Two Cupcakes

Don't Turn Your Nose Up At The Lower Shelf

Cupcake gave us the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that took home the gold at the 2010 Best Of tasting - at a whopping retail price of $12.  So, it should come as no surprise that their stable is capable of producing other winners. 

Exhibit A: their Pinot Noir.

2008 Cupcake Pinot Noir Central Coast $12
Smoke and funk on the nose, but in a smooth package.  Palate has spicy fruit with a gentle vanilla.  A little bit of heat and a long pleasing finish.  Not a Pinot of exceptional breeding and caliber, but, wow, very, very enjoyable.  Straightforward and solid, very solid.
4.5/5

Alas, not every child can be a prodigy...


2008 Cupcake Shiraz Barossa Valley $11

Tutti fruity nose, but the palate gets a bit more serious. Solid fruit core and ripe without being pruny, but the disjointed acids unravel the package.
3/5