Cullen Margaret River Mangan Vineyard Merlot/Malbec/Petit Verdot 2013

As far as Bordeaux blends go, for me its the Right side of the Gironde that floats my boat; Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot et al. In Australia this is also the case, with the left side of Australia - Margaret River in particular. And Cullen are at the forefront as usual. The Cullen Margaret River Mangan Vineyard Merlot/Malbec/Petit Verdot 2013 is everything I love about Merlot blends - blueberries, graphite like tannins, green peppercorns and super finely balanced cut-throat acid.
This is probably not for the people who have poo-pooed Merlot because of either a stupid movie or a stupid duo, so if you follow the the latter two, good!!! Leave this to people who purely and simply love good wine.

Drink with rare kangaroo fillet
Drink till 2019
94
Screwcap 12.5%v/v $30-$33

Warner Glen Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Its crazy weather out there today and Erin wants me to clip the hedge at the side of the house. Its too windy and I just want to drink this and listen to Paul Weller. The Warner Glen Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 has got cassis, mocha, acid, chewy tannins and is just a real drinkable wine on a day like this one -  a little warm hug in a bottle. And it's just $16!!!

Drink with left over roast beef and Paul Weller on the tunes
Drink till 2015
95
Screwcap 14%v/v $16 Seddon Wine Store

Blue Poles Margaret River Teroldego 2011

If I loved continental tigers I'd write a blog on them. If I loved 16th Century Albanian poetry I'd write a blog about that too. The thing is I love wine. Lots of people love wine. Lots of people may also too love 16th Century Albanian poetry, but that may be a stretch I reckon. So when it seems I am almost Robinson Crusoe regarding the next wine, well I just don't get it. Maybe people are just too busy with peace crisis meetings to actually take the time to look at it.

The Blue Poles Margaret River Teroldego 2011 is a step up from its predecessor, the famous 'non vintage' wine from the same producers; well there are only two producers of this variety in Australia who share approximately 4 hectares between them. Very dark in the glass with no real hue to speak of. The nose is very heady and rustic with secondary notes of cedar, lead pencil with big, fat and juicy ripe cherries at the back; there's a lot to love in the nose itself. The palate is laced with a gorgeous line of lip smacking tannins and acid all combined with more secondary flavours such as dried herbs and bitter chocolate. Wonderful rustic goodness I say.

This is a wine that is not predictable in the slightest, and in that may just challenge your local neighbourhood wine expert along the way. Ships ahoy!

Drink with parmigiarna di melanzane - a definite Susan
Drink till 2020
96
Screwcap 13.8%v/v $30ish

Ipso facto Margaret River Chenin Blanc 2010

For a grape variety so well made in the Loire and so bastardised here in Australia, Kate Morgan has produced a wine that can easliy comne from Vouvray or Montlouis and not the back blocks of Margaret River. Huzzah to you Kate!!!

The Ipso facto Margaret River Chenin Blanc 2010 by pure fact is a super little drop of flintiness and tart acid, and the longer in the glass comes a great swell of cracked ginger, orange blossum and subtle pear notes. I am sure my mother-in-law, who holds Amberley close to her heart, will disagree, but the Ipso facto may certainly be the game changer that Chenin Blanc needs in Australia.

Drink with chicken and ginger stir fry
Drink till 2016
96
Screwcap 12.5%v/v $28

Forest Hill Mount Barker Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Just hear me out for a sec. Block 5. Block 5 wines are fast becoming a marketing tool to so many producers. Don't quote me on this, but I think the first Block 5 in Australia was from Bindi in 1997 - the Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 1997 I recall was listed at $400 not so long ago at The Lincoln in Carlton; not bad for a vineyard that was planted in 1992!

Anyway, the Block 5 tag seems to have that marketing 'midas touch'. Here's just a few that I can recall of the top:

• Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges
• Yabby Lake Block 5 Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
• Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir, Central Otago
• Chalice Bridge Chapman Series Block 5 Shiraz/Cabernet, Margaret River
• Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Pinot Noir, Marlborough
• Forrest Estate Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, Marlborough 

Talk about doing your block!!

So it was about 2 weeks ago that I had a tasting of the new Forest Hill wines from Mount Barker with their very pregnant winemaker Clémence Haselgrove; for me the Springvale Estate Riesling is pound-for-pound one of the best in Australia, but thats for another post. The last wine in the bracket was, now wait for it, the Forest Hill Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Block 5's aside, this is truly a cracking wine.

