Beautiful bright colour, deep but glowing, positively abloom with promise. Very French, smells of board-rooms; you know, oak tables, tobacco, ashtrays and serious matters. The pink blinds of the Financial Times snap shut and someone questions your validity. No fraud here, Maude, just honest, authentic meaty, darkly-berried Merlot magic. The perfectly balanced tannic presence is slightly grainy, like the reception on the Phillips K9 you resurrected to watch the Rugby World Cup and which still sits in a corner of the lounge, fondly. Region / Country: Hawkes Bay, New Zealand Varietal: Merlot Food Match: Game and Meat