Merlot & Cab Franc '25

Haiku:

Brooding Blackberries
Dark Chocolate & Mocha 
Mouth Coating Tannins

Winemakers Notes:

The 2025 vintage was an absolute stunner. We had a very warm start to summer but from around boxing day this gave way to a cool spell in January. This ultimately drew out the growing season giving the grapes the opportunity to develop more interesting flavours. They became "flavour ripe" as opposed to "sugar ripe". The Merlot was hand harvested on March 27th with the Cabernet Franc coming off 10 days later on April 6th.

The grapes were destemmed into open topped fermenters where they underwent a ‘wild fermentation’. A daily aerative pumpover each morning followed by a gentle punch down in the evening was carried out over the 10 days of ferment. Once dry the wine continued to macerate on skins for a further 3-4 weeks. The wine was then pressed off the skins and put to seasoned oak barrels for 9 months.

Blackberries, boysenberries and black doris plums are present on the nose, along with dark chocolate, espresso and black licorice. Velvety tannins coat the mouth providing structure that carries the fruit through to a long satisfying finish.

This wine is a delicious example of what the Hawke’s Bays Bridge Pa Triangle can offer in excellent vintages. We believe this wine will age gracefully through to 2030 and beyond if cellared carefully.

Vineyard: Lesley’s Vineyard
Sub region: Bridge Pa Triangle
Variety/Clone: 80% Merlot/481 & 20% Cabernet Franc/Erindale

Alcohol: 13.6%
pH: 3.75
TA: 5.0 g/L

Reviews:

Cameron Douglas - Master Sommelier

92/100. Premium

An engaging bouquet of fresh and roasted Doris plums, olive and hay, blackberry and spices, some wood smoke and stony-earthy ideas. A dry wine with medium+ weight, plenty of tannin and an acid line deliver a decent structure to frame the red berry fruits core. Flavours of purple fruits and texture lead to a balanced wine with best drinking from late 2027 through 2032.

Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

★★★★★ 94/100

It's splendidly fruited with complexity, showing blackcurrant, blueberry, tobacco, fennel, and toasted almond characters on the nose. The palate displays excellent weight, a plump mouthfeel, and layers of fine tannins, making it beautifully structured and persistent, with a robust finish. At its best: now to 2032.

Michael Cooper

★★★★½

Priced right, the distinctive 2025 vintage is a rich, ripe blend of Merlot (80 per cent) and Cabernet Franc (20 per cent), hand-harvested in the Bridge Pa Triangle and matured for nine months in seasoned oak casks.  Deeply coloured, it is mouthfilling, with strong, ripe berry, plum and spice flavours, hints of cherries and liquorice, and supple tannins.  Vibrant and finely textured, it's delicious in its youth, but well worth cellaring too.