Elephant Hill Stone Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2019 $60 Deep, richly structured Merlot sourced from the Gimblett Gravels has had a floral boost from a splash of 8% cabernet franc sourced from the Bridge Pa Triangle sub-region, and the result is an absolutely plush and perfectly balanced, refreshing red wine stacked with classic damson plum, dark … Read More
merlot
Decibel Wines Gimblett Gravels Testify Red Blend 2019
Decibel Wines Gimblett Gravels Testify Red Blend 2019 $56 Testify is the flagship red from Dan Brennan at Decibel and this vintage, from one of the holy trinity of Hawke’s Bay harvests (2019, 2020 & 2021) is a stonkingly good, certified organic blend of 60% malbec and 40% merlot which roars with spiced berry energy, … Read More
Main Divide North Canterbury Merlot Cabernet 2020
Main Divide North Canterbury Merlot Cabernet 2020 $18-$21 A lipsmacking blend of classic varieties produces a plummy, cocoa and blueberry-laced wine that’s ripe, spicy and very easy to drink. It’s a smile-inducing, uncomplicated style that’ll work nicely with anything meaty. Just drink it, don’t overthink it. Main Divide
Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2020
Leveret Estate Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet 2020 $25.99 Paired with: The Ultimate Beef Burgers by Annabel Langbein in the NZ Herald Jan 28 2023 Eating burgers isn’t something you can do sexily. Unless you’re Anya Taylor-Joy of course. Her character Margot gets to masticate Chef Slowik’s meaty offering in that mind-bending movie The Menu. … Read More
Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Hieronymus 2019
Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Hieronymus 2019 $125 A blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, (clone 10), 29% cabernet franc (clone 326) and 11% merlot (clone 181) sourced from predominantly their ‘Stone’ Gimblett Gravels vineyard, this wine is the epitome of what the Elephant Hill team can achieve from an excellent vintage. Inky-dark and glossy, this wine … Read More
Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2020
Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2020 $40 If I were in a hostage situation and the gunman said “Somebody better tell me what’s the greatest local Bordeaux-style red wine that I can buy for under fifty bucks, in the next five seconds or the granny gets it!” I would be hollering “Te Mata Awatea … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot Malbec 2021
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot Malbec 2021 $25 One thing will become super-obvious when inhaling the scent of this Bordeaux blend from Hawke’s Bay’s famous Gimblett Gravels region. Meatiness. It’s rich, savoury and roaring with roasting pan juices on the nose. Combine that with dark blueberry, plum, pepper and bay leaf layers, black olive … Read More
Pask Gimblett Gravels CMMF 2019
Pask Gimblett Gravels CMMF 2019 $22 Holy berries Batman! Those Paskers really know how to blend. This absolutely champion combination of Cabernet Sauvignon 43.8% Malbec 18.8%, Merlot 16%, Cabernet Franc 6.8% is super-stylish, spice-dusted and saturated with ripe plums, leather and cocoa layers and a dusting of liquorice. 2019 was a sensational vintage for Hawke’s … Read More
Pask Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019
Pask Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019 $22 Wow! Prepare for an instant hit of tobacco, sweet cedar, cocoa-dusted plums and bouquet garni herbs which will sail up your nostrils and morph into fabulous flavours on the palate. Grown in one of the holy trinity of vintages (2019/2020/2021) it’s a stunningly ripe, spice-saturated merlot with a long … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2020
Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2020 $22 If there’s a range of wines that consistently, crowd-wowingly over-delivers for the money, it’s the Mills Reef Reserves. 2020 is fast being written into the stone tablets of wine bibles as being an exceptional year for Hawke’s Bay reds and this plump, plush, mouthcoatingly rich and cocoa-crammed … Read More