Elephant Hill Le Phant Rouge

Here’s an Elephant everyone in the room will want to talk about – Elephant Hill Le Phant Rouge!

Elephant Hill are a Hawke’s Bay producer with class and style. They set the bar sky high when it comes to quality and that might be something to do with their German owners, Roger and Reydan Weiss, that spare no expense in running this state of the art winery located on the stunning Te Awanga coastline, and boast one of the finest winery restaurants in NZ!

Le Phant might be an Elephant missing the “E” at the start but that’s about all it’s missing. Le Phant is a medium to full bodied, Hawke’s Bay Bordeaux blend made up of Merlot (40%), Syrah (36%), Tempranillo (14%), Malbec (8%) with a 1% splash of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The fruit comes from three sub regions in Hawke’s Bay – the Sea Vineyard in Te Awanga, Earth Vineyard in Bridge Pa Triangle and the Stone Vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels.

This is your classic medium to full bodied Bordeaux blend style red with loads of plush, dark savoury fruits. It’s succulent and smooth and while seriously drinkable now, you can comfortably tuck a few bottles away until 2029

Scoring 94/100 with Master of Wine Bob Campbell, Bob said “A blend of 40% merlot, 36% syrah, 14% tempranillo, 8% malbec, 1% cabernet sauvignon and 1% cabernet franc from three sub-regions. Unsurprisingly the plum-like character of merlot dominates and is flattered by spicy syrah and tempranillo. The flavours are harmonious and the balance perfect.”

Head to Elephant Hill’s very flash restaurant there on the Te Awanga coastline and try Le Phant with their Duck breast, ginger kumera puree, kimchi, bbq tofu, crisp shallot. Divine!