Dunleavy ‘The Strip’ Single Vineyard Waiheke Island Cabernet Merlot 2018 $45

The vineyard producing the cabernet sauvignon and merlot for this wine sits adjacent to the old Waiheke Island airstrip, you can almost smell the leather pilots’ jackets, smoke and oil-soaked earth alongside its rich plum, blackberry and dark cocoa characters. The acidity is refreshing, the tannins fleshy and it has a long, warming, woolly finish that’s deliciously comforting.

Dunleavy