Mount Maunganui based illustrator Ross Murray has partnered with Winesmiths on designs for its cask wines. Photos / supplied
Mount Maunganui based illustrator Ross Murray has partnered with Winesmiths on designs for its cask wines. Photos / supplied
Looking for a decent cask wine? Retailing at $20-$25, a new range of two-litre casks, branded Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition, costs the equivalent of $7.50-$9 per 750ml.
Designed by Mt Maunganui-based illustrator Ross Murray, the packaging features colourful images of dinghies, fish, shells, beach balls, sun umbrellas (you getthe picture). Once opened, the wines will stay fresh for weeks. An advertisement for the sauvignon blanc says you can “savour it even six Saturdays on”.
Although the packaging is distinctly Kiwi, these are South Australian wines, made by Hill-Smith Family Estates, which owns Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, Yalumba. Hill-Smith also owns the Nautilus winery in Marlborough.
Overall, I prefer the reds. New Zealand’s cool climate for viticulture is ideal for producing aromatic, flavour-packed, appetisingly crisp white wines. Australia’s relative warmth gives it an edge over New Zealand in terms of ripening heavy crops of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, ideal for producing low-priced but attractive reds.
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Pinot Gris NV
★★½
Eminently gluggable, this fresh, medium-bodied wine has a sliver of sweetness and peach, pear and spice flavours. It is lively and well balanced. (12.5% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Chardonnay 2024
A decent, all-purpose dry white. Vibrantly fruity, it is medium- to full-bodied, with peachy, citrusy flavours, balanced acidity and a creamy-smooth finish. (12.5% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Dry Rosé 2023
★★½
Enjoyable now, this pink/slight-orange wine has strawberry, spice and peach flavours, with a hint of earthiness and a basically dry finish. (12.5% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Shiraz 2023
★★½
This mouthfilling, smooth red has well-ripened, berryish, gently spicy flavours. It lacks richness but offers very easy drinking. (13.5% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★
This light-bodied wine is plain, with decent depth of fresh, green apple-like flavours, but little that would excite fans of Marlborough sauvignon blanc. (10.5% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Merlot 2022
★★★
This is a very “cruisy” red, with mouthfilling body and generous red berry, plum and dark chocolate flavours, ripe and smooth. (13.5% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25.
Wine of the week
Winesmiths The Ross Murray Edition Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
★★★½
My pick of the line-up. Full-bodied, it has very good depth of ripe blackcurrant, red berry, plum and spice flavours, hints of dark chocolate and nuts, and a moderately firm finish. Fine value. (13% alc/vol, 2 litres) $20-$25
