close button

Medium-Bodied Savoury Reds

Jan 8, 2013 Drinks

Medium-bodied savoury reds

Good with a wide range of dishes, especially game.


Cable Bay Pinot Noir 2011, Central Otago. $35

A more extractive style of pinot, with dark fruits, spicy oak, chewy tannins, almost a liqueur-like intensity on the palate and
a dried-fruit, savoury finish. Really needs food to show its best. 14.5 %.

Castillo de Fuenmayor Gran Familia 2010, Rioja DOCa. $20
Game-meat, fruit-spice and liquorice notes; a supple, textured wine with great panache and personality. A benchmark example of rioja
at a very sharp price. 12.5%.

Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Shiraz 2011, Rapel Valley. $16
A pretty, simple yet fruit-oriented version of syrah, with raspberry and savoury notes. The spice characters are very restrained, and the palate shows supple, juicy tannins. 13.5%.

El Burro “Kickass” Garnacha 2011, Navarra. $19  BARGAIN
Fans of rojo garnacha will recognise the intensely fruity, plump, approachable style, with juicy tannins and moderate acidity. But this is a supercharged version — very ripe and very concentrated, sure to be a barbecue hit this summer. 14%.

Kingston Estate Shiraz 2010, South Australia. $17  BARGAIN
This budget-priced Aussie red has generous dark berry fruit, moderate spice and pepper, and friendly, juicy tannins. An upfront, fruity red that should be a real crowd pleaser. 14%.

La Puerta Syrah 2012, Famatina Valley. $19  BARGAIN
This Argentine syrah is intensely fruity and ripe; currants, dried herbs, smoky bacon, with spicy overtones. Meaty and dense in the mouth, with a long, dry finish. Very smart stuff. 13.5%.

Lime Rock Merlot 2009, Hawke’s Bay. $21
An elegant, structured wine, with primary characters of plum, raspberry and leather. The outstanding feature here, though, is the lovely texture, with its fine, chalky tannins
and tight, dry finish. 14.5%.

Lime Rock Pinot Noir 2009, Hawke’s Bay. $35
Dark cherry, spice and smoky characters, not a weighty wine, yet the palate is ripe and textured. Great finesse and elegance, this is a classy, fine, dry pinot, very much like Burgundy in structure. 14.5%.

Lime Rock Pinot Noir 2007, Hawke’s Bay. $28
The older Lime Rock pinot has sweeter, more obvious fruit, yet with the same fine acid structure and chalky tannins. Moderately complex, suave and sophisticated, this will put a smile on the face of any true pinot noir fan. 13.5%.

Parusso Barbera d’Alba 2011, Piedmont DOC. $33
This northern Italian red exhibits dark berry fruit overlaid with savoury, earthy characters, moderate to high acid, but soft tannins. A characterful wine with a textured mouthfeel. 14%.

Vavasour Pinot Noir 2011, Marlborough. $34
Sweet plum and cherry fruit, enhanced by toasty oak and svelte, juicy tannins. Not especially complex, but this is a plump, fruity, generous wine, medium weight, well balanced. 14.5%.

Previously: Light and Aromatic Reds

Next: Full-Bodied Reds

 

Latest

Latest issue shadow

Metro N°441 is Out Now.

It’s our annual, inflation-busting ‘Where to Eat for Less Than $25’ list (with thanks to Uber Eats) issue! PLUS the Summer Books Special and the Auckland Property Report Card (with thanks to Barfoot and Thompson). Also, Sir Bob Harvey looks into the missing treasures in our museums and talks to Jacqui Knight about monarch butterflies. AND NOT ONLY THAT: Emil Scheffmann looks into our secondary art market, Matthew Hooton and Morgan Godfery look into the new government, Jamie Wall into the tennis, Hana Pera Aoake into the Māori response to the war in Palestine and Abby Howells into being the lion in the Wizard of Oz. We also find the 10 Best Bakeries in Auckland, a great recipe for a Japanese Breakfast and the king of the supermarket pasta brands. All this and much, much more.

Buy the latest issue