Deep ox blood colour in the glass, the nose throws up aroma's of whispy mint and eucalypt with the smallest hint of dusty tannins to come. The palate is all Left Bank with subtle blueberry notes woven together with pitch perfect acid, tannins and dry dusty cocoa powder. This wine has all the hallmarks of spending another 20 years in the bottle for plenty of reward.

Drink with shephards pie - I did last night
Drink till 2025+
96
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $60ish

Xanadu Margaret River Reserve Chardonnay 2008

On a recent trip to Perth, I popped in to Steve’s Fine Wine and Food – a bit of a favourite – to have a chat with the guys. With no real urgency to leave I purchased an enomatic card to sample some of the wines, but it was the wine that was sitting on the tasting table really had me salivating. The Xanadu Margaret River Reserve Chardonnay 2008.

After a little cosmetic work with the label, The Xanadu brand has more of a sophisticated look about it after what seemed like years in bargain basement wilderness, and this wine certainly lends to that. Straw colour in the glass, the aroma offers the soft and sexy wafts of bees wax and citrus blossom. The palate delivers wonderfully integrated oak; you wouldn’t know it but it’s got 100% barrel ferment – with seamless minerality and acidity held up by more citrus, but no over powering, peach and licorice powder. A great wine.

Drink with pork and prawn Hue pancakes
Drink till 2014
96
Bottle was opened and did not notice closure, but get it at Steve’s Fine Wine & Foods, Nedlands
http://www.steves.com.au

Blue Poles Margaret River Teroldego 2009

Once in a while you get a wine that raises eye brows. It could be because it’s biodynamic, or because it’s a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris or because the winemaker is blind – true story; Mountford in Canterbury NZ. However, this eye brow raise is because when I mentioned this grape to a few wine industry professional, the common response was, ‘Terol-what’.

That’s right, Teroldego. Native to Alto-Adige in Trentino NE Italy, Teroldego has a little over 4 acres –just under 2 hectares – under vine in Australia. Three of these acres are planted in Osmington, Margaret River in the Blue Poles vineyard. So here it is, the Blue Poles Margaret River Teroldego 2009.

Where to start. Because of its eye brow raising attributes, I will let Nicholas Belfage introduce the variety:

“Teroldego is called the “prince” of Trentino red wines, prized for its elegance, complexity and harmony. Overcropped, as it often is, it can be very ordinary, at best a pleasant wine for drinking early. But in the hands of a quality producer it can reach impressive heights of breeding and concentration.... These days the undisputed top producer of Teroldego is Elisabetta Foradori of Mezzolombardo.”

The last sentence is where the Australian connection starts. It is from Elisabetta Foradori where the cuttings came from to propagate the Margaret River Teroldego plantings; pretty good lineage if you ask me. But we are here for the wine right?

One of the deepest ‘red’ colours in a glass of wine I have ever seen, sort of like ‘blood in the moonlight’ in colour; yeah, I know that’s the funky shit. The nose is a real head turner with obvious characteristics of Nebbiolo and Sangiovese – ripe plum, mulberry, dust, leather, tobacco, violets and tar just to name a few. Tight and fine grippy tannins greet the palate with some tart raspberry thrown in. The longer in the glass the tart raspberry fades in to a sweet mulberry feel with the acid and tannins still pulling all of the strings. This is a real special wine.

This is produced in small quantities; tiny really. So if you see it give it a go because it will not sit around on the shelf for too long.

Drink with lamb ragu on wet polenta
Drink till 2020
96
Screwcap 14%v/v $32 at The City Wine Shop or by the glass at Grossi Florentino’s Cellar Bar

Suckfizzle Augusta Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

My first look at a Suckfizzle wine was a corked bottle of the SSB at Piraeus Blues in Fitzroy just after I returned from four years in Europe and the US. In an Iron Chef moment, if memory serves me correct, the manager quickly took the wine away, and instead of another SSB she opened up the Cabernet Sauvignon. The three of us seemed a little surprised but just went along with it – we were glad. The banquet that we ended up having been accompanied with a further two more bottles of the Suckfizzle CS.

That was effectively the start of my love-affair with Suckfizzle wines, in particular the CS. And with this Suckfizzle Augusta Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 1998, my cellar is a little bit sadder today for there is no more hiding away. But no more tears, let’s get to the wine.

Still very dark in the glass, with no signs of any brickie hue to be seen. Fantastic wafts of cassis, cedar and brown spices with cinnamon the most obvious. More cassis in the palate with the acid a surprising hit in the mid palate followed by blueberries, more spice and another surprise with checked and still firm tannins bobbing up – very Bordeaux and very Left Bank.

