Big is not always most enjoyable when it comes to red wine.
Despite more expensive, concentrated wines with big tannins, I kept returning to the modest, but delicious, mellow and harmonious Main Divide Merlot Cabernet - and it went particularly well with dinner after I'd done the tasting.
BEST VALUE
$20
Four stars (out of five)
Good value
Fragrant with hints of spice, plums, dark chocolate and fruitcake, a silky texture and mellowed complexities. It's a harmonious wine, nicely balanced, a pleasure to drink and goes well with food.
$15-$20
Three stars
Good value
A modest wine with hints of dark berries, dark chocolate, suggestions of mineral, spice and smoky bacon mingled with ripe fruit and a firm, lively finish.
$22
Two-and-a-half stars
Below average value
A lively, edgy young wine, purple at the rim with concentrated berry and plum fruit, simple and a tad hard at the edges with a grippy finish. Allow it a couple of years to mellow.
$29
Three-and-half stars
Average value
Fragrant with hints of spice, blackcurrants and blackberries, mocha and new leather, this is nicely balanced with juicy fruit supported by stylish oak, and a firm finish.
$39
Three stars
Below average value
Tempranillo is a red Spanish grape variety which produces stylish, long lived as well as everyday wines. This Bendigo version is savoury with a hint of mineral, dark fruit and a mellowed palate with crisp tannins. A versatile food wine - delicious with buffalo mozzarella pizza!
$50
Four-and-a-half stars
Average value
A new member of the Penfolds' Bin range, this is a single vineyard shiraz, with typically concentrated fruit, velvety texture and big tannins. From the Barossa in South Australia, it oozes spicy red fruits, dark chocolate and oak, with a savoury undertone and powerful, long finish. It should find a following among collectors of Penfolds wines.
ANOTHER GLASS
Penfolds Bin 407 South Australian Cabernet 2008
$50
Four stars
Average value
Collectors of the 407 will want to add this vintage to their cellar with its typically rich dark berries and plums, suggestions of eucalyptus and spice, mouthfilling mid-palate, firm structure, lively finish and characteristic, fine-grained tannins. Good drinking for 10-15 years.
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2008
$50
Four stars
Launched about 50 years ago, the 389 has numerous followers who will not be disappointed by this vintage's rich velvety texture, bright red and dark fruits with a hint of mineral and mint, cinnamon and beeswax, smoky oak and the characteristic firm tannins cushioned by the soft fruit like an
iron fist in a velvet glove. Now in screwcap, this will cellar well for 30 years or more. www.penfolds.com.au
Mills Reef Reserve Hawkes Bay Syrah 2009
$25
Three stars
Below average value
A peppery wine with hints of red plums, mint and smoky bacon with lots of spicy oak softening the edginess, and a simple but supple finish.
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations. charmian.smith@odt.co.nz
Two stars - simple, clean, enjoyable wine; three stars - good wine with varietal characteristics; four stars - very good wine with some outstanding characteristics; five stars - outstanding wine with balance and harmony that leaves you with a sense of wonder.
