Blind red wine tasting

The dry season is here and this obviously calls for a barbie night with a couple of reds to wash it all down.
The food is simple : peppered eye fillet, porterhouse and lamb chops.

It´s blind tasting time! Let´s start...

Catalina Sounds. Marlborough Pinot Noir, 2010. 13.5%.  $27
Although Marlborough is generally overlooked for its Pinot Noir with Martinborough and Central Otago taking all the glory, this is a beautiful example that certainly matches the meat.
The nose is full with plums, cherry and red currants, followed by spices and underlying leather and cigar notes. On the palate, it´s silky but lacks the fruit concentration that I would expect in a NZ Pinot with the same price tag.
Overall, it´s an easy drinking red that goes perfectly well with medium-rare steaks. However, for that price, I can think of more complex and concentrated NZ Pinot Noirs.

Paxton AAA. McLaren Vale Shiraz-Grenache, 2011. 14%. $23
Living at 34ºC, I don´t normally give myself the opportunity to keep on experiencing certain black grapes :(. But with the afternoon breezes now tempering the climate, I sometimes make an exception. This Shiraz-Grenache was really fragrant with a juicy combination of dark and red fruits, spice and dark chocolate. The palate gave it away. It had to be Shiraz with something else. I just couldn´t figure it out, that something else. I must say that since then I became a fan of that Grenache/Garnacha spicy lift.

Both wines are highly drinkable, but I still prefer the NZ PN. I consider Catalina Sounds a more elegant and balanced wine. My definition of Paxton AAA would just be "crowd pleaser".