ON recent visit to Woolies I had a peek at the latest Cuisine and discovered that Aussie Shiraz and Kiwi Syrah were flavour of the month.  By a happy coincidence, Syrah is also the most popular drink to have with dinner during these chilly nights according to a poll taken by my favourite restaurant review website, dineout.co.nz.  I noted the ‘Best Buys’ from the magazine then legged it around to the wine department to see which of these were on special.  
Selaks Winemaker’s Favourite Syrah 2008 ($16) is a bargain for a wine that won a silver medal at this year’s Easter Show.  Showing the typical peppery character of NZ Syrah, it also had chocolate aromas with an underlying whiff of barnyard adding complexity.  Its bright round cherry/plum palate had a slightly acidic spiciness, acceptable for the price.
I’m a sucker for merlot, so couldn’t resist the Syrah’s sister, Selaks Winemakers Favourite Merlot Cabernet 2008 ($16), especially since it won a gold at the same show.  It smelt lovely, of olive oakiness and sweet blueberries, and in the mouth it was weighty with plum and licorice flavours.
I splashed out for the sake of comparison on one of the pricier wines rated by Cuisine (and also an elite gold medal winner at last year’s Air NZ Wine Awards).  Mills Reef Elspeth Syrah 2007 ($37 at Regional) is from the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay. It had an even nose of plum and white pepper.  Compared to the cheaper wines, this one had a long long finish, and was velvety, inky and slightly savoury.  A lovely syrah.  This wine was all about texture in the mouth – really smooth with acid around the middle and a little alcohol kick.  It was so nicely integrated it was hard to distinguish the fruit. It was, in a word, elegant.
Wine of the week: The cheapest I tried was the Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Shiraz 2008 ($12).  It smelt nice enough with aromas of roast meat and lavender, but you could pick if for an Aussie by the telltale hint of sweet lollies.  Affordable Aussie Shiraz is usually sweeter than the Kiwi Syrahs, but this one is better than most at this price point as the sweetness is balanced by dark fruit tannins and eucalypt. A good table wine to have with spicy sausages.