Weekly Winedown #20 Kumala Zenith Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review.
Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro.

The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy.Last week I failed to present.

I was at BlogOn, a bloggers conference in Manchester, and I fully intended to do a ‘live’ winedown from there.

Unfortunately I met up with some pretty fabulous people at the Paladone party and we were having too much fun actually drinking wine to talk about it.

It’s not unfortunate that I met up with the wonders that are Erica, Fran, Kayleigh, Faith and James.
That was an actual joy and delight, they’re a lovely bunch.
Some are even almost as funny as me.
Almost.

The party also wasn’t unfortunate, free bar thank you Paladone.
The unfortunate bit was the lack of winedown.

It was unfortunate for you.
I let the team down.

I’m overthinking this aren’t I?

On with the show.

Hallo to South Africa, more specifically Kumala Zenith Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, easy for you to say!
Half price at £4.99 this week so under budget.
Did we ever establish if that was actually cheating or not?
Meh.

The Label

Black, grey and white with a splash of gold.
This label thinks it’s all that.
Trying to be minimal and cool all at once.
It’s a bit like one of those super trendy shops that are almost entirely black except for a spotlight here or there. Shops I avoid for I am too old and too, ahem, ‘curvy’. I’m hoping that I’m neither too old nor ‘curvy’ for what lies within this bottle.

The blurb

“A juicy, smooth full-bodied red wine, with red berry fruit, ripe plums and a hint of spice on the rich lingering finish”

To the point!
I like that it clarifies it’s a red wine, just in case the bottle and the name hadn’t made it clear enough.
Or that fact that you picked it up in the ‘red wine’ section of the supermarket….

Full bodied, red berries and spice. All my favourites in one place.
Now we’re into autumn a good red really comes into itself.
There’s nothing nicer than closing the curtains, lighting a candle and snuggling under a blanket on the couch with a nice bottle of red.

The colour is perfect, a rich ruby red – usually a sign of wonderful things to come. The aroma is subtle but warming, red currants and plum.
It’s a rich palate, like Christmas in a bottle. The spicy undertones are warm like cinnamon and nutmeg, the fruit taste is rich and plummy. It has a soft but enduring finish.

I am sure that this wine used to average about £5 a bottle, at that price I would certainly buy it more often.

In a week that started on the biggest high in Manchester (metaphorical)  and ended in relief thanks to an amazing friend (you can read about THAT incident here).  I was hoping this wine would hit the mark and it absolutely did.

Name – Kumala Zenith Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz
Price – £4.99
Colour – Rich, ruby red.
Smell – Subtle red currants.
Taste – Warm spice and rich fruit, like Christmas.
Goes well with – Long Autumn evenings in front of the fire radiator.
Overall score – 3.75/5