Wines available at BITEwine.co.nz for a limited time.
Hogshead Old Vine Shiraz 2014
Fruit sourced from old vines in the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Lower Murray regions have been used to create this wine, which is glossy and dark in the glass and saturates the mouth and nostrils with ripe, rumpty raspberry and cherry notes before being boosted by blackcurrant and a lift of leather. The sweetness is grunty but it's countered by a squeak of espresso and pepper on the finish.
Price: $19
Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz 2012
The inside of the glass is coated in a film of inky magenta-black on the first swirl, while on the nose it has what I can describe only as the smell of a large bowl of ageing plums and berries slowly fermenting inside a carpenter's workshop - all earthy sawdust, old leather, machine oil and heady black fruit. It tastes exactly the same, except a seam of solid acidity keeps it buoyant and fresh on the finish. Warm, velvety and mouthcoating.
Price: $22
The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz NV
Despite being recent converts to the sparkling shiraz, Kiwis are loving it; one sip of this tongue-pumpingly sweet sparkler and you'll see why. Dark black-currant and cherry flavours merge with a blast of mocha, bitter chocolate and baking spices on the palate, plus there's a lick of zingy acidity to balance it out. Tip: it's insanely good with chocolate.
Price: $29.99
