BEST MERLOT, CABERNET AND BLENDS

Man O’war Waiheke Island Blend 2019 ($31.50) ★★★★★

Cabernet franc-dominant wines are rare over here, especially at this price and quality level. Winemaker Duncan Mctavish’s 2019 unleashes powerful aromas of blackcurrant, liquorice and spice that osmose into a palate packed with dark berries, bay leaf, chocolate and coffee and finishes with lingering, leathery tannins. It’s a muscular rich, red wine you’d want to cuddle up on the couch with.

manowar.co.nz

Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2019 ($25)

★★★★★

Brilliant value here from Paul Dawick, master of the dark arts of crafting impenetrably inky cabernet dominant deliciousness. Erupting with boysenberry, plum and a whiff of dark mint chocolate, it’s a lush, leather-clad, sinewy wine that oozes personality and charm. wineportfolio.co.nz

Monowai Upper Reaches

Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2020 ($26)

★★★★★

Straight out of the gate, I’m calling this the best merlot I’ve ever tasted from Hawke’s Bay’s Matapiro subregion. The grape gods shone down on husband and wife winegrowing team Emma Lowe and Marcelo Nunez in 2020, because they’ve produced a silky, stylish, vibrantly spiced, fruit soaked sensation. Elegantly proportioned, boosted with blueberry and peppered cocoa, the tannins have gentle grip and cling and I absolutely love it.

monowai.co.nz

Stone Paddock by Paritua

Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2018 ($25)

★★★★★

Bursting with boysenberries and dark cocoa on the nose, this wine also boasts a flummery of florals, and a fang of furry tannins on the finish. Flummery, fang, and furry are three of my favourite F-words, and this vintage of Stone Paddock merlot is love and marriage, horse and carriage stuff for my palate. Balanced, bold, and beautifully structured, this wine is solid on spice, crammed full of creamy cocoa notes, and tickled with tobacco. I can only love it more if I’m sipping it with lasagne.

paritua.com