Stormwood Meritage Bordeaux Blend 2022

Stormwood Meritage Bordeaux Blend
Grown at Oneroa on Waiheke Island and made by respected local winemakers Heinrich Storm and Michael Wood, this Cabernet Franc dominant blend also brings in Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon for a wine with real Waiheke character. Bright purple in the glass, it opens with ripe red berries, subtle herbs and a lift of florals, carrying through to a vibrant, refined palate of juicy red fruit and supple tannins. French oak lends gentle spice and cedar notes, building to a long, savoury finish. Made in small volumes from handpicked fruit, it has the structure to reward a few years in the cellar, or drink well now alongside a good piece of beef or lamb. At 14% ABV, it is a serious, age worthy Bordeaux style red.

What the winery says: Stormwood is a small Waiheke Island project from winemakers Heinrich Storm and Michael Wood, both well known names on the island with decades of experience between them. This Cabernet Franc led blend comes from Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon handpicked in early March from the Oneroa area, destemmed and fermented separately in open top fermenters with twice daily plunging. The wine then underwent malolactic fermentation in French oak, thirty percent of it new, before eleven months of barrel ageing. The 2022 growing season was one of the best in recent memory on Waiheke, with a warm, dry, settled summer and well below average rainfall, giving fruit that was clean, concentrated and picked slightly earlier than usual. Only 144 cases were made.