Esk Valley Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 1998, Hawkes Bay, NZ

This comes from a single steep north-west facing terraced vineyard around the winery, in the valley from which it takes its name. This property was established in the 1940s and then replanted in 1989. A blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, only 13 vintages of The Terraces have been released since the first in 1991.

The portfolio includes two other tiers, the Esk Valley range, and the Winemakers Reserve. Other red wines include Pinot Noir, Syrah and Bordeaux blends from the Gimblett Gravels, an area synonymous with high quality Hawkes Bay reds. Whites include the aforementioned Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, Chenin Blanc and several Chardonnays.

The original winery, called Glenvale, was built in 1933, although the site had been occupied by local Maori for at least 500 years before that. In the 1980s, the winery went into receivership and was bought by the founder of Villa Maria, Sir George Fistonich.

The original concrete fermentation vats (vat number two was specifically reserved for Terraces grapes) were used in red wine production at the winery until 2018, when all of Villa Maria's Hawke's Bay operations were moved to a newly-built winery on the Gimblett Gravels (neighboring the former Te Awa winery site).

In a turbulent period with both the shift in production location and the later acquisition of Villa Maria by Indevin in 2021, the Terraces vineyard (by far the group's most expensive vineyard site to run, given the requirements of the terraced viticulture there) and the neighboring former Esk Valley winery site were sold to the former owner and head of Villa Maria, Sir George Fistonich.

The arrangements concerning the production of grapes at The Terraces site has not been disclosed and it is not yet clear whether fruit from the site is being made under the Esk Valley brand or the new Fistonich Family Vineyards operation, established by Fistonich following his exit from Villa Maria.