. 

In the heart of the Bordeaux vineyard, Chateau Carbonneau is situated 20 kilometres from St Emilion and 35 kilometres from Bergerac. In a unique and idyllic setting, the chateau offers luxury accommodation and fine wines on the slopes of Pessac sur Dordogne.

Shortly after 1992, Wilfrid and Jacquie Franc de Ferriere inherited the property and began by replanting the vineyard with grape varieties typical of the Bordeaux region, especially Merlot which grows well on the slopes of Gensac. Thus began the revival of wine at Carbonneau. The Vineyard covers 15 hectares planted on the clay/limestone soils of the slopes of Gensac.

Pegasus Bay has an excitingly diverse, if sometimes surprising, array of different grapes growing in its vineyards in the Waipara Valley, the heart of North Canterbury, many of which were planted to see what would fit. And thanks to the long dry autumn growing season, quite a number of different grapes can ripen fully here. This enables varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and even Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen and produce wines such as this full bodied, juicy, age worthy red. If climate change continues, who knows what we will see coming from this stellar, family owned wine producer.

This wine drinks well now and can age and improve for the next five to seven years. 

Alpha Domus winery was founded in 1989 and its name is an anagram of the owners' names, Anthonius, Leonard, Paulus and Henrikus. Domus is Latin for home. 

They named this soft, chocolatey and plush Merlot after the classic 1932 Fox Moth aircraft, which helped open the world up to travel and adventure. This dry, smooth and full bodied red also opens up new worlds of flavour and shows why Merlot is the most planted red grape in Hawke's Bay - it works a treat there. 

Merlot is the most planted red grape in Hawke's Bay and it's blended here with 15% Cabernet Franc, which adds the deep crimson colour and impressive backbone and structure to this wine. Fermentation was all in stainless steel tanks to retain fruit forward approachability with maturation for 17 months in French oak barriques, which adds smoothness and a velvety texture to this wine. It's dry and tastes of ripe dark fruit. 

Craggy Range Merlot is one of our top selling Hawke's Bay reds and one sip will leave you seeing why. 

Vieux Cha?teau des Combes is located in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, just five kilometres away from the historic village of Saint-Emilion. This is a deep, ruby red wine. Complex aromas of ripe berries and spice lead into a palate rich with flavours of dark red fruits and coffee.

Plush, smooth and full of ripe red plum flavours, this wine is made with grapes grown a vineyard formed on the ancient riverbed of a river that once carried rock from the steep Ruahine ranges and deposited masses of free-draining gravel which is locally known as red metal. This is a plush wine from a very good vintage and punches well above its weight. Juicy ripe berry flavours from the Merlot are balanced by grunty darker earthy elements from the Franc.

This red is predominantly a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, with smaller proportions Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to add further complexity and interest. Cherry/plum flavours and the suppleness of Merlot combine with the blackberry/blackcurrant flavours, structure, and freshness of Cabernet Sauvignon to produce a serious yet eminently drinkable wine. 

Each individual vineyard parcel was harvested separately and gently de-stemmed prior to fermentation. Gentle daily pumping over of the skins during fermentation helped extract a soft, complex structure. Extended maceration on skins following fermentation helped to further integrate and soften the tannins. Following aging in stainless steel tanks, and a short time in seasoned French oak, the individual blocks were blended to create the ideal wine. The Wine:

Classic Graves from an exceptional vintage which favoured the left bank. This shows hallmark cassis and bramble fruit with lovely ripe tannins and keen balancing acidity. Entry level Bordeaux at it's best.

Clearview Winery was founded by wine lover and winemaker Tim Turvey, who was the first to plant grapes on the coast at Te Awanga, south of Napier; it's a beautiful, if windy, site, and home to a tasty fruit salad of reds with Chardonnay his leading white.

This affordable full bodied Hawke's Bay red over delivers with soft, plush Merlot playing the lead role and balanced by a robust, spicy 12% Malbec, which adds oomph and power to the wine. 

About Clearview Estate

Clearview Estate is one of oldest, most well established wineries in Hawke's Bay and is situated on the Te Awanga Coast, south of Napier. It's a great place to visit for tastings at the cellar door as well as lunch in the dappled shade of the established courtyard area. The winery was founded by Tim Turvey, winemaker and co-owner. The current winemaker is the multi talented Matt Kirby.

Winery's notes...

A stylish Hawke's Bay blend that has chartered our way, a wine with a strong character and a strong following. Blended from the best blocks from our estate, we use a variety of clones, each block fermented then matured in oak barrels as stand alone parcels. After 12 months initial maturation, each barrel was tasted and scored with only the best making the cut for The Navigator. Softly concentrated with deep and dense aromas of plush red fruits, cocoa, spice and cedar, the palate is medium-full bodied with rich and succulent flavours. 

The long finish and fine tannins make this an ideal accompaniment for your beef dishes, richly flavoured foods and cheeses. 

Merlot 34%, Cabernet Sauvignon 31%, Cabernet Franc 19%, Malbec 16%

This distinguished Cabernet Merlot is made from ultra-premium grapes (73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc) grown on low-yielding vines in the Mere Road Vineyard, situated in the celebrated stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels district in Hawkes Bay. Medium to full bodied, it bursts with notes of black fruits, plum, chocolate, and liquorice intertwined with beautifully refined tannins, yielding a distinguished silky smooth wine.

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cissac gives up savory notions of dried Provence herbs, charcuterie and Sichuan pepper over a core of red and black currant preserves with a touch of graphite. The medium-bodied palate delivers just enough black fruits with earthy/savory accents and a chewy texture, finishing with appealing freshness and a herbal lift.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown -  Wine Advocate

Exceptional half bottle of deliciousness from an unlikely corner of the country, Matakana, which is one of the smallest wine regions in New Zealand and situated north of Auckland. This wine is made by Toby Gillman, who fell in love with the idea of making wine after he spent his first student allowance on a bottle of Matakana red. 

He and his father John volunteered to work at the iconic Providence vineyard in Matakana on weekends, and later set up their own vineyard, which is home to the Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec grapes that go into this little half bottle of deliciousness. 

We really enjoyed tasting the concentrated cassis and blackcurrant flavours in this six year old red, which is an outstanding wine to drink now, and has further potential for aging. Its weight, richness of flavour and big but smooth tannins all show impeccable balance for a high quality red based on a classic Bordeaux right bank style.