Recommendation: A good “new world” Cabernet/Merlot blend with firm tannins and an excellent structure, all at a great price.
Winery/Producer: Te Mata Estate Winery; Havelock North, New Zealand.
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.
Vintage: 2013
Price: $29.99 (NZ$) about $22.00 (US$) plus a $20 corking fee.
Purchased From: Glengarry Wines, City Store; Auckland, New Zealand
Paired With: Fellet of beef Wellington, pommes dauphine, asparagus and glazed vegetables with perigourdine sauce.
Tasting:
He said: Opened 30-minutes before drinking. Clear, dark purple color with a garnet color rim. Quite nice damp earth and ripe fruit aromas. Very fruity taste with a fairly long, dry, slightly dusty flavorful finish. Lots of ripe dark plum and current with every sip. Paired with the beef wellington the wine was perfect. Together the wine was smooth and delicious and the beef was flavorful and tender…a wonderful pairing where one plus one equaled three. A good “new world” Cabernet/Merlot blend with firm tannins and an excellent structure, all at a great price.
She said: Dark red, opaque, with lots of speedy legs. The aroma had alcohol hints blended with ripe dark fruit. The initial taste was dusty, dry and had a medium to full body with lots of tannins. There was an initial sharpness, perhaps due to the alcohol, but it disappeared as we sipped the wine as did the alcohol in the aroma. As we neared the end of the bottle the body became a bit light and the tannins became softer. The wine was delicious sipping before dinner and dynamite with the beef…absolutely delicious. This wine would benefit from being opened at least a couple of hours before drinking. A very nice wine that I would never have expected from New Zealand.
Comments: Purchased in an Auckland, New Zeland wine shop and consumed in the Britannia Restaurant on board the Cunard Queen Mary 2.
Alcohol: 13.5%
Bar code: 9418953 106136
Imported by: NA