My first experience with wine from New Zealand.

The wine has a surprising color -- purple, but with a brownish-red tint that I would expect to see in much older wines. In the glass it is opaque, with rose coloring around the edges. Good legs. The nose is a mixture of berries, rhubarb, and eucalyptus.

In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied, with lots of red fruit taste, and quite a bit of the lead pencil and leather notes that make it reminiscent of the Cooper-Garrod 1997 George's Vineyard (only reminiscent, mind you -- this wine doesn't come close to the Cooper-Garrod).

This was a very pleasant bottle of wine, and is excellent QPR at $16 a bottle. I bought one to experiment, but I intend to go back and buy a case of it.