My cellar has taken a hit in the past six months, so armed with Mr Visa, I think Suckfizzle may be getting an email from me sooner rather than later.

Drink with Corsican lamb stew – my recipe
Drink till 2016
98
Quality cork 14%v/v Parkhill Cellars Richmond $38 – still have receipt, but Cellars are now closed

Blue Poles Margaret River Reserve Merlot 2008

A few years ago, wine types around the world were getting themselves all in a lather over the Hollywood movie ‘Sideways’. With its release, many people were banking on the film giving the Californian wine industry a boost, which it did. But what it also did was give Merlot a bad name; remember this –

Jack – if they want to drink Merlot, we’re drinking Merlot.
Miles - No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!



Was it funny, well sort of. Did it do anything for Merlot sales? Yes, it fucked ‘em. Ever since Merlot has been doing the hard yards to be once again taken seriously. Add certain so called experts in wine having preconceived ideas about the wine, the movie screwed quite literally Merlot sales not only in the US but also here.

Now Merlot is a grape that needs the right growing conditions, and with this, Margaret River offers the best conditions here in Australia, and for me has the most similar conditions to where Merlot is King – the right bank in Bordeaux.

And this brings me to the wine. The Blue Poles Margaret River Reserve Merlot 2008. Now these guys do not make Merlot every year, hence the Reserve moniker. Only in the best growing years will Mark Gifford make this 100% version. After about 1 hour in the decanter we were ready to go. One of the darkest colours I have ever seen in a glass of red wine, ever! The nose has a profound blueberry whack to it, with a touch of mocha also thrown in. The palate also had very primary blueberry, with wonderfully checked tannin and acid working beautifully. In the end, just a fabulous wine.

Do yourself a favour and lose your preconceived ideas that are from people who have selfish and narrow-minded agendas. That should do it I reckon.

Drink with roasted lamb shoulder
Drink till 2029
94
Screwcap 14%v/v first had at Grossi Florentino’s The Restaurant and also available at Bottega Tasca and Carlton Cellars

Blue Poles Margaret River Viognier 2009

"Things are pretty, graceful, rich, elegant, handsome, but until they speak to the imagination, not yet beautiful" Ralph Walso Emmerson.

Viognier. It was a contender not that long ago until Marlborough Savvy B entered the fray. Yes, Viognier five odd years ago had such a bright future. Thing is though, no-one really harnessed Viogniers true potential; enter stage right Blue Poles Margaret River Viognier 2009.

The first thing that I noticed from tasting this wine is that there wasn't that great big smack in the face of apricot that you generally associate with this variety, instead you get lovely honeysuckle and floral notes on the nose with a more subtle burst of apricot in the form of those little apricot and coconut slices you find at school fetes; I did anyway. Another plus for this wine is that it does not come with a massive whack of alcohol with 13.7%v/v for less than the norm of about 14.5%v/v you may find from producers in SA.

Overall, a lovely pretty thing that definately deserves your attention.

Drink with chilli prawns
Drink till 2012
90
Screwcap 13.7%v/v $20 at Decanters by the bay, Port Melbourne

Blue Poles Margaret River Allouran 2007

“We were drinking. We decided to paint something together. I wanted to get him out of himself and into colour again. We spread out a large piece of Belgian linen. It must have taken an hour, because it was wrapped in a canvas sack, and inside, it was wrapped in a kind of wax paper.” Tony Smith, friend of Jackson Pollack, on the creation of ‘Blue Poles: number 11, 1952’

It all starts over a drink.

And what a drink this one was; the Blue Poles Margaret River Allouran 2007. I picked this up yesterday at Carlton Cellars after bottling up at Bindi, and I must say what an impressive wine it turned out to be. But before I get on about the wine, where the hell has this little gem been hiding. I know we are very Victorian centric about what we drink here, but geez, something like this should not be hidden away in cosy Carlton.

A blend of Merlot (66%) and Cabernet Franc (33%)- 1% of fairy dust obviously - this classic right bank blend, a blend that is all to ignored by the greater wine producing regions, is everything I was expecting, and I mean every word I say! Beautifully dark in the glass, the nose is soft and subtle with blackcurrant and tobacco, with a little bit of leafy green towards the end which tells me the Cab Franc has not been mauled by the Merlot. In the mouth there is perfect harmony between oak, acid and fruit, with the acid holding it all together without being too punctuated. I must add also that this went perfect with the ‘old person’ casserole I made when I got home.

