Giesen Merlot 2020
SKU
GIME202010 UCAU
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An elegant wine with depth and presence
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"An outstanding glass with considerable personality." Decanter
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This Gisborne Merlot is another knock-out from the Giesen label
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1 or more bottles$15.99
Editors notes
A generous, smooth Merlot from the Hawke's Bay wine region, Giesen's Estate Merlot is a wine that's very approachable in youth and suitable for any occasion. The fruit is sourced from a premium Gisborne vineyard, producing a Merlot with good fruit intensity and a touch of complexity through restrained use of oak.
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Closure
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Alcohol Percentage
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Bottle Size
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Cassis
- Plum
- Red Fruits
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Palate
- Cherry
- Plum
- Redcurrant
Food Pairings
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Pork -
Red Meat
Critic Scores & reviews
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Sam Kim
90""Bright and delightfully lifted, the bouquet shows Black Doris plum, blueberry, floral and subtle spice notes, leading to a succulent palate displaying supple mouthfeel and juicy acidity. It's upfront and friendly, offering lovely drinking. At its best: now to 2023.""
Other vintages
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Locations
New Zealand
The New Zealand wine industry is one of the younger wine regions in the world, whose popularity grew immensely when Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc hit the world wine scene, quite unique in style when compared to the typical French Sancerre.
Wine is successfully cultivated on both the North and South islands from a latitude of 36 degrees in the North to 45 degrees for the most southerly wine region in the world, the South Island's Central Otago. The majority of regions are located in free-draining alluvial valleys except for Waiheke Island and Kawarau Gorge in Central Otago and benefit from the moderating effect of the maritime climate as no vineyard is more than 80 miles from the ocean. With plentiful sunshine hours and cool evening sea breezes, the grapes thrive.
Sauvignon Blanc is the major white variety people will think of when you mention New Zealand Whites, however fantastic Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and less commonly Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Blanc. Pinot Noir is the most widely planted red variety in New Zealand although Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (Bordeaux Blends), Syrah are also grown and in even smaller amounts, Tempranillo and Montepulcianos can too be found. Sparkling wines of very high standards are also made in New Zealand.
The key wine regions in New Zealand include Auckland, Canterbury, Central Otago, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough and Nelson.
Gisborne
The Gisborne wine region is the first wine region in the world to see the new day's sun and was the first place Captain Cook hopped ashore as the first European to arrive in New Zealand. Located on the most easterly point of the north island, at the northern end of Poverty Bay, Gisborne gets a lot of sunlight hours when compared to other New Zealand wine growing regions.
The regions receives good shelter from the mountains in the west, though is still exposed to cyclones that can have a significant impact on the yield and quality of certain vintages. The soils in Gisborne are predominantly alluvial loams on sandy or volcanic subsoils, suiting the key varieties that grow there.
Chardonnay is the main grape variety for the region although other white varieties like Gewürztraminer, Chenin Blanc, and Riesling are lesser quantities of Viogner are produced. The reds have not been as successful in Gisborne as the whites, though small amounts are grown.
The region is home to only a handful of wineries, less than two dozen in total with the most well known being Millton. Instead, the majority of vineyards are in holdings of large wine companies based elsewhere. The almost-perfectly-flat Gisborne plain is the site for most vineyards, however in more recent times, the gently sloping land in outlying areas of Gisborne has also been planted to vine.
About the brand Giesen Wines
The Giesens converted a Marlborough dairy farm into vineyards in 1993, and now own or manage around 283 hectares (700 acres) in the region. These vineyards give rise to a diverse range of white, red, sparkling and dessert wines.
One of Giesen's top wines, the August 1888, is a Sauvignon Blanc named after the brothers' grandfather. Unlike the winemaking process for most Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, grapes intended for The August are hand-harvested, fermented in barrel with indigenous yeasts, and aged on the lees for almost a year before bottling to create a richer expression of the variety.
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