WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
Te Kahu means 'the cloak' in te reo Maori and refers to the mist that envelops Giants Winery in the Tukituki Valley. Legend has it that this mist was used to protect a mythical Maori maiden from the sun as she visited her lover Te Mata.
Deepest crimson red. Brooding aromatically with notes of cassis, black olive and dried tobacco enveloping a dense core of blue fruits. The wine has a lovely focus on the palate with dark fruits framed by fine tannins to deliver a classical structure with an excellent future ahead.
Blend: 69% Merlot, 13%Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec
TASTING NOTES:
Inviting aromas of sliced plums, black cherries, graphite and lead pencil. Medium- to full-bodied with silky, structured tannins. Linear on the palate, with crushed stone minerality giving definition and freshness to the black fruit. Vibrant and bright. This can age but is already so attractive now.
- James Suckling, 94 pts.
The 2020 Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Vineyard is Merlot dominant, with contributions from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Aromatically, the wine is plush and ripe, with luscious dark berry flavors bolstered by the rocky/graphite character that comes from the gravels. In the mouth, the wine is mineral and far lighter than the bouquet would indicate, with a dusty tannin profile that shapes the finish particularly.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 91 pts.
