I don't know about you, but I've just had one of those weeks where anxiety rendered my shoulders permanently riveted up around my earlobes, my lips were locked in a pinched "be careful Yvonne, don't-speak-or-something-ridiculous-will-fall-out" expression and my breath seemed to live in this dry, ever-tightening pocket somewhere in the upper regions of my chest.
"Being busy is good" people say. "It keeps you out of trouble," they smile. Well it wasn't good; it felt like my lifejacket was coming loose. When you lose the ability to smile and be nice and do things like stop to pick up worms off the concrete and put them carefully onto some grass, then it's time to take action.
So the solution was to step away from the office, away from the computer, away from spreadsheets and deadlines and take an opportunity to zoom up to Auckland and taste a couple of very special wines at Villa Maria Estate. Dubbed the "Library Releases", a chardonnay and a merlot cabernet blend from Hawke's Bay were identified back in 2010 as having mystical powers upon harvest and have, until being released this week, been kept quietly aside in Villa's cool, dark cellars to evolve.
Only 190 cases of the Villa Maria Library Release Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2010 $59 were made, carefully blended from the best barrels containing fruit from their Ngakirikiri and Keltern vineyards. With captivating straw-gold colour and jaw-dropping choux pastry, citrus pith, soft, toasty spices, cashew nut and roast stonefruit characters bound in succulent, youthful acidity - it's an absolute star. The Villa Maria Library Release Gimblett Gravels Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $69 is a 62:38 blend, with spicy dark berry, plum and cherry notes, edged with cocoa powder, graphite, black olive and Bovril flavours.
My happy wine spot
