Trinity Hill - Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot (2002) - 17/20

So - I was minding my own business, walking down a local New World supermarket in Manawatu, when I just happened to spy a row of black coloured wine bottles, containing a meritage blend of grapes with 8 years of age, from a well respected Hawkes Bay winery.

Fantastic - who needs to cellar wine when you can buy this sort of quality, ready to drink, at the local market?

62% Cabernet sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 10% cabernet franc
Alcohol : 13.5%
My Rating : 17 / 20 - Three and a half stars

Produced and bottled from the Gimblett Road area by Trinity Hill, you know that you're going to get a serious wine - and the $35 supermarket price tag seems fair value.

Initial tastes are dense, deep fruit, a firmly structured red with strong drying tannins. It is a solid, serious red with significant oak and chocolate undercurrents, spice and tar flavours. Blueberries and spice.

I saved a couple of glasses for the next day, vacuum pump sealing the bottle overnight, and the palete had barely changed, still retaining that complex savoury taste.

It's good but does really need some food to go with it as it is a big, big flavour. It was perfect with roast meats - roast pork in this case. Mmmm.