2013 was an exceptional year for red wine in Hawkes Bay. A fantastic warm summer was followed by a mild autumn with very few rain events. Hand-picked fruit was gently de-stemmed for fermentation. Each variety and vineyard parcel was harvested and vinified separately. Pumping over with controlled aeration took place during fermentation to gently extract colour and tannin. A post-fermentation maceration of up to three weeks helped improve the texture and structure of the tannins.

After a brief settling period for clarification, the wine was transferred to small French oak barrels of which 30 % were new. After 16 months in barrel, the individual components were assessed and blended. Bottled October 2014