Geoff Merrill G&W Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

This wine is a blend of fruit from Coonawarra and McLaren Vale. The “G” is for the Graymoor Vineyard in the Coonawarra and “W” for Wickham Park in McLaren Vale. The division of fruit is 55% in favour of Coonawarra, the remainder from McLaren Vale. The wine spent twenty months in a mix of American and French oak hogsheads, 20% of which was new. Amazing value when one considers that this wine has almost a decade under its belt already. Dark red/maroon in colour, the nose has earthy notes with tobacco leaves, florals, chocolate, smoked meats and root vegetables, and there is even a little oak still evident. Juicy in style with good focus and still some appealing energy, there is a lingering finish on a wine of medium to good length. It should still drink beautifully for the next six to ten years.