Sam Hunt Hawke’s Bay Merlot Malbec 2014 $24.95 ★★★
“Winter is a warm hearth…” is a line from Hunt’s poem Rainbows and that’s exactly where I’d imagine you should enjoy this wine; either that, or with juicy, fatty snarlers sizzled and oh-so-slightly charred on the BBQ. Dark magenta-black in the glass and showing pepper, prune, rosemary and smoke characters – it’s an easy, ribsticking red for any occasion. www.lacantina.co.nz