A great wine and absolutely worth the trip to Carlton.

Drink with old person casserole – an easy Susan!
Drink till 2018
97
Screwcap 14%v/v $27 at Carlton Cellars

Watershed Margaret River Shiraz Cabernet 2005

“Although Woundwort had shown himself at the last to be a creature virtually mad, nevertheless what he did proved not altogether futile. There can be little doubt that if he had not done it, more rabbits would have been killed that morning on Watership Down. So swiftly and silently had the dog come up the hill behind Dandelion and Blackberry that one of Campion’s sentries, half asleep under a tussock after the long night, was pulled down and killed in the instant that he turned to bolt” Watership Down, Richard Adams

For those of you who know me, I am a sport tragic. Every now and then you can hear “Tim from Brunswick” on talk-back radio SEN 1116 AM, be it a quiz or singing the praises of my favourite ever footballer, Stephen Michael, the great South Fremantle ruckmen who decided to stay home instead of pursuing a VFL career; I love you Stephen if you ever read this.

So, it was a month or so ago that SEN were discussing books that made the transition to the big screen (not exactly what you would call sport talk-back). It must be said, before I go on, that a good proportion of SEN listeners are your quintessential Aussie Bogans; very myopic in their beliefs about pretty much everything. So anyway, SEN were asking listeners to phone in with what they would consider good book/movie transitions; Star Wars (true), The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Godfather, The Club (David Williamson) and plenty more were announced. Me? I phoned in with Richard Adams ‘Watership Down’. You know the one; rabbits.

I was quite surprised with the ‘guffaws’ I was getting from not only other listeners but also from David Schwarz, one of the presenters. Fortunately the worldly Francis Leach was there to explain what the book/movie is about (I am not going to explain the pretext of the book now – I will be here for sometime).

It was time to announce the best call, and it was me!!!!! My prize? Not the round of golf at Devil Bend (which I had won on a previous call), not the Adidas pack, but two bottles of Watershed wines from Margaret River. Geez I thought, I won some wine on a sport talk-back radio station discussing a book about rabbits – funky shit that one!

So, the wine in question today is the aforementioned Watershed Margaret River Shiraz Cabernet Shades 2005. Off the bat I must say that I am not a big fan of the ‘Aussie Blend’ of Shiraz and Cabernet. To me the combination strips away the primary characters of each varietal. But hey, who am I to complain – the wine was free.

Well, to my surprise, this was actually quite good. Wonderfully dark in the glass, the nose threw up cassis, saddle leather, tobacco and a real waft of Margaret River green; think dried herbs. The palate was a bit restrained early but then produced some really good licorice and black fruit. A really good wine and a nice surprise.

So next time you tune in to SEN 1116AM, don’t be surprised if “Tim from Brunswick” is rambling on a bout South Fremantle and Stephen Michael , because he really is the best player I have ever seen, even if he did not play in Victoria.

Drink with a cheese burger and onion rings
Drink till 2011
90
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $19 or there about’s at The City Wine Shop, Spring Street Melbourne

Hewitson Barossa Vally Ned & Henry's Shiraz 2007

There’s something in the air today; flies are a buzzin’, snags are a fryin’, Gen Y are a moshn’ at the Big Day Out and speedo’s are a smugglin’ down at the beach. Yep, it’s Australia Day, and what better way to spend it than sitting out the backyard watching the kids play under the sprinkler (I think we can loosen the water restrictions for today, don’t you think!) while you stuff another sausage wrapped in bread down ya gob and washed it down with a great big juicy Barossa Shiraz (just for the record the author is actually sipping on a Margaret River Chardonnay). And seeing that it is our little Henry’s 1st Australia Day and his 1st birthday this Sunday, the aptly named Hewitson Ned & Henry’s Barossa Valley Shiraz 2007 is getting a run today.

Virtually black as you look at it in the glass, this wine is jam packed with ripe fruit and spice with a poke of licorice all sorts at the end. The wine in the mouth virtually has the same hallmarks as it did on the nose with a very noticeable punch of oak. A nice wine and very, very Australian, and with that Mr Hewitson – Ya bloods worth bottlin’!

Drink with BBQ sausages and lamb chops
Drink till 2012
89
Screwcap 14%v/v $20 at Dan Murphy’s Kew

Ashbrook Margaret River Chardonnay 2007

Pound for pound the best Chardonnay coming out of the West, with a real challenge to the Leeuwin Estate Art Series. The Ashbrook Margaret River Chardonnay 2007 is a wine that continues to get better with every vintage.

