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"Grown on the steep terraced hillside flanking the winery at Bay View, Hawke's Bay, this is a strikingly bold, dark wine with bottomless depth of blackcurrant, plum, and spice flavours.  Merlot and Malbec are typically the major ingredients, supplemented by Cabernet Franc; the Malbec (45% in 1998) gives 'perfume, spice, tannin, and brilliant colour'.  The vines' yields are very low, averaging only 5 tonnes per hectare, and the wine is matured for 15 to 18 months in all-new French oak barriques.  The 2000 vintage is powerful and intense, but slightly more elegant than earlier releases and more approachable in its youth.  Boldly coloured but not opaque, it is beautifully fragrant and supple, with deep cassis, plum, and spice flavours, very fresh and vibrant, sweet-fruit characters and finely balanced tannins.  It needs less cellaring time than past vintages; open 2004+."  Michael Cooper's  Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines 2004.