A couple of years' bottle age makes a difference to the pleasure many reds afford, as age allows the acids and tannins to mellow and soften, eliminating the rough, raw edge some young wines show.
BEST VALUE
$47
Four and a half stars (out of five)
Good value
At nearly five years old, this powerful, firmly structured and complex wine is drinking well, oozing soft dark berries mellowed by hints of spice, pipe tobacco and olive. It will continue to develop.
$28
Three and a half stars
Average value
A dark, dense wine with hints of mineral, elder and other dark berries, a suggestion of spicy toasty oak, but with a slightly herbal edge and firm, grippy tannins. Will mellow with time.
$20
Three stars
Average value
A simple young wine with hints of plums, roasted beetroot, ripe boysenberries and spice with a bright finish.
$49
Four stars
Below average value
Aromatic with suggestions of pepper and newly sawn timber, lovely purity of fruit - generous, ripe, juicy boysenberries and hints of spicy oak - this is concentrated and powerful with a lively edge and dusty tannins on the finish.
$19
Three stars
Average value
Redolent with aromas of freshly sawn, sappy pine, this peppery wine oozes sweet berry fruit with a hint of spice and a firm, crisp finish, with sweet fruit lingering on the aftertaste. For those who prefer a sweeter red.
$33
Three and a half stars
Below average value
Even at nearly three years old this is youthful, changing as it sits in the glass. Spicy fruit, plums and dark berries jostle with hints of dark chocolate, held together by its firm structure and grippy tannins that will mellow with further bottle age.
Another Glass
Sacred Hill Halo Hawkes Bay Syrah 2012
$30
Three and a half stars
Below average value
Hints of dark berries, white pepper, pine and new leather, this has concentrated fruit - plums and spicy oak with a lively herbal edge and dry finish.
Mills Reef Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet 2012
$19
Three stars
Average value
Juicy, almost confected red fruits with a hint of toffee, a lively edge and dusty tannins on the finish.
