I’m enjoying this wine. It’s superbly polished and sleek, with a seductive personality, fusing lush, ripe ‘New World’ fruit with the freshness and definition of the ‘Old World’. It’s not the most complex wine ever, but it is incredibly drinkable. It’s the ideal wine for serving to a broad spectrum of drinkers. There’s enough interest here for the wine geek to enjoy it, and it’s so smooth and friendly that the average punter could really get on with it. And it has this broad appeal without being spoofy.
And a note about Hawkes Bay. It should definitely be without the apostrophe, in my opinion. Makes life easier for everyone.
Kaituna Hills Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2010 Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Sweet, ripe, pure blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Very smooth and seductive with smooth texture and fine-grained tannins. Yet it avoids being sweet and spoofy. Stylish and accessible, this is a real crowd pleaser. Impressive winemaking. 88/100 (£9.49 Marks & Spencer)
Wrong place to leave this – sorry. Referring to you your main article on Le Coste di Gradoli, you call them a natural winemaker but then say they farm biodynamically. Aren’t these two systems at odds, with BD farming requiring constant and targeted intervention in the vineyard? Not many natural farmers would consider the burning of predators and spreading their ashes in the vineyard, the use of milk and blood products, ritualistic timing of everything from planting to harvest to bottling – as natural. Perhaps we could say their aims are similar, but the process is not – perhas another reason why average consumers find wine so confusing so just drink it now rather then read about it?
I think M&S have a 25% off all wine offer at the moment…..
Does Lynn Truss know about this?