Pleasant Valley Malbec 2006

We came across this wine purely by chance in fact it came right in the middle of a Malbec tasting from Argentina. We knew that it wasn't Argentinean but we were very surprised to find out that it was from Waiheke Island and then even more surprised to find out its price. This is Malbec as it should be reminiscent of an Argentinean from San Juan rather than Mendoza, floral with lots of dark chocolate, leather and dry spice, excellent tannins, ripe, subtle and soft, full bodied with well integrated acidity, tannin and alcohol, very good length on the finish and is an absolute steal at its price! We are always quite wary and critical of New Zealand red wines purely because of their price but it is good to see something like this which offers very good quality at an excellent price. There should be more producers out there like this and they wont have any problems selling their wine! Drink now or over the next couple of years.