Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Le Phant Rouge 2021 $28 
From the holy trinity of Hawke’s Bay vintages (2019, 2020, 2021) comes a blend of 40% merlot, 36% syrah, 14% tempranillo, 8% malbec, 1% cabernet sauvignon and 1% cabernet franc grown across their three vineyard sites, 13% from the ‘Sea’ vineyard at Te Awanga, 53% from the ‘Earth’ vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle and 34% from the ‘Stone’ Gimblett Gravels vineyard. Crammed with dark berries, softly smoky tobacco and toasty oak notes, hints of liquorice and roasting pan scratchings, it’s a robust, savoury, spice-soaked smorgasbord of a blend that’s all sorts of saucy and seductive to sip.
