21.12 2007

Tasting Notes
This blend of classic Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc exhibits all the elegance and style of its French origins, combined with the power and depth of fruit for which Hawkes Bay New Zealand is achieving global recognition. Complex and brooding aromas of cassis and sweet black plum are united with hints of violets, clove and subtle cedar notes. The palate is superbly structured with intensity of flavour which culminates in an ultra-fine tannin finish.

Viticulture
Low yields are imperative to the production of grapes that exhibit the all-important balance between physiological ripeness, acid structure and ripe tannins; thus vine management of the rows at Paritua Vineyards selected for ’21.12’ began at pruning. The vines were manicured from then onwards, with crop thinning to one bunch per cane and manual leaf plucking during veraison. The canopy was kept open, providing the grapes with sun-exposure and natural airflow which maintained clean fruit and maximised ripeness. Hand-harvesting from selected rows began when the grapes had reached the desired balance of flavour and ripeness.

Winemaking
Whole bunches of hand-selected fruit were brought to the Paritua winery. The individual varieties were kept separate throughout the winemaking process to maximise blending options. Each parcel of fruit was destemmed and then hand sorted to select only the best berries. The fruit was then crushed to closed fermenters. After a period of cold soaking the must was inoculated with select yeasts and fermented through to dryness. Temperatures were managed to reach 30oC during ferment and once the process was complete the wine was tasted to evaluate maceration time. Finally, the wine was basket pressed to barrel (60% new French oak) where malolactic conversion took place. Trial blending occurred several times over the maturation period to establish the optimal final blend. The wine was bottled after a light eggwhite fining and gentle filtration in November 2008.

HARVEST: 2007
700 CASES MADE
28 BARRIQUES
14% ALCOHOL/VOLUME
TA: 6.2 GRAMS/LITRE
pH: 3.7
CLOSURE: CORK
BLEND: CABERNET SAUVIGNON 51%, MERLOT 28%, CABERNET FRANC 21%