Merlot may not have the overwhelming popularity it did some years ago but it still has many fans. This one was handpicked into small, open fermenters, hand-plunged three times a day before ten days on skins. Then to closed fermenters and pumped over thrice daily. Multiple yeasts were used before racking to French oak barriques for 28 months, 14% new. There is a dollop – 7% – Cabernet Franc. Purples and reds here, with  a nose of chalk sitting under plums, fruitcake, blueberries and mulberries. It still seems a touch raw, but it is heading in the right direction with good tannins and juicy acidity. This is a wine with a solid future and indeed, it would be all the better after a year or two in the cellar. A good example of Margaret River Merlot.

Published December 2021