The temperature at which you serve cabernet merlot and similar blends makes a difference to their enjoyability. If they are too cold the tannins can be harsh and grippy, but if they are at room temperature, around 18degC-20degC, the tannins appear softer and the fruit lusher and more aromatic.
BEST VALUE
$25
Three and a half stars (out of five)
Good value
Lush, dark berries with a hint of spice, rich, velvety and concentrated in the mouth with a firm backbone, fine-grained tannins and a lingering aftertaste.
BEST VALUE
$29
Four stars
Good value
At four years old this is beautifully mellowed with plummy fruit nicely integrated with savoury, spicy oak.
Drinking nicely now and for another year or so.
$22
Three stars
Average value
A simple wine, spicy with hints of red berries and beetroot, a silky texture, savoury undertones and a crisp, juicy, but slightly hard finish.
$32
Three and a half stars
Below average value
This is Villa's second vintage of grenache, a variety that originates in the southern Rhone in France, and is a major component of Chateau Neuf du Pape. It's fragrant, oozing sweet ripe red berries, with underlying spiciness and a lively finish with lingering dusty tannins.
$33
Three and a half stars
Below average value
Dark hued with opulent red fruits hinting of exotic spice, this is a big, dense wine with powerful, grippy tannins which need food - a juicy steak, for instance - to mitigate the grip.
Give it another few years' bottle age to mellow.
$73
Four and a half stars
Below average value
A classic Bordeaux blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot, this classy young wine oozes rich, velvety fruit - red berries and dried figs, supported by spicy oak and supple, fine-grained tannins and a long, firm finish. A fine wine but give it 5-10 years to show its full potential.
www. craggyrange.co.nz
Another glass
Messenger Auckland Cabernet Franc Merlot Malbec 2010
$85
Four and a half stars (out of five)
Below average value
A powerful wine designed to impress with opulent fruit suggesting rich sweet fruitcake with a dark chocolate and warm spicy undertone, a firm backbone of big tannins with a lingering, grippy finish. Give it 5 or 6 years for the tannins to soften and the fruit to mellow - lthough if you like big, showy wine, enjoy it now.
• Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
