Retail Price: $26.50
Appellation: Central Otago, New Zealand
Purchase at: stationimports.com
Haydn gives it 87 points

This wine shines in the glass, with a beautiful display of a gleaming brick red color. It’s only 2 years old and has the enthusiasm of being young and fresh with the rim further confirming its youthfulness. Yet don’t let the color of this wine throw you off. What it lacks in density, it picks up on the palate.

The aromas on the nose were pleasant, with hints of blackberry and cranberry, dancing beautifully together. There are no hints of earth or dirt at first in this wine. I imagine, after laying down in the cellar, that it would pick up a little, but overall, you’ll be smelling fruit.

The palate of this wine picks up some spiciness characteristics immediately on the tongue and at first, even attacks the front part of my tongue. In addition, a fair bit of tannins could be felt with this wine. On the mid-palate, along with the spicy aspect were still the blackberry and cranberry components. The wine was fairly silky and slipped right along and straight on to the finish. 

The spicy aspect of the wine dropped off and the berries continued to linger for just a little bit longer on the finish. I was hoping for a bit more to happen at the end, but it will delivered a smile to my mouth. 

While you could drink this solo, I’d probably recommend some sort of meal to go along with this wine, possibly a game hen or some type of turkey dish. The wine is a wonderful deal for its price point at $26.50. It’s a good wine to get a taste of Central Otago. 

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Haydn S. Adams is a wine author and reviews wines for wineries all over the world. For all reviews, check out his blog at www.beyondnapavalley.com/blog/