Geoff Merrill G&W Coonawarra McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
- 93
- $30
- Drink by: 2026-2036
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Whatever one thinks of the wines made by Geoff Merrill (hopefully, good things), there is one thing that he and his team seem to do better than anyone else. And that is offer excellent wines with considerable age under their belt for amazingly little money. If you doubt me, this is a prime example. The ‘G’ here stands for Graymoor, a vineyard in Coonawarra, while the ‘W’ is for Wickham Park in McLaren Vale. The blend tends to slightly favour Coonawarra and the wine will usually spend between a year and a half and two years maturing in a mix of American and French oak hogsheads, around one quarter of them new. The wine then spends a considerable time in bottle in their cellar. The quality of the 2018 vintage shines through. Deep maroon with a russet rim, this is an attractive and mature style, already offering good complexity. The nose gives us aromas of tobacco leaves, chocolate, kirsch, black fruits, leather, cloves, coffee grinds, charcuterie and even a touch of vegemite on toast on the palate. There is good length here, through to fine tannins and the wine is well balanced. Enjoy it now, although it surely still has at least a decade ahead of it.
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.
