Craggy Range, Hawkes Bay (New Zealand) 2010

 Craggy Range focuses on making wines from individual, single vineyards in an attempt to capture the flavors of a unique site.  I don’t have sufficient experience with vineyard sites for red wines in New Zealand to know whether they succeeded in that goal.  But they certainly have succeeded in making a gorgeous wine.  A Merlot-dominant (80%) Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Franc (8%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%) and Malbec, the Te Kahu is silky and voluptuous without being overblown.  There’s enough structure and non-fruit elements to keep it interesting and a pleasure to drink, not just taste, throughout a meal.  Beautifully proportioned, it glossy texture allows you to enjoy it now.  And it’s a great value, delivering far more complexity than the price suggests.