Margaret River, I have been told by certain 'Wine Experts', is Semillon Sauvignon country, with Chardy just making up the numbers. Yet, it was the Ashbrook Chardonnay about 4 or 5 years ago that was judged by James Halliday as Australia's best, with wines such as Leeuwin Estate, Bindi Quartz and Yabby Lake all rating considerably less.

I really only noticed this wine from the 2005 vintage. At around $25 from Uncle Dan's, this wine a couple of years ago was the most frequent visitor through our doors in Brunswickistan. It seemed that this vintage was a never ending one, with Dan's having it on the shelves for what seemed like two years. The day came, however, when the 2005 was gone, and in its place stood the 2007 (I don't know why we didn't get any of the 2006 vintage). At the same price, it was a no brainer. Pale straw and a quick whack of grapefruit and almond meal suggested this wine was going to be like its 05' sibling; and it was. Great length in the mouth with more racy grapefruit and spine-tingling acid that could cut through a diamond, with soft licorice powder bringing up the rear with fine style.

This is a wine that I believe will be drinking near its peak in about two years, though right now with another heat-wave upon us this wine will surely play another pivotal role in down-town Brunswickistan. And one more thing, do not be put off by the whopping great 14.5%v/v - to me this is a wonderful example of first class wine-making with the ease that the oak intergration seems to chew up all of the alcohol.

Drink with grilled whiting
Drink till 2014
96
Screwcap 14.5%v/v $24 Hawthorn East Dan Murphy’s

Merry Christmas - a very long lunch in Brunswick

Well, another Christmas Day is done with! I was sheepishly greeted by my daughter Imogen this morning with, ‘...only 364 sleeps till Christmas dad’. I certainly hope that this countdown does not have legs; she already has one for when she starts prep and her birthday is in March so three countdowns before New Year would not bode well here in Brunswickistan.

Yes, yesterday here in Brunswickistan was a massive effort; presents, more presents, mud crabs, prawns, smoked salmon, Champagne and then Grandma and Papa arrived with Aunty Meaghan with even more presents for a sugar hyped 4 year old and more wrapping paper for Henry’s first Christmas Day

As usual, when there is a get together at my place, I do the cooking, so yesterday, bar the Christmas pudding and one massive ham was all up to me. The menu sort of read like this:

BBQ Tiger prawns with a fennel and Chinese salad like coleslaw (inspired by Andrew McConnell)
Grilled zucchini and asparagus with truss tomatoes and chevre goats cheese
Singapore chilli mud crab
6 kg Bertocchi ham!
Tasmanian Smoked Salmon
Home made ginger bread men - Henry's favourite as you can see below with Grandma
Christmas pudding with brandy jelly

The eating started at about 2.30pm and wound down by about 7pm I’d say (the obligatory picking ensued of course). Now for me, you cannot not have a Christmas Pud on Christmas day; it is by far my favourite plate. Yet yesterday my fancies were certainly with the smoked salmon and mud crab (that’s if you could get some from Mum’s plate!) The chilli was just right without offending more sensitive tummies.


There was no real thought to the wine yesterday, with some favourites and crowd-pleasers making up the numbers:

Heidsieck & Co Monopole NV Champagne from Epernay
Pommery Brut Royal NV Champagne from Reims
Swings and Roundabouts Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Margaret River
Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2008 from Adelaide Hills
Majella Sparkling Shiraz 2001 from Coonawarra – Wine of the day!
Willow Creek Tulum Pinot Noir 2008 from Mornington Peninsula
Buckleys dark Bock ale from Healesville in the Yarra Valley

As I said, the Majella Sparkling Shiraz was the wine of the day, but it was the Buckleys dark Bock ale that was the obvious Susan for the day with an abundance of rich malt, coffee and raisin chocolate.

I am not going to bang on about the wines from yesterday cos’ I did not sit there with pen and paper jotting down notes on colour, nose and palate. Instead I sat back with my family and enjoyed the smiling faces of my two kids – that’s what Christmas day is all about. Now it’s time for leftovers for lunch and the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Pierro Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot L.T.Cf 2005

‘Lucky is he who has been able to understand the causes of things.’ Virgil 70-19BC.

Lucky indeed are the people who are able to blend wonderful wines. The Bordelaise have been doing it for quite some time, with their wines constructed based on geography; left bank based on Cabernet Sauvignon with flavours dominated by blackcurrant and the right bank based on Merlot with a more fruitcakey flavour and more aromatic in character.

