Dark, smooth, velvety and full bodied and made from hand picked Cabernet Franc grapes grown on some of the oldest vines in Hawke's Bay. The grapes in this wine were grown on the TK vineyard, beside Oak Estate in the Bridge Pa Triangle sub region of the Bay. Grapes were fermented with indigenous yeasts made specifically from the vineyard to ferment this wine, which expresses Cabernet Franc's juicy dark fruit flavours with refreshing nerve and acidity. It was aged in older oak barrels for seven months with no new oak and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. 

Winemaker's note:

"2015 was an exceptional vintage and the weather was consistent which allowed us to grow and ripen grapes to optimum quality. This blend is made of 72% Merlot, 20% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon from grapes hand-picked off our Gimblett Vineyard (58%) and Triangle Vineyard (42%). 

After fermentation the wine was aged for 24 months in French oak (42% new), then blended and had a further 3 months on lees in tank. There was no racking which allow the wine to have great volume and weight.

This is a concentrated, medium to full bodied blend. With ripe blackberry and plum characters, fine grained tannins and a fresh acidity all giving the wine a wonderful balance. It will age well and improve for 10 years from vintage."

A gorgeous example of German Cab Franc made by master of Wine Sam Harrop and Pfalz based winemaker Gerd Stepp. Red and dark fruits are wrapped in savoury and spice complexity, placing the wine somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

This Reserve Cabernet Franc is very robust with plenty of fruit on the nose along with some fine, dark red berry aromas. The barrel maturation has given a style with dark red fruit, cassis, sweet cedar and spice characteristics and that floral perfume characteristic of the Cabernet Franc variety.

Made with 95% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec with fruit from Stellenbosch and Paarl grown only on decomposed dolomite granite, which gives a great acidity and freshness to the wine and adds minerality to the finish. Beautifully ripe and oozing with brooding dark fruit flavours of cherry and blackberry.  

TASTING NOTE 

Vibrant ruby red colour. with purple hues. Lifted aroma of redcurrants, cranberry, violet florals, leather and spice, hints of olive and chocolate flecks. It is young and a little brooding, slightly restrained, yet delicate.  A juicy and textural front palate is followed by plum, mouthcoating gravelly tannin that drives the length of the wine and mulberries dominating the mid palate. The wine opens up beautifully with time in the glass. A hint of savouriness and graphite bring yet more complexity. Made in a playful but serious style that suits a wide range of dishes or perfect on Its own. 

VINEYARD 

Cabernet Franc for this wine was sourced from 1988 plantings in the Isolation Ridge vineyard at Frankland Estate. The vineyard sits on an undulating northern and eastern facing slope on ancient duplex soils of ironstone gravel and loam over a clay sub-soil. It is certified organic farmed since 2009 and this is reflected in the depth and concentration of fruit flavours. The vines are trained on a Vertical Shoot Position (VSP) trellis system to enhance sunlight penetration of the canopy and optimize ripening conditions.  Cabernet Franc plays a huge role in our vineyard being the main component of our Olmos Reward, we find it suits our vineyard and region the best out of the Bordeaux varieties.

VINIFICATION 

Fruit was harvested in ideal conditions and fermented in shallow stainless steel open fermenters. The fruit is hand plunged to gently extract the tannin, keep the ferment as even as possible and maintain fruit purity. The wine is pressed off and aged on lees in 500L French oak puncheons and 1500L foudre for 10 months before bottling

Juicy red with complex savoury notes following in the wake of lush berry flavours, made 100% from Cabernet Franc from Domaine Moly Saumur. This is a new producer for us in store at Regional and we're thrilled to bring this wine to you from French winemaker Etienne Moly, a respected producer in the Loire Valley, France. 

WINEMAKING NOTES
This wine was made from grapes grown on the stony and sandy terrace of the vineyard. The grapes were fermented in open top tanks with inoculated yeast.  Gentle hand plunging was used for extraction, and the wine was then held on skins for an extended period of 4 weeks of post ferment maceration. The wine was then pressed and racked to French oak barriques where it was aged for 12 months. The final blend has a 30% new oak component and 30% second fill.

ANALYSIS
pH 3.69
TA 5.6g/l
Alcohol 13.0%

TASTING NOTES
A fragrant medley of crushed red berry fruits fills the nose, accompanied by scented oak spice, sweet vanillan notes and infused with delicate dried wild herbs. Juicy, concentrated, and full of bright raspberry and cherry fruit flavours, the palate is fleshy and textural, but well balanced with vibrant acidity and fruit sweetness, to give a long and expressive finish.

AWARDS
Silver Regional Aotearoa Wine Competition

The Saumur Champigny Terres Chaudes Rouge is a red wine from the controlled designation of origin of the Loire Valley. It is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on a clay-limestone soil.

Tasting
The Saumur Champigny Terres Chaudes Rouge has aromas of red fruits and spices, with a hint of licorice. It is structured with ample and fleshy tannins. This wine goes perfectly with red meats, saucy dishes, and aged cheeses.

Terroir and Winemaking
Domaine des Roches Neuves practices organic farming to cultivate its vines, which is beneficial for the environment and biodiversity. The grapes are harvested by hand before being rigorously sorted. The winemaking process takes place traditionally with prolonged maceration and aging in tanks and oak barrels for several months. This method produces a powerful and elegant wine that reflects the richness of its terroir.

Biodynamic. 

100% Cabernet Franc. 

Germain’s calling card is drawn from the domaine’s many parcels in Saumur. These varied sites grow on tuffeau/limestone soils around the communes of Varrains, Chaintres, Dampierre and Saumur. The vines range from 10 to 70 years old (with the average at around 30) and include the domaine’s ‘home’ vineyard, Le Clos, a site ploughed by the family’s Ardennais draft horse. Germain harvests by hand, employs cold soak infusion for some parcels and carries out the wild yeast fermentation and maturation mostly in tank. Aside from a minor 10 ppm SO2 at bottling, the wine sees no additions. Packed with youthful Saumur joie de vivre, this is a pure, elegantly floral red with perfumed dark cherry, anise and graphite notes and a juicy, supple, mouthwatering personality that pairs beautifully with cheese, paté, pork chops and roast chicken. In other words, the perfect bistro wine (that goes with every course)! The colour of the label this year is a kind of bluish slate.

This is Domaine de Noire’s top-flight white made exclusively from Chenin Blanc grown in the Chinon appellation of the Loire Valley. 

This wine is made in an Italian amphora and offers a pure nose of white flowers and peaches that leads to a silky and delicate palate, with mineral tones A pure nose with notes of white flowers and peaches.

Ideal with seafood, oil-rich fish and hard cheese.

Varieties :  Merlot 81%, Cabernet Franc 13%, Malbec 3%, Cab Sav 3%

"Our Merlot Cabernet Franc comes from our Cornerstone vineyard growing in Hawke's Bays' famed Gimblett Gravels appellation. An area renowned for producing excellent hot climate reds. We think Cornerstone is the jewel in the appellation's crown but there again we are rather biased!

In our Iris blend, the Merlot sets up the palate with ripeness and structure while the Cabernet Franc brings its sweet dried basil notes to create our deliciously good medium-bodied red"