From the Cellar: CJ Pask Gimblett Road Merlot Hawkes Bay 2008 – $$

Browning dark magenta. 14% alc.

This took a day to open up in the bottle once the stelvin was cracked.

On bouquet – soft and lush, spicy and savoury. Matchbox and cardboard. Licorice.

In the mouth – rich fruit, backing off a touch now, but not as tertiary as I might have expected. I saw prune, fig and dark chocolate flavours. Dusty tannins. Long finish. Bags of character.

VG 4