Tired of summer whites and rosé wines? Longing for a robust red even if you have to match it with fish and salad? Help is at hand ...
All wines available at bitewine.co.nz for a limited time.
2013 Leveret Estate Reserve Merlot Cabernet
It's hard to find a merlot-dominant Bordeaux-style red these days. Most are cabernet-dominant, but it often depends on how the vintage went. This is a most appealing Hawkes Bay wine with grapes from the renowned red
metal soils of the Bridge Pa district. Nudging 14.5 per cent alcohol, it is a food wine crying out for a hefty piece of red meat. Drinking now but will reward careful cellaring. Finely balanced with flavours of blackcurrant, herbs, mint and chocolate.
Price: $34
2013 Mud House Claim 431 Pinot Noir
Single vineyard Central Otago (claim 431 in Bendigo, to be precise) is an area with a reputation for delivering brambly, succulent fruit. Says winemaker Nadine Worley, "It was a great growing season, which produced outstanding fruit and a pinot noir that I think will turn heads." This has bounce and character - fulsome and brimming with crushed boysenberries, dark plums, spice and elegant oak touches.
Full of generous, textured fruit, this pinot noir is bold and beautiful.
Price: $35
