New Zealand. - To me it's a fairly new hit. And I'm thinking of Maoris, neighbouring aborigines, and an eternity of myths and dream-worlds that make even viniculture seem like Cronus' Swiss-cousin's latest fad.

The founder of this vinyard, a Croatian named Ivan Yukich is said to have landed in his new sea-land in the early years of this century - carrying his own history. Thus the 'Croatian' Montana Wines. But Timara seems to echo the original vocabulary of his new home. I hope.

The wine is a beautiful red. The nose is there, but it doesn't appear as an absolute - it stays and lingers with pleasant expectancy. The beginning is of pure wine. Sauvignon is well harnessed with merlot. This wine opens up easily. The mid-taste gives you fresh juice with mild acids. Some hints of the one-year French-American oak treatment can be sensed, but only as echoes. The wine has a rather clear, but not excessively powerful, structure - coming close to the borders of a medium-full body. Don't expect a remarkable after-taste - so, the wine is perfect for young pork, a salad, and potatoes fried in diet cream.

As airy as this wine.