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Buy OnlineA great offer from this upcoming Hawkes Bay winery. Best described as a "Powerhouse Malbec blend" – inky dark, mouthfilling, engaging, intense. Enjoyable now but also a worthy contender for the cellar.
Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"Our powerhouse Gimblett Gravels Malbec dominant blend. This speaks to Daniel's entire career of making Malbec. Pair now with your boldest red wine food matches or age this premium wine for as long as you can resist.
If there’s a ‘big’ wine in my lineup it is this one. But keeping with the Testify mantra, it’s still a wine of purity and elegance and truly the best Hawke’s Bay red I could in each vintage. From the first 2016 rendition I made of purely Malbec, this has evolved to include Syrah. Coming off the certified organic Gimblett Gravels vineyard this wine is intense, structured and quite peppery making for an intriguing experience."
Reviews for the 2019 vintage below…
5 Stars & 95/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, March 2023 (2019 Vintage)
"A blend of 60% malbec and 40% merlot. Dense, ripe, sweet berry fruit, plum, chocolate/moccha and vanilla flavours. Generously proportioned wine that is deliciously accessible now but promises to deliver much more with further bottle age. Drink 2023 – 2033."
5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, March 2023 (2019 Vintage)
"Superbly ripe and perfumed, the bouquet shows blackcurrant, Black Doris plum, floral, olive and cedar characters. The palate displays excellent concentration and richness, wonderfully structured by fine texture and chalky tannins. It's robust and sturdy with silky mouthfeel, finishing impressively long and engaging. 60% Malbec & 40% Merlot from the Gimblett Gravels. Certified organic. At its best: now to 2034."
5 Stars Yvonne Lorkin (2019 Vintage)
"Testify is the flagship red from Dan Brennan at Decibel and this vintage, from one of the holy trinity of Hawke’s Bay harvests (2019, 2020 & 2021) is a stonkingly good, certified organic blend of 60% malbec and 40% merlot which roars with spiced berry energy, mocha notes wrapped around a core of meaty layers on the mid-palate. Finishing with generously proportioned, muscular tannins, it deserves a large, swirlable glass or another 6-7 yrs in the cellar. Powerful stuff."
Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, March 2023 (2019 Vintage)
"From the Decibel Wines collection comes this ripe, fragrant and fruity example from the Gimblett Gravels with aromas and flavours of dark plums and blackberry fruits, there’s layers of soils and barrel spices, smoky toasty qualities and a harmonious tempting core. As the wine develops on the palate flavours of chocolate and baking spices begin to emerge, there’s also a backbone of acidity and firm youthful tannins that need time and food to tame – not for too long though. Well made, as always, with persistent flavours and textures and a dry lengthy finish. Best drinking from late 2024 through 2030+."
93/100 Decanter, June 2023 (2019 Vintage)
"Intense leather, plum, earth and tobacco on the nose. Juicy, fruit-forward palate with plenty of refined dark and red fruit, and lots of spice. A well-integrated, complex wine. One to have with steak."
5 Stars & 18.5/20 (93) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, April 2023 (2019 Vintage)
"Full, deep ruby-red with a dark purple core, lighter on edge. The nose is piquant with aromas of plum, red currant, blackcurrant, and a hint of herb alongside tobacco, spice, liquorice and minerals. Full-bodied, aromas of plum, red and blackcurrant melded with vine leaf, tobacco, dark minerals, liquorice, clove and cinnamon bark. Fine-grained tannins entwined with graphites, lined a firm framework. Tangy acidity carries spice and a sustained finish. This structured Red Blend shows a red fruit core enriched by oak spice and a firm tannin structure supported by a tangy acid line. Match with lamb or beef over the next 6+ years. A blend of Malbec 60%, Merlot 40% from William Murdoch vineyard, 100% destemmed, lightly crushed, cold macerated for 5 days before wild fermented to 14% alc, partial co-ferment. Aged 24 months in French barriques, 20% new oak. Certified organic."
John Saker (2019 Vintage)
"Malbec makes up 60% of this blend (the remaining 40% being Merlot) and does not shirk from its leading role. The scents are deep and full – dark wild berries, more of the earth than the light. There is a quiet intensity to the palate. Beautifully ripe fruit holds its line and delivers different shades at the dark end of the spectrum. Finishes elegantly and beautifully with a sense of completion and just a hint of chew. This is a deftly made, splendid example of what Hawkes Bay can do with these two varieties."
