Published NZ Herald Sat 12 Mar 2016
I’ve always been big on pairing wine with TV. These glorious drops got me through a Netflix binge of the pantswettingly funny ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’. They’re great sips for sore ribs.
Santagostino Nero D’Avola Syrah 2011 $30
The groovy, gothic-style circular design on the label comes from the façade of the 14th century Sicilian Santagostino Monastry in Trapani, so yes, the bottle looks good, but it tastes like money too. Liquorice, raspberry, dusty rose and pepper aromatics merge with rosehip and pomegranate flavours, fresh acidity, boldly chewy tannins and impressively lengthy persistence of flavour. (Artigiano Imports 021405616 or info@artigianoimports.co.nz)
Sip with: spice-rubbed lamb
Te Mata Estate Cape Crest Sauvignon 2014 $30
I love the fragrance of passionfruit curd, lemon blossom and hints of herbaceousness in this wine. Crafted from prime Hawke’s Bay sauvignon blanc, blended with a splash of semillon and sauvignon gris, it’s an out-there kind of style that’s less of a ‘sauvignon’ and more a ‘great white wine’. If you’ve ever tasted the whites from Bordeaux (Graves or Pessac-Leognan) then you’ll totally get what I mean. Bursting with ripe citrus fruit, a lovely layer of soft oak, piercing, yet beautifully balanced acidity and a splash of marzipan and wet stone and salt, this wine has a huge future ahead.
Sip with: steamed mussels
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2014 $25
There’s no mistaking the absolute ‘merlotness’ of this wine once that whiff of ripe plum, chocolate and spicy fruitcake hits you. It’s plump, plush and incredibly juicy in the mouth, packed with sweet, dark berryfruit and spice notes, fresh, buoyant acidity and smooth powdery tannins on the finish. The Mills Reef team have done it again; this is what Gimblett Gravels merlot is all about.
Sip with: steak
