Village Vineyards Rosé of Merlot

The Evans family used to own an orchard on the edge of Havelock North in Hawke’s Bay called the Village Orchard. The orchard ended up being covered with houses but when they were able to purchase a tiny 1.5 hectare vineyard block near the famous Te Mata Elston Chardonnay block they brought back the name. Son, Rhys, is the viticulturist, winemaker, cellar door manager and everything in between, while father Dai can often be found on the tractor. This rosé of Merlot is one of their newest releases, and one of the reasons it’s so delish is that Rhys picks the grapes based on flavour, which is surprisingly not something every rosé producer does.