These impressed the other evening.

Craggy Range Te Kahu 2014 Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. 68% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc. This is beautifully fresh and focused with sweet blackcurrant fruit together with some black cherries and plums. There’s lovely balance: it’s ripe, but really well balanced with good acidity. This is tight and unfurled and has lots of potential for development. Classic and digestible, I’d love to see this in five years’ time. 94/100

Sacred Hill Deerstalkers Syrah 2014 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Cork sealed. Nice density to this, with robust, sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit with some black pepper spiciness adding framing. There’s some polish and ripeness, but also brightness and freshness. Well structured, this is a half-way house between new and old worlds in style. It has the distinctive pepper and clove of Gimblett Syrah, but it’s not overpowering. 93/100

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