Esk Valley, Cabernet Merlot Reserve, Hawke's Bay

Still a beautiful gentle merlot dominant wine. Fruit is excellent, texture is lovely and just the last hint of acidity remaining.

Very enjoyable old red. Soft, very easy drinking, tannins well integrated, some black olive and earthy characters. You can accidentally drink these wines quickly, they're so mellow. But the non-descript bouquet was a disappointment, nearly snorted it into the lungs trying to find evidence and also expect some gentle fruit characters on the palate for wines of this calibre. So not that super for a $55 wine which was highly rated by the critics when I bought it.

Opaque core, rubied rim; ripe , forward, upfront fruit, toffeed, creamy & leafy notes; soft, lush , ÔmoderneÕ, accessible, pastilles, tannins masked; good vigour on finish, should improve, finishes short. 16