2004 Mount Riley Merlot/Malbec

[Skeeter]

Picked up on special after a very good write-up in Cuisine magazine, and a pleasant experience tasting it's bargain-priced Chardonnay sibling.

Tons of body, rich, masses of ripe berryfruit and red plum flavours and a nice peppery kick to the aftertaste. long finish. Worth all five of the stars Cuisine awarded it, and the best-value for money wines I've found in ages. (Around 16-19 NZ dollars, depending on where and when you buy it.)

Thumbs WAY up!

[winoweenie]

Hi Skeets. I've placed this on the " Look-fer list". WW

[Innkeeper]

Sounds like an interesting combo, not unlike the Tannat/Merlot blend from SW France that we've been into. So you have a Cuisine magazine over there. Where does it originate? We used to have a good one with that name here in the States.

[Skeeter]

Cuisine is a New Zealand-produced magazine that's been running since 1986. Here's the link to their website

www.cuisine.co.nz

Their wine section still has tasting notes going back to early 2000... too bad most of those vintages will be long gone.