Today, we actually have a slightly more expensive bottle than my standard fare. I wasn't on the ball enough when I bought it to remember the exact price, but it was on sale, and I was enchanted enough by the awards that the bottle boasts to be willing to drop an extra couple bucks. The bottle features not one, but two separate bronze stickers, one for the 2015 New World Wine Awards, and one for the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. The latter is even a "Pure Bronze" award, which I can only assume is better than just regular old bronze.One of the first things I look for in a bottle of wine is alcohol content. As far as I can tell, 13.5% is the peak that gets sold in my local Four Square, and this bottle meets that mark, so it's already starting out strong. The label promises "lovely blackcurrant and blackberry aromas and flavours, complimented with delicate floral notes, subtle leather complexity and a lingering star anise finish." I'm immediately suspicious of these claims. Outside the blackberries, my frame of reference for these things ranges from "that is definitely not a thing I'm supposed to be tasting" to "I don't even know what that is", to "I've only ever seen this in wine". I must admit that I am excited to experience that subtle leather complexity, though.
The label also recommends pairing this with a pasta dish. This is an interesting disparity from most bottles, which typically recommend pairing with a particular meat. I can only assume I've stumbled upon a vegetarian wine, here. The proudly featured "Sustainable Winegrowing" certification could lend credence to this assumption. Unfortunately, I already ate dinner tonight, so the wine is just going to have to stand on it's own merits.
Pouring the first glass, I immediately like the color. It sits a solid couple shades darker than most of the other reds I've bought. I have no idea what implications this has to mainstream wine connoisseurs but in my rubric, color matters, and for some reason, I associate dark with class. As far as scent, nothing in particular stands out. I've also had a perpetual stuffy nose for the last 20 years, so I'm probably not the best judge of that particular metric. It's entirely possible that those floral notes could just be too "delicate" for me to fully appreciate.
I know during wine tastings, you're supposed to swish it around in your mouth for a period of time, so I'll go ahead and follow that procedure. I assume the purpose is to pass it over different parts of my tongue, because of the whole "different parts of the tongue taste different flavors" thing, even though that's been debunked for years. There's probably something to be said for different tastes coming in in a specific order, as well. This bottle does make note of a lingering star anise flavor, which I can only assume means it's one of those tastes that shows up fashionably late and sticks around.
First swig, it's immediately sweeter than what I'm used to in red wines, I might even go so far as to say it's bordering on sour. It's distinctly not vinegar-y though, which is something that plagues cheap red wines. I can't say I'm surprised. It doesn't really taste distinctly like blackberries to me, but blackberries do run pretty sweet, even as far as berries go. I also associate black currant with being relatively sweet, just based on other wine that I've had. I'm noting that holding the wine in my mouth for more than a few seconds is physically painful. There's a definite acidity here that I'm gonna have to deduct some points for. We're not about the thrill of painful tingling here at Kiwi Wine Tour. Ultimately, the sweetness gives way to a flavor that feels like it can't decide whether it wants to be bitter or tart, and gets progressively more bitter as an aftertaste. I'm reminded of black licorice, but less awful.
Early impression is that this bottle is mostly style over substance. It seems like the first glass is always the worst with wine, though. I'll report back after I've had a few more.
Alright. Half the bottle down. The acidity is still a major issue. My esophagus is definitely feeling the strain, and the sides and tip of my tongue are tingling like I just ate half a pineapple. Maybe this is a bottle that isn't meant to be drunk all in one sitting, but that's not the Kiwi Wine Tour way. The bitterness at the end has lost some of its edge, with the tartness coming to the forefront a bit more. I'm on board with tart being the predominant sensation over bitter. For me, tart is the perfect balance between bitter and sour. It's got that little bit of an edge to it, just tor remind you you're drinking something alcoholic, without pounding you over the head with it. It's not something I really associate with wine as much, but the idea of "I'm just going to make this as bitter as possible, and say you have poor taste if you don't love me for it" is something that plagues the beer sphere (looking at you IPAs). There's a subtlety to tart that I can appreciate.
I've now finished the bottle, so time for scoring. I've gotta give the presentation of this wine a solid A. As I said, I was wooed to buy it by the award stickers, and I loved the way it looked in the glass. You can't go wrong with a white and gold label, either. There's a sort of lattice pattern on the label that is actually raised, as well. The effort required to have 3D elements of your label is something I just can't ignore. As far as the actual in-mouth experience, I can't be quite as gracious. There is a certain progression of sensations that I experience with every drink, from sweet to sour to tart to bitter, that is more complex than what I generally see in like $10 merlots. I can appreciate that complexity, but I'm not sure how much that actually adds to the overall pleasure of the drinking experience. Also, the acidity is a definite problem. I'll give the drinking experience a C+, approaching B-. I've definitely had reds that I've enjoyed more, for cheaper, but this was enough of a diversion that I'm not mad about it existing. Overall, it comes out to like a B.
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