Petane Station Eskdale Merlot Cabernet Franc

Please note: Due to Cycle Gabrielle a number of Petane Station wines (based in the Eskdale) have damaged labels due to the flood damage.

There’s a lot to love about this family owned, boutique Eskdale, Hawke’s Bay producer….the wine and the story!

Petane Station is the heart and soul of husband and wife team Philip and Sarah. The story began when winemaker Philip went into a local marketing firm to get help for his new wine label – he left with the Petane Station label and one of the marketing girls! Yep, he won the heart of Sarah and six months later they were engaged. “He didn’t have to pay for the new label” joked Sarah.

There’s a whole lot of TLC that goes into this wine that’s for sure – including every bottle in the production being picked by hand and individually numbered!

From a really good 2021 Hawke’s Bay vintage this is gorgeous Bordeaux blend of Merlot (71%), Cabernet Franc (24%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%) using fruit from the hills and valley floor in Eskdale, aged for 18 months in oak (20% being fancy – and expensive – new French oak!).

Philip is clearly pretty happy with this one – “The classic right bank dominant Bordeaux blend is a bold, full bodied and fruit forward Merlot/Franc…dark fruit flavours of black plum, blueberries and cocoa saturate the palate. Thoughtful cellaring will see this wine continue to develop and evolve for another 10+ years.”