The drinking of this wine was inspired by my sister calling from Australia tonight. Now, before all you geographites call and/or email me to tell me that Australia is not New Zealand allow me to confirm to you that yes I know that; but after sipping and sampling over 100 wines today at a Vintages tasting I felt like going a little lighter on my palate than going with something in the heavier Aussie line, so New Zealand got the call. This Merlot had great aromas, which proved even better after pouring the wine from bottle into my Riedel "Merlot decanter". But there was also an overwhelming "heat" smell, as if the alcohol was too high. Turns out, upon checking the back label, the alcohol was a whopping 14%; mixed in with that alcohol heat was cassis, blackberry, spices, herbs and a slight woodsiness. Flavours were also quite appealing; starting with spice, moving to blackberry and cassis, then ending with some woody characteristics. There was also heat on the palate, but this did not detract from the wine's taste ... all said and done this wine was delicious, smooth and drank very nicely. The back of the bottle was right, it did cellar for 8-10 year, very well in fact.
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