The wine: Elephant Hill Tempranillo Rosé 2025, Hawke's Bay, $29.00  

A distinctive and enticing bouquet, a rosé made from Tempranillo is a rare find in NZ. Scents and flavours of peaches and red apple, a leesy and a clay earth complexity. A delicious wine with a silky-cream mouthfeel, superfine fruit tannins and medium+ acid line and flavours that reflect the bouquet. A very light positive reductive quality adds to the complexity. Lengthy and dry on the finish, an excellent example.  

The Food:  

Prawn dumplings steamed then quickly pan-seared with sesame oil. Finished with an oyster and soy sauce. Dress the dish up with some chives and ginger. Rosé wines respond to traditional Asian fare by contrasting the fresh flavours and intense spikes from the sauces especially the sweet and salty soy. Rosé when young should have a crispness and brightness with a racy acidity and generous mid-palate fruit sweetness.  

The season:  

The 2025 season in Hawke’s Bay was excellent overall. A warm, dry spring with very good flowering and an early, mostly uninterrupted, start to the growing season. The summer was a little cooler but that did not stop flavour development and ripeness in the fruit. The flavour development and overall ripeness timeline contributed lead to one of the earliest for the region. So far, the wines I have encountered show a vibrancy and freshness, excellent balance and length. 

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