Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Hieronymus 2019 $125 
A blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, (clone 10), 29% cabernet franc (clone 326) and 11% merlot (clone 181) sourced from predominantly their ‘Stone’ Gimblett Gravels vineyard, this wine is the epitome of what the Elephant Hill team can achieve from an excellent vintage. Inky-dark and glossy, this wine bursts with bouquet garni herbs, blueberry, dark plum and cherry complexity on the nose and palate. A dense, rich mouthfeel is fleshed out with soft pepper, dusty, smoky oak and a hint of black olive and soy. The wine went through a combo of natural and inoculated fermentation followed by a natural malolactic ferment in Spring. It was then quietly left to mature in French oak barrels for 24 months and then 4 months in tank to keep it frisky fresh.