If this Pierro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot L.T.Cf 2005 were to be imported from Bordeaux rather than Margaret River (the L.T.Cf standing for little touch of Cabernet Franc), it would definitely be a first or second growth from the left bank. Decanted for a while, this wine shows visible SO2 dissolving through the dark deep garnet colour. The nose is absolutely dripping in cassis and other red fruit – totally seductive. More cassis in the palate but it is not the dominating presence however; spine tingling acid and firm grippy tannins drive this wine. An dead-set food wine this one; definitely not a quaffer and definitely not a wine that belies it's massive 14.5%v/v.


Seamless balance and complexity and a bargain at $35!

Drink with roasted shoulder of lamb
Drink till 2025
96
Quality cork 14.5%v/v $35 Dan Murphy’s Parkdale

Woodside Valley Estate Margaret River ‘Les Bas’ Chardonnay 2007

Plenty to like about his Chardonnay. The Woodside Valley Estate Margaret River ‘Les Bas’ Chardonnay 2007 was dropped off to me at The Point Albert Park just prior to me resigning, so I am pretty sure that it did not make the cut. If I had stayed on however, it definitely would have been in the Chardonnay column, probably pouring as well.

Bone straw to look at, the nose is a wonderful marriage of stonefruit – peach primarily, and oak. The wine really hits its straps in the mouth with a punch of grapefruit, more stonefruit of peach and nectarine with spine tingling acid which tells me this wine will develop very nicely over the next 10 years.

Wonderful balance and length with its complexity spelling out what Margaret River Chardonnay should taste like.

Drink with pan seared scallops
Drink till 2018
95
Diam 13.1%v/v $40 from http://www.woodsidevalleyestate.com.au/

Fraser Gallop Estate Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2007

I was having coffee this morning with a friend at a local cafe, with the conversation being about this and that; kids and kindy, the weather and whether the celebrity ‘Master Chef’ will work? As per usual, the conversation turned to wine, where my friend noted that I am far too generous with my ratings, especially the mucho fantasticos, and he has a point, I am far too generous.

So, as of today, I will now rate wine out of 100 with the mucho fantastico going to wine 97+. Here we go then.

Fraser Gallop Estate Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2007. A good year out west, with wind during flowering the biggest issue during the growing season I have been told. The colour is very dense with a purplish inky hue. On the nose is a very distinctive cough drop aroma – the old cherry style one. In the mouth there clean acid and good firm tannins up front with cherry and that cough drop flavour coming through at the end. If you have a decanter, use it with this wine cos’ it really does show a hell of lot more after about an hour with a more brambly fruit driven hit.

A good honest wine as Jack Dyer would say. Good balance, nice length and nice complexity

Drink till 2013
Drink with lamb burger
84/100
Screwcap $14 14.5% a/v

Woodside Estate 'Bissy' Merlot 2006, Margaret River

A few years ago the movie ‘Sideways’ almost single headedly wiped out Merlot sales in the US with the lead character Miles stating, ‘... I’ll drink whatever they order, but I’m not drinking f*#@n Merlot’. Here to in Australia, Merlot has long suffered being the safari suit wearing cousin at a wedding (it’s a long story) to that of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Merlot’s traditional home is the right bank in Bordeaux where it is the predominant grape in uber wines like Le Pin, Petrus and Chevel Blanc. On the left bank it is Cabernet Sauvignon that is the predominat grape with wines such as Rothchilds - both Mouton and Lafite, Marguax and Lynch Bages.

Merlot is one of those grapes that are dependent on its growing environment. Long growing seasons with temperate growing conditions are optimal for its development – Margaret River, Yarra Valley and Coonawarra are the best regions here in Australia. Merlot can be very intense with blueberries and cassis being predominant in the mouth and minty or eucalyptus on the nose; similar to that of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Woodside Estate ‘Bissy’ 2006 Merlot from Margaret River had a very thick and dense colour, something that would have spent plenty of time on skins. The nose is gorgeous with an obvious vegetal hint with eucalyptus the prime focus. As said earlier, blueberries are central here up front with lovely clean acid in the mid palate and long mocha at the end.

Give Merlot a go I reckon. There are a lot of producers out there, but it is the producers from those three regions, Margaret River, Yarra Valley and Coonawarra, that get it right. And one more thing, don’t get sucked in to a Merlot with high alcohol – 14.5% and more; these wines will not give you the true flavour that Merlot is, and all you get is JABS (Just Another Barossa Shiraz).


Drink with mushroom and beef stew
Drink till 2020
16.5/20