Mission Estate Merlot 2010
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As New Zealand’s oldest winery, Mission Estate has a longstanding reputation for producing award winning, quality wines. Their commitment is to consistently produce excellent value-for-money wines, using the best of old-and new-world winemaking techniques. This ensures that Mission Estate continues to be one of the most established and highly regarded producers in New Zealand.
Mission has never lost sight of its French heritage as over the years Brothers of the Order have traveled to France to study and learn viticulture and winemaking skills. Mission winemaker, Paul Mooney was originally trained by the Mission Fathers and has been with Mission Estate for over 30 years.
It is Mission Estate’s belief that sustainable winegrowing is an environmental management system that will ensure the protection of their land, environment, people and nation. By farming sustainably it will also ensure consistent premium fruit production. Mission Estate is also a leader in producing wine in the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly manner possible. In 2007 Mission Estate remodeled their winery to make it the largest sustainable winery in New Zealand.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
An eclectic region on the east coast of the North Island, Hawkes Bay extends from wide, fertile, coastal plains, inland, to the coast range, whose peaks reach as high as 5,300 feet. While the flatter areas were historically more popular because they are easier to cultivate, their alluvial soils can be too fertile for vines. In the late 20th century, the drive for quality led growers to the hills where soils are free-draining, limestone-rich and more suited to producing high quality wines.
Over the passing of time, the old Ngaruroro River laid down deep, gravelly beds, which were subsequently exposed after a huge flood in the 1860’s. In the 1980s growers identified this stretch, which continues for approximately 800 ha, and named it the Gimblett Gravels. The zone has proven to be ideal for the production of excellent red wines, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.
Today the area takes well-earned recognition for its Bordeaux blends and other reds. Expressive of intense stewed red and black berry with gentle herbaceous characters, Gimblett Gravels wines are suggestive of their cool climate origin, and on par with other top-notch Bordeaux blends around the globe.
Chardonnay is the top white grape in Hawkes Bay, making elegant wines, strong in stone fruit character. Sauvignon blanc comes in close behind, notable for its tropical, fruit forward qualities.