Grape Variety: 100% Merlot

Growing Region: McLaren Vale, (Wickham Park), Australia

Senior Winemaker: Geoff Merrill

TASTING NOTE:
Overall Geoff regards 2005 as a very good vintage. Good winter rains ensured adequate soil moisture for the summer ripening period that followed. This meant very healthy vines with good canopies. The summer turned out to be reasonably mild, which meant optimal ripeness temperatures brought the harvest forward by about two weeks.

The aroma shows nice mulberry fruit and some typical McLaren Vale spice and earthiness, with hints of coffee and chocolate. Careful barrel ageing has added vanilla, cedar and toffee notes to the bouquet. The palate has riper berry fruit flavours, more towards black currant, with toasty vanilla oak in the background.

First impressions on the palate, the wine is ample bodied with fleshy berry fruits, but after a few seconds this makes way for the velvety tannins for which this variety is noted. Generous length and well balanced acidity round out this great example of McLaren Vale Merlot.

CELLARING POTENTIAL:
Drinking perfectly well this coming summer; and over the next 2-3 years.

SUGGESTED FOOD MATCHES:
Perfect wine match with, roast lamb, bbq pork, even a tomato and mozzarella pizza, enjoy.

A must have wine at your next BBQ.