Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot 2018

2018

£22.50

Availability: 84 in stock

Densely coloured wine, showing lovely aromatics with layers of red and black plum, mingling with cassis, smoky roast coffee bean, dried thyme and complex cedary spice nuances. The palate is soft yet concentrated, with wonderfully fine-grained tannins and integrated oak. This wine will benefit and gain additional complexity from careful cellaring over the next 10-15 years.

Why we love it: Hawke’s Bay goodness that’s won a Gold in the Decanter Wine Awards 2021!

Drink with: Beef steak pie.

Dry

Medium Bodied

New Zealand

Country

Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Sub-Region

Gimblett Gravels

Vintage

2018

Blend Info.

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot

Alcohol by Vol.

13.5%

Bottle Vol.

750ml

Serving Temp.

12 - 17°

Closure

Screwcap

Drink

Now-2028

Villa Maria

A family owned New Zealand winery, founded in 1961 by its current owner and Managing Director, Sir George Fistonich. ‘Villa Maria’ is arguably the most well recognised and successful New Zealand winery around. George Fistonich established ‘Villa Maria’ in 1961 at just 21 years of age, after buying 5 acres of land from his father. In 1962 the world was first introduced to ‘Villa Maria’.

During the 60’s George worked on his own, to grow, harvest and bottle wine. Sourcing grapes from all over the Auckland region, George was making dry red and white wines. Over the years George’s team slowly grew, as he employed staff, he gained traction and his wines grew in popularity.

During the 1990s, ‘Villa Maria’ made the decision to introduce Stelvin screw cap closures across all ranges. ‘Villa Maria’ was the first major wine company in the world to declare the winery a “cork free zone”. George believes the consistency of wines under screwcap is one of the contributing factors to the company’s incredible success recently.

Today, they employ over 250 people and exports wine to over 50 countries worldwide. Villa Maria’s people have an unrelenting passion to produce quality wines. Realising that it takes more than just good winemaking to produce quality, a passion to succeed begins in the vineyard. Astute site selection by Villa Maria’s vineyard experts is followed by superior vineyard management and then complemented by expert winemaking. A strong focus on continually improving the vineyards is considered by ‘Villa Maria’ to be an incredibly important factor in quality winemaking.

Villa Maria’s wine portfolio is extensive, with all your favourites a part of the mix. From Sauvignon Blanc, to Syrah and Pinot Noir. An honourable mention is their Lightly Sparkling Sauvignon which embodies clean, fresh and exciting details!

For more information on Villa Maria and their wines, visit their website.

Hawke’s Bay

Back in 1851, Hawkes Bay was the first region in New Zealand to have a winery established, ‘The Mission Estate’. But it didn’t stop there, when it comes to wine production, Hawkes Bay is New Zealand’s second largest region, with a 50/50 split between the red and white wines, a fantastic variety of styles flow from its vineyards. The areas tops reds are Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, typically boasting subtle herbaceous notes and intense berry/cassis flavour.

Being New Zealand’s oldest wine region mixed with the fact the majority of vineyards are still family owned results in a rich culture with wild variation between each vintner and the ethos behind their bottles. Naturally, this has drawn the attention of the public and with numerous trails that highlight the artisan producers and Art Deco architecture wine tourism has excelled in the area.

Gimblett Gravels is Hawkes Bay’s wine area with the most fame. Although unplanted until the early 1980’s as it was common belief high quality grapes couldn’t be grown in the area, methods improved and tastes changed and the area come into its own. In 2001 winegrowers and producers united to form the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association, with this unity, the association was able to promote the areas wines to the world stage. The associations brand is based on the French concept of terroir, abiding by the strict classification rules, primarily governed by soil type. Gimblett Gravels was the first New World district to receive this designation, with the Gimblett Gravels wine growing district covering over 800ha, being stringently based on the gravel based soils originating from the old Ngaruroro River exposed after heavy flooding in the 1860s.

Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot 2018

WINE PRODUCER

Villa Maria

WINE REGION

Hawke’s Bay

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