Château Tanunda The Château Merlot 2024

Barossa Merlot may not present itself as we would expect from a Right Bank Bordeaux, but that does not mean it can’t be an absolutely delicious red. Also worth noting is that for this sort of money, your chances of finding anything from Bordeaux’s Right Bank that will come close to this wine in terms of quality are slim to zero. Specifically from the Tscharke Vineyard, the wine spent ten months maturing in a combination of new and older French oak barrels. The colour is a vibrant magenta with notes of undergrowth, raspberries, mushrooms, plums, dried herbs, beef stock, chocolate and cherries and a veritable spice kitchen on the nose. The wine really lifts on the palate, which is sleek and focused – the choc cherry notes emerging even more. A wine with fine tannins and a lingering finish, it will drink well over the next five to seven years, during which period it would not be unreasonable to expect the score to rise.