Longbush Wines 'Bird Series' Merlot 2019

SKU
LBMR201910 UCNZ
  • Humble but quietly powerful- like the native Kiwi.
  • An easy drinking Merlot with subtle complexity.
  • Proudly supporting the Longbush Waikereru Eco-Sanctury.
  • 1 or more bottles
    $17.99
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  • Sam Kim
    4.5 points

Editors notes

Humble but quietly powerful- like the native Kiwi. A very pretty bouquet of raspberry, boysenberry & cinnamon spice. Light, but juicy red & dark fruit flavours with hints of forest floor & clove offers an easy drinking Merlot with subtle complexity. Proudly supporting the Longbush Waikereru Eco-Sanctury.

Details

Tasting Profile

  • Light (Light)
    Full (Full)
  • Low Tannin (Low Tannin)
    Tannic (Tannic)
  • Sweet (Sweet)
    Dry (Dry)
  • Low Acidity (Low Acidity)
    High Acidity (High Acidity)
  • Aroma
    • Cassis
    • Plum
    • Red Fruits
  • Palate
    • Cherry
    • Plum
    • Redcurrant

Food Pairings

  • Pork
  • Red Meat

Critic Scores & reviews

  • Sam Kim

    4.5
    "This is delightfully fruited and fragrant on the nose showing dark plum, spiced cherry, thyme, clove and almond characters. It's succulent and plump on the palate, delivering lovely rounded mouthfeel and silky texture, leading to a lengthy smooth finish. Well composed and harmonious with spicy complex flavours."

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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 Longbush Wines

Longbush Wines is a family-owned and operated winemaking company located in Gisborne, New Zealand. Owner John Thorpe has been winemaking for 29 years and still finds the annual harvest exciting and challenging, "there are always new developments in the business, different weather patterns effecting harvest and new markets to explore".

The brand Longbush Wines originates from a winding stretch of native forest called 'Longbush' which runs alongside the Waimata River in Gisborne. Waimata is owned by John’s elder sister Dame Anne and her husband Jerry Salmond and has been restored into an eco-sanctuary for NZ native birds and plant species. Annie is a professor of Anthropology and in 2014 she was awarded New Zealander of the Year - a great honour.

The selection of wines Longbush produces plays to the region's strengths, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Viognier and Merlot of which a Merlot-Rose is also made. Longbush also produces their own Methode Champanoise under the Cosmos, Eclipse and Luna brands.

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