Villa Maria Cellar Select Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 1998
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Founded in 1961 from humble beginnings, Villa Maria is a story of pioneering spirit and a desire to champion the best of New Zealand wine.
From the cool climate region of Marlborough, famous for crisp, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, to the sun-soaked Hawkes Bay producing world-class reds, their wine is a unique expression of their extraordinary land, passion for excellence and bold spirit.
Their portfolio of highly awarded wines is the most stylistically and regionally diverse in New Zealand, setting them apart and consistently delivering a rewarding wine experience.
As the leading winemakers in Marlborough with an unwavering focus on quality and sustainability, Villa Maria wines are distinctive, vibrant, and most importantly, delicious.
Today, Villa Maria is globally recognized and adored for bold, expressive, and exceptional New Zealand wines.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.