Auswan Creek Diplomat 30 South Australia Merlot 2020

Merlot continues to be a divisive variety (youngsters today probably have no idea that this was once the world’s hottest variety, until it got a gentle mocking in the film ‘Sideways’ and global sales crashed). Of course, that did not mean that the wines themselves were anything other than what they had been. Strange world. This one has been sourced from vineyards across South Australia. It is deep ruby in colour. A nose with spicy notes, dried fruits, a mix of cranberries and blackberries, leather and plums. Also a touch of that lovely fruitcake character often seen in top Merlot. It is soft, mid-weight, fresh and with decent length. Quite spicy on the finish, it is pleasant now and with three to five years ahead of it.

If one may digress slightly, the team have included various recommended dishes to accompany this Merlot. Among them, Squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish. Hand on heart, I thought that they were making this up. I’ve eaten more than my fair share of the weird and wonderful from around the globe, but I’d never heard of this. So, I did what one does and googled. To my eternal surprise, it is a real thing, popular in Jiangsu cuisine. Basically, it is a type of freshwater Oriental perch, deboned and carved into the shape of a squirrel, before being deep fried and doused in sweet and sour sauce. Why it is made into the shape of a squirrel, I have absolutely no idea. Strange world, indeed.

Ken Gargett

Contributor at Winepilot

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Wine writer and critic