Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

Courtesy CJ Pask Wines We purchased this wine just before we found out Shannon was pregnant and she graciously allowed her Mom and I to enjoy this one on a lovely late Spring evening that ended a very warm day.  We love warm weather. We enjoyed barbecue chicken with fresh avocado and balsamic tomatoes.  That paired wonderfully with a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc.  This wine from CJ Pask is from Hawkes Bay and is reminiscent of a number of great Sauv Blancs we have had over the last year or so.  Tropical fruit abound in the nose and make for a great tasting experience. Shannon smelled this and immediately mentioned green mango which we all agreed led the way followed closely by starfruit and maybe some papaya.  Great nose! The wine was absolutely crystal clear with a very light yellow colour and a very evident greenish tinge.  It was pale in colour for sure but again really familiar with the others we have tried previously. The flavours are really nic...

This New Zealand Merlot from Hawkes Bay was on sale at our local NSLC down $5 from $16.99.  At the price we decided to give it a go. The wine had a very toasted oak nose with Toffee and Mocha but it was not overly strong.  It was a nice smelling wine and had a very fruity taste profile.  It had a rustic sensibility and we would have a tough time picking this out as a Kiwi wine if we tasted it blind. It wasn't a fruit bomb and being that NZ is not as big a Merlot producer as it is for Pinot Noir that is not a surprise. The wine definitely mellowed once it was decanted and it also became more elegant. We liked this wine but at $11.99 we REALLY liked this wine.     Tasting Notes:   Score: Sight (0-5)  Medium dark Red Wine with the nice body when swirled in the glass.  3.5 Smell (0-5)  Strong notes of toffee and mocha with some fruit but it smelled a lot darker than it tasted.  4.0 Taste (0-10)  When first poured it was ...