Simonne

A typical Shiraz spiciness on the nose with a definite black pepper aroma. Floral notes on the palate with a hint of meatiness make this wine ripe and complex.

Paired with 70% cocoa: Brought out a coffee flavour in the wine

Pieter

Pleasant nose of perfumy lemon pepper with some bacon and aniseed. Fair palate and very good value, but no real fireworks. The 70% choc tasted great, but dominated the wine entirely. The chilli choc combined better in the mouth, but stomped out the wine's aftertaste and then lingered at the scene of the crime. This is for me the most problematic issue in trying to match chocolate and wine, however much fun the quest invariably will be.

David

The Shiraz was peppery with enough fruit to make for an interesting bouquet. On the palate I found the wine a little too young but well rounded. The Lindt 70% Cocoa did not do the wine any favours. The Lindt Chili on the other hand was a fantastic pairing. I found that the wine took the burn of the Chili away yet left behind a lovely spiced fruitiness, complementing the Shiraz and making for a most interesting and enjoyable pair.

Robyn

Finally, this was a red I could get friendly with. A pretty typical Shiraz with heavy lashings of fruit - enough to carry the wood, this was the easy drinker of evening (keeping price in mind).

To 'mix things up' the shiraz was partnered with both the 70% cocoa and the chilli Lindt. The 70% was horrid, and while the chilli fared better, all you could really taste when pairing them was the lingering heat, so you better like spicy if you're taking a chance here.

Ellen

With a ruby core and paling at the rim, this Shiraz has a not untypical nose of brambles, white pepper and forest floor. On the palate it is medium-bodied and spicy and tasting of berries and cherries, with good tannin structure. The chilli in the chocolate, as one would expect, adds to the spiciness of the wine. Fine if you like that sort of thing, but it didn't do much for me. Anyone who has read Chocolat may recall that a pinch of chilli really livens up hot chocolate; the two set each other off nicely and it's a good bar of chocolate. But I'd rather have it on its own or with coffee. I feel very indifferent about this pairing.