GeoffMerrill`Reserve`CabernetSauvignon2015

£31.95 per bottle

ABV 14.5%

RegionMcLaren Vale – located just 30 minutes drive south east of Adelaide and parallel to the coast, these rolling hillside vineyards produce some of Australia`s finest Shiraz and Grenache based red wines. Some of the areas historic old wineries were established in the late 1800s and many remain today. With a strong regional identity on the international stage, the wines have a distinctive style and subtlely achieved from a combination of very warm summers, mild winters and cooling sea breezes. Many of Australia`s most famous and expensive wines have their vineyard origins within this region. Coonawarra – the southern most and coolest of South Australia`s vineyards, benefitting from the cooling influences of the Southern Ocean. The soil comprises of a thin strip of iron rich red soil, or `terra rosa`, that imparts a special regional minerality to the wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon.

ProducerGeoff Merrill was born in 1953 and was raised on a sheep station in the far north of South Australia until he was 11 years old. The Merrill family then moved to the Barossa Valley, just north of Adelaide, where Geoff`s first links with the wine industry were formed. Following his `apprenticeship` at Chateau Reynella, in 1985 he purchased the historic Mount Hurtle winery. Reknowned for his handle-bar moustache and friendship with many of crickets elite, his talents were recently rewarded when he received the legendary Jimmy Watson Trophy, probably Australia`s most prestigious wine award.

Tasting NotesFrom his early winemaking days, Geoff has always had a soft spot for the elegance that Cabernet Sauvignon delivers when grown on the special Coonawarra soils. Based on the synergy that blending grapes from two regions can bring, he has created a wine with fine structure and character from start to finish. Dominant black fruit flavours with hints of chocolate all beautifully balanced with integrated oak.

FoodServe with sirloin steak and roast beef.

MediaJames Halliday rating of 94 points in 2015.