Complex aromas of varietal dark berry fruit and florals. The palate is rich with flavours of sweet dark cherry, spice and silky tannins. This is a food-friendly style, excellent with mushroom risotto, pink duck lamb or pasta with truffle and parmesan.

Grown on elevated river terraces, in the cooler, inland, Mangatahi sub-region. Soils are free draining silt, over gravels. Crops were thinned to an average of 2.2kg per vine to provide ripe and concentrated fruit flavours. Partially crushed into a mix of open top and closed top tanks, the open fermenters were hand plunged and the closed top were rummaged and pumped-over for extraction. Racked to French barriques and completed malolactic fermentation naturally in the spring. It was matured nine months before blending and bottling.

From robust salmon dishes through to the Christmas goose, this is a verstaile match for many rich foods.