We have reached the end of dry January and it hasn't been too bad for me. Mostly because I pay no heed to the very idea of it and haven't felt the need to moderate my intake. Keen as I am on wine and other alcoholic drinks, my consumption during the Christmas period was not excessive and I felt no need to deny myself pleasure anymore in January than I would at any other time of the year. The weather has been pretty grim for the last few weeks and wines like this week's choice do lift the spirit, I think.
I am happy to have chosen a Pint Noir from central Otago, as I don't recall having tasted a bad one. This one fits the pattern nicely. It is a bright ruby colour, with suggestions of garnet which I expect would have become more prominent if I had left it unopened for a few years, smells of cherries and spice and tastes older than its three years since harvest. The tannin is smooth and the flavours hang around after the wine has been consigned to the lower reaches of the oesophagus. Happily the wine is much more elegant than the last sentence.
Devil's Creek takes its name from one of New Zealand's South Island rivers that triggered the gold rush in the 1860s, attracting people from all over the place to go and try their luck. Other than this providing the justification for naming the wine 'Gold Reserve' I can't find any significant connection with that precious metal.
In fact, despite putting in slightly more than the usual amount of effort, I can't find much about Devil's Creek at all. There seems to be link with Foley Family Wines, who are based in Santa Rosa, California, and have 24 wineries on four continents which have become part of a single group over the last 25 years, but other than a few references in various places I can't find much more than that.
Majestic appear to have the UK rights to the brand, or at least the distribution of it in these parts and that is helpful for me from a shopping perspective but not really enough to generate anything of interest for you, dear reader.
To summarise, I like the wine and I will certainly buy it again, especially as part of a mix six deal which would have saved me a fiver.
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