Elephant Hill Reserve Hawke's Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc Cabernet 2017

Elephant Hill Reserve Hawke's Bay Merlot Cabernet Franc Cabernet 2017French oak Black plums & cherries Pink peppercorn Elegant "Classically composed and gorgeously styled, the wine shows cassis, dark cherry, spicy oak, olive and subtle cocoa characters on the nose. It's concentrated and wonderfully flavoursome on the palate, while remaining firmly structured by chalky tannins, leading to an impressively long sturdy finish. At its best: 2021 to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2020 "Deep, ruby red with a black hue,

• French oak
• Black plums & cherries
• Pink peppercorn
• Elegant

"Classically composed and gorgeously styled, the wine shows cassis, dark cherry, spicy oak, olive and subtle cocoa characters on the nose. It's concentrated and wonderfully flavoursome on the palate, while remaining firmly structured by chalky tannins, leading to an impressively long sturdy finish. At its best: 2021 to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2020

"Deep, ruby-red with a black hue, lighter on edge. The bouquet is poise and harmonious with fragrances of violet, medicinal herbs, along with cassis, dark plums, cedar and tobacco lingers with good intensity. Full-bodied, the palate has good concentrated flavours of an amalgam of cassis, dark plums, red berries, along with violet and medicinal herbs, unveiling tobacco, cedar and oak spice detail. The fruit is juicy and fresh, lifted by lacy acidity, shows strength and vitality. Velvety fine-grained tannin extraction provides structure and backbone, immersing cedar and tobacco detail, lengthen the sustained finish in harmony. The is a well-crafted Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, displaying succulent fruit flavour, violet, herbaceous detail on a fine-grained tannin structure with cedar and tobacco detail. Match with beef tomahawk and roasted lamb leg over the next 5-8 years" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, Aug 2020

"The classy 2017 vintage (5*) was estate-grown and hand-harvested in the Gimblett Gravels and the Bridge Pa Triangle, and matured in French oak casks (35 per cent new). Fragrant and full-bodied, it is deeply coloured, with concentrated blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, excellent complexity, and a finely structured, very harmonious finish. Best drinking 2023+" Michael Cooper, Buyer's Guide 2021

"This wine is Wow in a glass. Perfectly balanced primary fruit and oak spices with tertiary characters creeping in and adding layers of complexity. Beautiful blackberry, bramble, blackcurrant and warming dark spices with savoury forest floor nuances of the nose and on the palate. This is my kind of wine! Drinking exceptionally well right now, don’t miss out on this lovely wine" The Wine Writer, Oct 2021

"Immediately captivating bouquet with dark berries and violets, dark wood spices and, plums, blackberry and dried herbs; quite complex and alluring. On the palate - intense, sweet fruited with blackberry and dark plum, olive and a touch of boot-polish and tar. Ripe tannins, medium+ acidity, a core of fruit, clove and vanilla, violet and tobacco. Lengthy finish, persistent flavours and extremely food friendly. Well made. Best drinking from today and through 2026+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Mar 2020

Still a youthful wine with aromas of warm spices and dark juicy fruits. This wine exudes elegance on the palate with an abundance of blackberries, black plums and black cherries flavours wrapped up in notes of chocolate, capsicum, pink peppercorn and violet petals.

This Hawke’s Bay Reserve blend is composed of 52% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Malbec from their Gimblett and Triangle vineyards.

2017 was a challenging year for the whole of Hawke’s Bay industry. At Elephant Hill however they believe in maximizing their input to achieve the best they can in any one season. With a ‘no-holds’ barred approach they believe they can still produce superior quality wines which typify the season.

The elevage of this wine was 26 months in French oak (35% new) and additional 5 months on lees in stainless steel tank. This wine was not fined prior to bottling on 13th November 2019.

Established in 2003, Elephant Hill located within a stone’s throw of the Pacific Ocean on the idyllic Te Awanga coast of Hawke’s Bay on New Zealand’s North Island. The winemaking at Elephant Hill is driven by tradition while not losing sight of what innovation can bring to the blend. Their aim is to make wines that are balanced, elegant and a true expression of the vineyards they come from.

Food Pairing: Can be enjoyed with food such as venison, charcuterie or tomato based dishes.