Despite the mild start to the winter, August has certainly brought the chill. When temperatures get to below 0 we reach for the full-bodied red wines. There is nothing better, after the hard day at the office, than sitting in front of the fire (or below the heat pump) and sipping a soul-warming red.

However, not all red wines are created equal. Here are a few of our favourites:

1. Burn Cottage Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014 – You can’t beat a Central Otago Pinot Noir and this one is certainly no exception. It possesses a wonderful energy on the palate: vibrant acidity lends the wine a juicy quality followed by good richness, yet the wine is not at all fat. The tannins are very complete and complex across the mouth and the finish is long, powerful and mouth staining.

2. Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – This excellent Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a single vineyard in Margaret River. It is a powerful and intense wine with a deep concentrated marriage of fruit flavours including red and black currants, liquorice and courveture. For a food match, try it with roast lamb.

3. Dunleavy ‘The Grafter’ Syrah 2014 - This Syrah comes from the world famous for its wine Waiheke Island. It’s from a single vineyard and hits your palate with a taste of fresh raspberries, white pepper, thyme and cedar spices.

4. Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz 2012 – Named after the winemaker’s children, Mitolo G.A.M Shiraz is one of Mitolo’s flagship wines. The wine is fruity with a taste of blackberry and plum, supported by quality savoury oak flavours of mocha and vanilla.

5. Black Estate ‘Home’ Pinot Noir 2014 – The last wine on our list is also a Pinot Noir but this time from the Waipara Valley. Aromas of red cherry, tamarillo, fertile earth, and vanilla, with and underlying spice and white mineral note. The pallet is silken with emerging fine grain tannin providing great tension and mouth feel.

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