Wine: A kind of magic

This week I’ve had a hankering for salubrious syrah and magical malbec. I’ve found a selection that’ll put spice in your step and hairs on your chest, especially if you’ve got a little bit of cash in your hand.

Vidal Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2015 $25

Winemaker Hugh Crichton has created a cracker of a syrah that's intensely perfumed with blackcurrant, peppercorn, bitter cocoa and saturated all that with loads of dark fruits, hints of leather and loaded with long, lip-puckering tannins. Mouthwateringly good, it's a syrah that should cost double in my book. Superb stuff.

Sip with: pulled beef and mushroom stroganoff.

Bodegas Sottano Reserva de Familia Mendoza Malbec 2012 $43

Brothers Diego, Pablo and Maurico Sottano head this impressively modern Argentinian operation, yet their family have farmed in Mendoza since 1890. Prepare for a whoomph of pepper, salted cocoa, leather and soy on the nose, followed by elegant, dried herb and wild game complexity on the palate.

Sip with: slow-cooked beef short ribs - arriba!

Millton Clos de Ste. Anne The Crucible Syrah 2015 $70

Google will tell you "the crucible" is a play about the Salem witch trials. Wikipedia will tell you a "crucible" is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. I'm going with the latter in this case. Sourced from a tiny, hillside heat-trap just outside of Gisborne, it's glossy, packed with white pepper and shows iodine and soy-like complexity on the finish. Age-worthy and wickedly good.

Sip with: peppered venison.

Yvonne Lorkin is co-founder and chief tasting officer of winefriend.co.nz and a Wine Writers of NZ member.